The Wlz contribution (eigen bijdrage) in 2026

What is the Wlz contribution (eigen bijdrage)?

The eigen bijdrage is what you pay the CAK for long-term care. The Wlz (Wet langdurige zorg) covers intensive, round-the-clock care, in a care home or at home.

This is not the Wlz premium. The premium is a national insurance everyone pays inside their payroll tax. It funds the system whether you use care or not. You can read where it sits in our guide to the Dutch tax brackets and rates. The eigen bijdrage is different. You only pay it once you actually use Wlz care. It is also not the zorgtoeslag, the healthcare allowance. See our healthcare allowance guide if that is what you need.

Take Anna, who moves into a care home this year. What she pays depends on her income and her savings. We follow her through this guide. Anna moved here for work years ago and still keeps savings abroad.

Who works out the bill and who do you pay?

The CAK, the Dutch care-contribution office, calculates your eigen bijdrage and collects it. You pay the CAK directly, not your care home.

You can only use Wlz care if you are insured under the Wlz. Almost everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands is. The CIZ, the office that assesses care needs, decides whether you need Wlz care. After that, the CAK sets your contribution.

You already pay into the Wlz through work, inside the payroll tax on your payslip. For the bigger picture, read our guide to work and income in the Dutch tax system. Your Dutch payslip shows where the premium comes off.

Do you pay the lage or the hoge contribution?

Most people start with the lage (low) contribution. You pay it in your first four months of care.

It also applies while your partner still lives at home. And it applies when you receive care at home. That means a vpt, mpt or pgb, the care packages you arrange yourself. The hoge (high) contribution starts only after those four months in a care institution. It applies when no partner lives at home. Care at home always keeps you on the lage contribution.

In 2026 the lage contribution runs from €212.60 to €1,115.80 a month.¹ The hoge contribution runs up to €3,061.80 a month.² Your care situation decides which one you pay.

How does the CAK calculate your eigen bijdrage?

The CAK starts from your income and adds part of your Box 3 assets. It uses your figures from two years back, the peiljaar. For 2026 that is 2024.

It then adds 4% of the Box 3 assets you hold above that threshold. Together this is your bijdrageplichtig inkomen, the income your contribution is based on. For the lage contribution, the CAK takes 10% of that income and divides it by twelve. People of state-pension age also get an extra deduction. It compensates for the abolished ouderentoeslag, the former tax allowance for older people. Has your income dropped a lot since the peiljaar? You can ask the CAK to use a more recent year, called peiljaarverlegging.

Back to Anna. In 2024 she had €28,000 of income and €200,000 in savings and investments. Her assets above the threshold add €6,522 to the income the CAK counts. Her lage contribution works out at about €288 a month. The table below shows each step.

Are you still Wlz-insured if you live or work abroad?

Your Wlz insurance can stop when you move abroad. In some cross-border cases it continues, for example as a verdragsgerechtigde, someone covered under a treaty.

The SVB decides whether you stay insured.³ So check your status before you move, not after. And if you live here with assets abroad, those foreign savings and investments still count for the 4% addition. Your Box 3 assets feed the bill wherever they sit. Read our guide to Box 3 assets to see what falls in. Arrived after the reference year? Ask the CAK for peiljaarverlegging.

What does this mean for you?

You can see what drives your eigen bijdrage and plan the timing. The CAK offers a rekenhulp (a calculation tool) for your exact figure, which we use as a starting point.

Your contribution sits where your Box 3 assets, your cross-border situation and your care come together. That is one conversation, not three. We do not promise a lower bill. We do map what raises it, so nothing takes you by surprise. We can also handle it as part of your Dutch income tax return. Want to check a related benefit? See our guide to the zorgtoeslag, the healthcare allowance. Planning care alongside retirement? Start with our pension advice. Use the CAK rekenhulp for your exact figure, then check it with us. Ask us if your figures raise any questions.