Wat heb je nodig om in Nederland te mogen werken?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (BSN)
Inburgeringsexamen · Werk
KNM Practice Questions: Werk en Inkomen (Work and Income, 2026)
Werk en inkomen is the KNM theme about working life in the Netherlands: what you need to work, what happens to your pay, and where you turn when you lose your job or your income is low. The anchors are concrete. To work you need a BSN, the citizen service number you receive when you register at the gemeente. Your employer needs it for payroll, sends the loonheffing (wage tax) to the Belastingdienst, and gives you a loonstrook (payslip) every month. If you become unemployed you can apply for a WW benefit at the UWV, and with a low income you can apply for toeslagen at the Belastingdienst.
Practice
Free practice questions
Waar krijg je een BSN?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (BSN)
Wie heeft jouw BSN nodig voor de loonadministratie?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (BSN)
Wat krijg je elke maand van je werkgever?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (loonstrook)
Wat betekent het wettelijk minimumloon?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (minimumloon)
Wat zie je op een loonstrook?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (loonstrook)
Hoe heet de belasting die van je loon af gaat?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (loonheffing)
Naar welke instantie gaat de loonheffing?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (loonheffing)
Wie stuurt de belasting naar de Belastingdienst?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (loonheffing)
Een vast contract is een contract voor welke tijd?
Based on: KNM: Werk en inkomen (arbeidscontract)
Your BSN, your payslip and the tax on your wage
The exam starts where every job in the Netherlands starts: the burgerservicenummer (BSN). You receive a BSN when you register at the municipality (gemeente), and you need it to be allowed to work; your employer uses it for the payroll administration. From there the questions follow the money. Each month your employer gives you a loonstrook, the payslip, which shows your pay and the tax on it. The tax taken from your wage is called loonheffing, and a favourite KNM angle is who sends it where: your employer sends the wage tax to the Belastingdienst automatically, you do not transfer it yourself. Two protective rules round out the pay questions: the wettelijk minimumloon is the lowest wage an employer is allowed to pay, and vakantiegeld, the holiday allowance, is about 8 percent of your yearly salary, which most employers pay out in May. Both the percentage and the month are asked directly, so learn the pair: about 8 percent, in May.
- You get your BSN when you register at the gemeente, and you need it to work.
- Loonheffing is the tax on your wage; your employer sends it to the Belastingdienst.
- Vakantiegeld is about 8 percent of your yearly salary, usually paid in May.
Contracts, the CAO, illness and losing your job
The contract questions test a small vocabulary precisely. A vast contract is a contract for onbepaalde tijd, an indefinite period, while a temporary contract is fixed-term; the proeftijd, the trial period, comes at the start of a new job. Above the individual contract sits the CAO, the collective agreement for a sector, which sets rules on pay, working hours and holidays. The illness questions are situational: when you are ill you report sick to your employer, usually by calling in the morning before work starts, and your employer keeps paying your wage while you are ill. When work ends the theme hands over to the benefits system. If you are unemployed you can apply for a WW-uitkering, the unemployment benefit, at the UWV, which also helps people look for work. Applying for a new job means writing a sollicitatiebrief and a CV. Finally, the theme touches the wider income picture: with a low income you can get toeslagen, allowances such as the health-care and rent allowance, which you apply for at the Belastingdienst, logging in with your DigiD. One cultural fact appears too: part-time work is very common in the Netherlands, especially among parents.
| Who or what | Role the KNM exam tests |
|---|---|
| Gemeente | Registers you and issues your BSN, which you need to work |
| Werkgever (employer) | Needs your BSN for payroll, pays your wage, sends the loonheffing to the tax office, keeps paying you when you are ill |
| Belastingdienst | Receives the wage tax; pays toeslagen if your income is low |
| UWV | Handles the WW unemployment benefit and helps you look for work |
| CAO | Collective agreement per sector: rules on pay, working hours and holidays |
| Vakantiegeld | About 8 percent of your yearly salary, usually paid in May |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What do you need to be allowed to work in the Netherlands?
A BSN, the burgerservicenummer (citizen service number). You receive it when you register at the municipality (gemeente), and your employer needs it for the payroll administration and taxes. The KNM exam asks for this both directly and through the employer's side: who needs your BSN for the loonadministratie? Your employer.
What is loonheffing and who pays it to the Belastingdienst?
Loonheffing is the tax that is taken from your wage. Your employer sends it to the Belastingdienst automatically, so you see it as a deduction on your loonstrook, the monthly payslip, rather than paying it yourself. The payslip questions and the tax questions in this KNM theme are really the same fact seen from two sides.
How much is vakantiegeld and when is it paid?
The holiday allowance is about 8 percent of your yearly salary, and most employers pay it in May. The exam tests all three parts of that sentence: the percentage (about 8 percent), the basis (your yearly salary) and the month (May). Learn them together as one fixed fact.
What should you do when you are ill and cannot work?
Report sick to your employer, usually by calling in the morning before your work starts. Your employer keeps paying your wage while you are ill. The exam frames this as everyday behaviour: who do you tell, when do you call, and what happens to your pay.
What is a WW-uitkering and where do you apply for it?
The WW-uitkering is the unemployment benefit. If you lose your job you apply for it at the UWV, the organisation that also helps people look for work. Keep the UWV distinct from the Belastingdienst, which handles taxes and toeslagen, because the exam likes to test which organisation belongs to which benefit.
What are toeslagen and who can get them?
Toeslagen are allowances from the government that help people with a low income cover their costs, such as the health-care allowance (zorgtoeslag) and the rent allowance (huurtoeslag). You apply for them at the Belastingdienst, logging in with your DigiD. If you earn too much, you do not receive them.