Norway Cash-for-Care Benefit Calculator 2026 (Kontantstøtte)

Cash-for-care (kontantstøtte) is a monthly payment from NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, to parents of children between 13 and 19 months who do not attend kindergarten (barnehage) full time. The idea is to give families that look after small children at home some financial support. The rates are set every year by the Storting (Parliament). The full rate of NOK 7,500 is paid when the child has no kindergarten place, and it is reduced in steps as the agreed hours in kindergarten go up. This calculator shows the monthly amount, the months you can receive it, and the total.

Cash-for-care rates 2026

Euro and dollar figures are approximate, converted at Norges Bank mid-market rates of 25 September 2026 (EUR 1 = NOK 10.84, USD 1 = NOK 9.51).

The rate follows the hours you have been granted in the kindergarten agreement, not how much the child actually attends. It applies to kindergartens that receive public funding.

Which months you can get it

You can receive cash-for-care from and including the month the child turns 13 months up to and including the month the child turns 19 months. That is at most 7 months. The table shows the period for children born in 2025 and how much of it falls in 2026 at the full rate.

Worked example: kindergarten starts halfway through

A child was born in March 2025 and turns 13 months in April 2026, so the family can get cash-for-care from that month up to and including October 2026. The child has no kindergarten place for the first 3 months, so the payment is NOK 7,500 a month. Then the child gets a place of 20 hours a week, and the payment falls to NOK 3,000 (40%) for the remaining 4 months. The total is 3 × NOK 7,500 + 4 × NOK 3,000 = NOK 34,500. Child benefit of NOK 2,012 a month comes on top.

Who is entitled: what newcomers need to know

• Age and kindergarten. The child must have turned one year and must not have a full-time place in a publicly funded kindergarten.
• Residence. Generally you and the child must both live in Norway. NAV counts you as resident if you stay at least 12 consecutive months. Foreign nationals need a residence permit or other legal residence and must be registered in the National Population Register.
• Five years of membership. You must have at least 5 years of membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme or a similar scheme in another EEA country. If the child lives with both parents, both need 5 years. Only EEA citizens and their family members can add social security periods from other EEA countries to Norwegian ones, while periods in another Nordic country, Austria, Luxembourg or the Netherlands count whatever your citizenship. This means a family that has recently moved to Norway may not qualify yet.
• EEA workers. If you are an EEA citizen working in Norway you may qualify even if you will stay less than 12 months. Workers posted to Norway by an employer in another country are normally not entitled.
• Not entitled. You cannot get cash-for-care for a child who is in foster care or in an institution.

Payment, tax and time abroad

NAV pays once a month, deducts no tax and pays no holiday pay on it. Parents with shared permanent residence can split it 50/50 if both apply. You may keep cash-for-care during a stay abroad of up to 3 months if you do not work while you are away, but longer stays generally end it. Compare the cost of a place with the benefit in the kindergarten price calculator, and see the child benefit calculator and the parental leave calculator for the other family payments.

What this calculator does not cover

It calculates the amount from the granted hours and the child's birth month. It does not check whether you are entitled: residence, the 5-year membership rule, EEA and Nordic rules, posted workers and cases where the child lives in another country all need NAV's assessment. The full amount for a case under the EEA rules can be paid partly by another country. Adoption follows different dates, and the calculator does not handle backdated payments or the split of a shared benefit. Rates change each year, so check nav.no before you plan around the figures.