Understand · Payroll glossary
What is the household or residence allowance?
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The household or residence allowance is a public sector salary supplement for modest salaries: household allowance if you live as a household, residence allowance otherwise. In Dutch: haard- of standplaatstoelage.
Definition of the household or residence allowance
The household allowance is paid to married or cohabiting staff and to some single parents; the residence allowance to the others. The two cannot be combined, and they are only due below a salary ceiling.
It also counts towards holiday pay in the federal civil service, calculated on the March salary and this allowance.
Worked example
For a federal civil servant whose March salary is €2,800 gross, holiday pay is 92% of that salary, i.e. €2,576.00, plus 92% of their household or residence allowance if they receive one.
In Dutch: haard- of standplaatstoelage
On a Dutch-language payslip or HR document, the household or residence allowance is called ‘haard- of standplaatstoelage’; on a French-language one, ‘allocation de foyer ou de résidence’.
Dutch term taken from: FPS BOSA.
Not to be confused with…
- Family allowances: they are linked to children and paid by the Region; the household allowance is a salary supplement.
Calculate it for your situation
Statutory or contract staff: net pay, gross for gross, holiday pay, the end-of-year allowance and the pension.
Related terms
- Salary (public sector)Public sector and education · in Dutch: wedde (brutomaandwedde, nettomaandwedde)
- Holiday payBonuses, holiday pay and benefits · in Dutch: vakantiegeld
Sources
Parameters in force on 1 October 2026. Each parameter links to its source, the official one where it exists; a secondary source is flagged as such.