Financial compensation for participation
Your participation in clinical trials is voluntary. There is no employment contract, and you can leave whenever you want to. This will of course have consequences for the financial compensation you are paid. If you decide to take part, you are doing something good because in any case you are helping in the development of medicines. You will be helping patients and be contributing to the prevention of illnesses in the future. Important work, both for yourself and your friends and family. But we understand, on the other hand, that you do not want to give us your time without getting nothing in return. That is why we offer you appropriate financial compensation to cover your time and expenses.

Level of compensation
The compensation is based on the minimum wage in combination with the amount of time and the burden for you as a volunteer. Depending on the research programme, the allowance varies between €103 to €192 per day. The longer the trials last and the more tests you have to undergo (e.g., the taking of blood samples), the higher the compensation. In addition you will receive a travel allowance of €0.19 net per kilometre, regardless of the means of transport. This travel allowance will be calculated using a postcode table and will amount to a minimum of €12 and a maximum of €160 per return journey (840 km).

The compensation is not a risk premium
The level of the compensation has nothing to do with the level of the risk. This is because our criterion is that the risk for you must not be greater than that for participation in generally accepted social activities. We compensate you purely for your investment in time, plus the mental and physical burden.

Payment and tax
After completion of the trials, we will pay your compensation plus the travel allowance into your bank account. This is a gross payment that in principle will be taxed as ‘income from work’. We therefore have to report this payment to the tax department. That is why we cannot accept Dutch taxpayers who do not have a burgerservicenummer (citizen service number, previously called the sofinummer) as volunteers. Volunteers from other countries have to pay tax in their own country in accordance with the rules and regulations applicable there.

The amount of tax you have to pay on this income depends on your personal situation. However, we must point out that the tax department has recently been checking more closely for income from participation in medical research.

Keep your receipts!
We notify the tax department of the total amount paid. The travel expenses, however, are not necessarily taxed. You should therefore keep any public transport tickets or enter the distance driven (€0.19 per km) on your income-tax returns. We can also send you a statement at the end of the year if you would find that helpful.

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