Working as a student

Your child is 18 or older

If your child is over 18 years of age, several conditions apply for you to receive child benefit. These conditions apply from 1 September in the calendar year in which your child turns 18:

• Higher education, final year or secondary education

You continue to receive child benefit if your son or daughter works no more than 240 hours per quarter. Should they work more in a certain quarter, then you will receive no child benefit for the entire quarter.

blockquote>Example: Merel (41) has a daughter, Jorine (19). Jorine did not work in January, but she worked 120 hours in February and 160 in March. Merel is not entitled to child benefit for the first quarter as Jorine worked 280 hours in January, February and March.

Will your child continue their studies after the summer holidays? If so, they may work as much as they like in July, August and September. If your child is stopping their studies, other conditions apply. Good to know: We count every hour worked irrespective of the type of contract. Paid bank holidays and holidays therefore have no effect on your number of hours worked.

• Apprenticeship contract, dual learning or secondary education with a limited curriculum

You continue to receive child benefit if your son or daughter earns no more than € 551,89 gross per month. This amount includes the gross income from their apprenticeship contract, other work and any social benefits. Holiday pay and repaid expenses are not included. If your child earns more in a particular month, you will not receive child benefit for the month in question.

• Business management training (Syntra)

If a compulsory placement is included as part of the business management training, your child may earn a maximum of € 551,89 gross per month. Should they earn more in a certain month, then you will receive no child benefit for the month in question.

utside of the placement, your child may still work 240 hours per quarter, without a restriction on income. Should they work more in a certain quarter, then you will receive no child benefit for the entire quarter.

Self-employed as a student

From 18 years of age, a student may start their own business during their studies. The status of ‘self-employed as a student’ offers extra advantages mainly when it comes to taxes. With regard to child benefit, the conditions depend on the income and the social security contributions:

• Secondary education or higher education:

• If your child does not have to pay social security contributions, we assume that they work fewer than 240 hours. You need not do anything.
• If your child does pay social security contributions, we send you a declaration to fill in. You should use this document to declare whether your child worked more or less than 240 hours per quarter. We will send a declaration each year to assess the previous period. If your child worked more than 240 hours in a certain quarter, you lose your child benefit for the quarter in question.

• Students in part-time secondary education and students with an apprenticeship contract receive a questionnaire from us as soon as we receive notification from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE/KBO) that they are self-employed. In this document, we ask for their gross income per month for the following year. We will send a declaration each year at the end of the academic year. If the income is higher than € 551,89 gross per month, you lose your child benefit for the month in question.