To obtain a self-employment permit, you must have a registered residence address in Germany. So, once you have found long-term housing, you just need to gather the following documents and submit them to your local municipal office: Hey Hosna. You will then need a freelance visa before you can even begin this whole process. See this article with information about health insurance too. I don`t need to tell you that one of the challenges for freelancing in Germany is being able to keep an eye on your finances, incoming and outgoing invoices. Many freelancers in Germany have failed in their plans or lost a lot of money due to poor accounting. I know, I know; It is sometimes frustrating to spend almost more time being an accountant than doing your actual work. Why it matters: Within ten days of registering their address with the Immigration Office, each freelancer automatically receives a letter with their personal tax number. The ID number contains the tax ID number needed to get the tax number as a freelancer (please do not mix the two, because in German the former is known as an ID number and the latter as a tax number) The German tax system taxes private and professional income for freelancers together.

This means that freelancers pay tax on their income, just like employees. Tax rates in Germany are progressive. For 2022, you can earn up to €9,984 tax-free. You pay 14% on any additional income, a maximum of 45% on a profit above €277,826. Self-employment is generally different from other forms of self-employment because it is much easier. The freelancer does not need to establish a separate identity or trademark, either as a sole proprietor or as a business. They simply exchange their skills as a service under their own name, working with multiple clients and taking care of their own administration, taxes, and social security. For freelancers and self-employed individuals, income tax applies to everything you earn from your small business. In Germany, there is a threshold below which income is always exempt from tax. In 2016, this amount was €8,652 per year, or Every euro above this is taxed. The tax is payable to the tax office each year and must be declared by May 31 of the following year. It`s part of your tax return.

For the second or third year of operation, the tax office usually decides to set quarterly payments on the basis of previous statements. This means that instead of paying the full amount once a year, you will have to transfer some of it quarterly. This has the advantage that you can influence your cash flow in a safer/smoother way. According to the Income Tax Act and the Partnership Act, the following liberal professions are classified as self-employed activities, provided only that the freelancer acts according to his own expertise and independently: On the other hand, there are indications of a freelance relationship: only occasional tasks, the real and real ability to work with other clients and the freedom to work when and where they want. However, a simple delay in delivering results does not make a freelancer an employee. Freelancers are a suitable option for professionals who like the idea of being their own boss. Germany has experienced a kind of independent boom in the 21st century. There are nearly 1.5 million registered freelancers in the country, twice as many as twenty years ago. The main criteria for a person to move to Germany and work as a freelancer are: I wonder if I could use some of your references on my personal blog two50plusmovingtogermany.com as I found the information extremely helpful in my independent efforts. All references are listed on your website. Before you continue your research on a freelancer in Germany, you need to know what kind of freelance work you are going to do.

German law distinguishes between independent and independent commercial activity. The distinction is important because the two categories meet different registration and tax requirements. As a freelancer, you need to make sure that you don`t conflict with German laws on « fake freelance work, » which occurs when someone who is supposed to be a freelancer is considered an employee. This may be the case if you`ve only had one customer for an extended period of time or if you`re generating too much revenue from a single customer. Freelancing in Germany is an independent form of self-employment. Find out all about what freelancing is and how you can get involved in German freelancing. It looked like a job, but they want me to sign up as a freelancer, there`s an annual salary, benefits, but they mentioned that I had to do the taxes myself, so I was confused if it would be fake self-employment. I am also curious about how to proceed so as not to have problems with the tax office. As a freelancer, you don`t get paid time off, your employer doesn`t pay half of your health insurance, and you have to save for retirement yourself. The time you spend running your business and finding customers is also not paid. That`s why you have to charge more than regular employees.

If you`re a freelancer, you won`t receive any money while you`re sick. If you want sick pay, you`ll have to pay a little more for your health insurance each month1. You will only receive sick pay after 42 days1. There is a limit to the amount of sickness benefit you receive. With TK you get up to €112.88 per day2022, for up to 78 weeks. When talking about the importance of freelancers, it is a fact that many freelancers do not realize that they enter the business world in any way through their work, only becoming bosses of themselves. For those who want to live and work as freelancers in Germany, knowledge of the German language is an advantage. However, few people can learn a new language in a short period of time.

If you want to work as a freelancer in Germany, it is highly recommended to learn the basics of the language, introduce yourself and say « hello » and « thank you ». In addition, freelancers should research and learn the words they need while following the procedures to become a legal freelancer in Germany.