The care allowance is an allowance, for people with a lower income, for the cost of their health insurance. The Belastingdienst/Toeslagen clearly explains the way the care allowance is calculated in a comprehensive leaflet. Hereafter, briefly the main parts.
Care allowance
To be eligible for care allowance, the following conditions must be met.
- You must be 18 years of age or older.
- You must have taken out Dutch health insurance.
- You must have Dutch nationality or a residence permit.
- Your income should not be too high (see below).
- Your assets should not be too high (see below).
The maximum amount of the care allowance is for 2016: € 998.
Income test
You are entitled to the maximum amount of care allowance for 2016 if your means-test income does not exceed €19,758. If your qualifying income is € 27,012 or higher (with allowance partner: € 33,765 or higher), you are not entitled to care allowance. For a qualifying income between € 19,758 and € 27,012 (or € 33,765), the care allowance is lower, the higher the qualifying income. On the website of the Tax Office/Benefits you will find a calculation module.
Your final assessment income is determined after the end of the allowance year. The Tax Administration passes this income data on to the Belastingdienst/Toeslagen. In the benefits year you can receive an advance on the benefits. To do so, you must make an estimate of your reference income for that year. If you estimate your income too low, the excess amount will be reclaimed afterwards.
The test income is:
- If you file an income tax return: your aggregate income;
- if you do not file an income tax return: your wages/benefits as shown in your payslips/benefit statement (converted to annual amounts, of course).
Ability test
For the assets test in the context of the care allowance, the income from savings and investments (box 3) as determined for income tax purposes will be used. Box 3 taxes items such as bank and savings deposits, investments, second home, and so on. It concerns the value of these assets on 1 January of the allowance year.
If your assets on 1 January exceed the exemption limit, you will not be entitled to care allowance for the whole year. On top of the tax-free assets taken into account in Box 3 (in 2016: €24,437), €82,504 is exempted for care allowance in 2016. This brings the exemption limit in 2016 on € 106.941 (For payment partners: € 131.378, but for them, of course, joint assets are taken into account).
NOTE: A different assets test applies for rent allowance!
Abroad
People who do not live in the Netherlands may be entitled to care allowance. A number of specific rules apply to these people
Apply for care allowance
If you are entitled to care allowance, you must apply for it yourself. This must be done digitally via the website of the Tax Administration/Toeslagen: www.toeslagen.nl. For the 2016 benefit year, the application must be made by 31 August 2017 (this deadline will be extended if the Tax Administration has granted you an extension for filing your 2016 income tax return).
By the way, you do not have to make the application annually. In principle, a supplement once applied for will be continued automatically every year. However, it is important to keep a close eye on this yourself. It is also wise to immediately inform the Tax Administration/Benefits Administration of any changes in your personal/financial situation that are relevant to your benefit(s).