Are study costs still deductible in the Netherlands?
No, study costs stopped being tax deductible from 2022 onward¹. The Belastingdienst removed this deduction for everyone with a course, training or study programme that year or later.
However, three situations still allow a deduction. You run a business and studied to keep your existing skills sharp². You held an old prestatiebeurs (a student performance grant) from before 1 July 2015 that never converted into a gift. Or you paid study costs in 2021: that year still has an open window. Liam is in one of them. He moved to the Netherlands in 2021. That year he paid €4,800 for an evening course, just before the rules changed. He did not claim the deduction, certain it was gone for good. Now he wonders whether he still can. This page covers your own study costs, not what you pay for your children.
In short
No deduction since 2022. Study costs, courses and training are no longer deductible for private individuals.
2021 still counts. Study costs from 2021 stay deductible if you claim them by 31 December 2026.
Entrepreneurs keep an exception. Study costs that maintain your existing business skills remain deductible as a business cost.
A prestatiebeurs from before 1 July 2015 stays deductible. The grant counts only if it never converted into a gift. Then check which term applies to your tax year.
STAP ended, no direct replacement. The STAP-budget stopped on 1 January 2024. No personal budget for individuals has replaced it.
Which three situations still qualify?
Three situations survive the 2022 abolition, each with its own conditions. The table below sets them out, with the condition that matters for each.
| Situation | Still deductible? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Study costs from 2021 | Yes, until the window shuts | Ask the Belastingdienst to amend your 2021 assessment by 31 December 2026⁴. The 2021 conditions still apply. |
| Entrepreneurs maintaining existing skills | Yes, as a business cost | Only if the course keeps current know-how sharp, not a new profession |
| A prestatiebeurs from before 1 July 2015 | Yes | Only if it never converted into a gift. Check which tax year you can still amend. |
What counts as maintaining your skills, or an old prestatiebeurs?
Your course counts only if it keeps your existing business know-how sharp. A course toward a brand new profession does not qualify, even if it clearly helps your business.
The old prestatiebeurs exception works differently. Say the Belastingdienst issued your grant before 1 July 2015. Your grant became a gift once you finished your diploma on time. If it never converted into a gift, you can still deduct those costs today. That happens when you missed the diploma deadline. Claim it for the tax year you paid, within five years of that year.
How does Liam claim his 2021 course now?
Liam requests an official amendment for his 2021 course. His €4,800 course falls inside the open window for 2021, so the request qualifies.
The mechanism has a name: a "verzoek om ambtshalve vermindering," an official amendment request. Liam submits it through Mijn Belastingdienst, alongside his 2021 tax details. He needs proof of what he paid: an invoice or a payment confirmation showing the amount and the year.
The Belastingdienst then reviews the request and adjusts his 2021 assessment. Liam gets a refund based on the deduction, not a brand new tax return. One condition: he paid the course after he became a Dutch resident. A course paid before the move does not count. Under the old rules you deduct only the amount above €250, capped at €15,000. After the threshold, €4,550 of his €4,800 stays deductible. Our tax return guide explains how a Dutch assessment works. The 2021 rules also required a course for your current or future profession. You could not be entitled to studiefinanciering. Your refund equals the deduction times your 2021 tax rate. Source one at belastingdienst.nl sets both the threshold and the cap.
“Most people stop looking the moment they hear study costs are gone. For a 2021 course, that one check is still worth making.”
What replaced the STAP-budget?
Nothing directly replaced the STAP-budget for individuals. The scheme was one more relic of an older system, like the prestatiebeurs above.
The STAP-budget let individuals apply for training funding directly. The scheme closed for good on 1 January 2024, after a last application round on 15 November 2023³.
Part of the leftover STAP budget moved into the SLIM-regeling, a scheme for employers and SMEs⁵. It does not give individuals a personal training budget of their own. The STAP-budget gave individuals up to €1,000 a year, paid through the UWV.
What should you do next?
Liam's answer turned out simple: check the year, then request the correction. Your own situation might take one more step.
Start with the dates. Do you have study costs from 2021 that you never claimed? Did you arrive in 2021? Check that you actually filed a 2021 return. Check next whether you run a business. Or did you hold a prestatiebeurs from before 1 July 2015? Any one of those keeps a deduction alive.
If none of the three apply, the deduction stays gone. Waiting will not change that. What can still help is asking whether your employer offers training funding through the SLIM-regeling instead.
Other costs you may deduct are on our overview of tax deductions in the Netherlands.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Zijn mijn studiekosten aftrekbaar? · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Studiekosten voor ondernemers · Accessed
³ rijksoverheid.nl, STAP-budget voor het laatst open · Accessed
⁴ belastingdienst.nl, Verzoek om vermindering van aanslag inkomstenbelasting · Accessed
⁵ uitvoeringvanbeleidszw.nl (SZW), SLIM mkb 2025-2029 · Accessed