Additional earnings

Does the loan system apply to you? Then your income has no effect on your student finance. The additional earnings threshold does not apply to you.

The additional earnings threshold does apply to you if you receive a grant, interest bearing loan, or travel product for an MBO programme.

Government plans

The government is planning to abolish the additional earnings threshold for students in MBO. Read how this may affect you.

Additional earnings threshold

The additional earnings threshold for 2023 is € 16,121.60. For 2022 it was € 15,828.77.

The maximum amount for additional earnings did not apply in 2020 and 2021.

Which income counts?

We will only look at your own income. This refers to your gross income or taxable wage. Your partner’s income is not included.

Additional earnings include more than any earnings from a part-time job. The leaflets about additional earnings mention what is and isn’t included. And how much you could earn in 2018 and 2019. They also mention how much you can earn in 2022 and 2023. The leaflets are in Dutch.

Leaflets about additional earnings in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023

Stopping your student finance and travel product

If you are approaching the additional earnings threshold, you need to stop your student finance and cancel your travel product.

You can’t restart your student finance after your 30th birthday. Please remember this when stopping your student finance.

Consequences of too much income

If you exceed the additional earnings threshold without stopping your student finance and student travel product, you will have to repay the amount that you earned above the threshold. You never need to repay more than the amount of the basic grant, supplementary grant and student travel product that you received in that year.

Checks

DUO checks retroactively how much additional income you received in a specific year. We check your income with the Dutch Tax and Customs Authority. DUO has 5 years to do so, but we usually perform this check within 3 years. If you had too much additional income, you will receive a notice from DUO stating how much you are due to pay back.

No additional earnings due to disability

Are you eligible for student finance and able to study? But are you unable to work beside your studies due to your disability? If so, you can apply for ‘studietoeslag’ (study benefit) Link opent externe pagina with your municipality.