“MBO Students Lose Hundreds of Euros” | Money

According to Nybod, not applying for a health care allowance is costly. This leaves you with more than 1,000 euros a year, according to director Arjan Vliegenthart’s calculations. Money is meant as a contribution from the government to maintain the cost of health insurance. For MBO students, health insurance is often one of the biggest expense items. Nybod calculates that students who work part-time lose an average of €180 in tax refunds by not filing a tax return.

Unfamiliarity and ignorance in particular will be the problem. For example, a quarter of MBO students who do not have a health care allowance said they don’t know what a health care allowance is. In addition, MBO students at Levels 1 and 2 file for Medicare benefits or file tax returns a lot less than students at Levels 3 and 4. Vliegenthart argues for more help with this. Many adults at all levels seek help with their tax returns. So it is not surprising that young people also need help with this.”

Nibud is based on a survey of more than 1,200 MBO students about their finances. According to the Knowledge Institute, the answers show that MBO students can generally do better than they did six years ago, when Nybod conducted the same study. This is because they often start earning more through their part-time work or paid training. The parental contribution is also higher on average than it was six years ago.

Another sore point, according to Nybod, is student scholarships. Students who are pursuing a vocational training path, and therefore do not work during their studies, may be eligible. At levels 1 and 2, they will then receive this contribution as a gift. However, many students do not know this. Also, nearly four out of ten students without a supplemental scholarship have not found out if they can apply for it and nearly half do not know this option is available at all. According to Nybod, the student financing system should be simplified. Deserving students should automatically receive this money.

Every October, Tax and Customs Administration notifies people who are likely to be able to get a refund. There are also many young people among them. For example, this year the tax authorities sent almost 150 thousand letters to young people aged 13 to 21. Tax authorities also indicate that people can apply for a tax refund after five years have passed.