Freelancer taxes in Germany: an overview

As a freelancer (Freiberufler) you usually pay income tax and, unless you are a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer), VAT; trade tax only hits trade businesses, not freelance activity (§ 2 (1) GewStG). Without a tax adviser you file income tax and VAT returns within seven months after the year ends, for 2026 by Monday, 2 August 2027 (31 July: Saturday).

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Income tax advance payments: 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December (§ 37 (1) EStG).
Profit: Usually by EÜR; the bookkeeping limits of § 141 AO apply to commercial businesses and to farmers and foresters.
With a tax adviser: the deadline is the end of February of the second following year (§ 149 (3) AO).

Who is a freelancer – and what does it mean for tax?

The Income Tax Act lists freelance activities: the independently performed scientific, artistic, literary, teaching or educational activity, and the independent professional work of, for example, doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, tax advisers, journalists, interpreters and translators and similar professions (§ 18 (1) no. 1 EStG). Anyone who is none of these but takes part independently, continuously and with the intention of making a profit in general economic activity runs a trade business (§ 15 (2) EStG). Whether your profession counts as freelance is decided by the tax office; if in doubt, ask there or ask your tax adviser.

The difference mainly works out like this:

	Freelancer	Trade business
Type of income	Income from self-employment (§ 2 (1) no. 3 EStG)	Income from trade or business (§ 2 (1) no. 2 EStG)
Trade tax	None	Yes, with a €24,500 allowance for individuals (§ 2 (1), § 11 (1) GewStG)
Profit	Surplus of income over expenses possible (§ 4 (3) EStG)	Bookkeeping duty possible if the tax office finds more than €800,000 total turnover or more than €80,000 profit (§ 141 (1) AO)
Notification	Tell the tax office when you start (§ 138 (1) AO)	Notify the municipality of the business (§ 138 (1) AO)

How to get your tax number is explained in Tax number in Germany: applying with the tax registration questionnaire online.

Income tax for freelancers

Your income from self-employment is subject to income tax (§ 2 (1) sentence 1 no. 3 EStG). Income here means profit (§ 2 (2) no. 1 EStG), which you usually determine with the EÜR: business income minus business expenses (§ 4 (3) EStG). You transmit the EÜR electronically in the officially prescribed data set (§ 60 (4) EStDV); the income tax return too, if you have income from self-employment (§ 25 (4) EStG). On request the tax office can waive electronic transmission to avoid undue hardship. More on the EÜR: EÜR template: preparing and sending the income surplus statement in ELSTER.

The tax is based on taxable income, not on profit. For 2026: up to €12,348 (basic allowance) the tariff income tax is 0. Above that it rises in steps by formulas; from €69,879 of taxable income 42 percent applies to each further euro, from €277,826 45 percent (§ 32a (1) EStG). Spouses assessed jointly pay twice the tax amount calculated for half of their joint income (§ 32a (5) EStG).

Advance payments: You pay advance payments on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December on the tax you are expected to owe for the year. The tax office sets them by an advance payment notice; they are generally based on the income tax of the last assessment (§ 37 (1) and (3) EStG).

VAT for freelancers

Freelancers are also businesses under the VAT Act, because every continuing activity to earn income is commercial or professional (§ 2 (1) UStG). Two routes:

Small business owner: Your turnover is exempt if total turnover in the previous calendar year was no more than €25,000 and is no more than €100,000 in the current year (§ 19 (1) UStG). You then show no VAT and have no input VAT deduction (Finanzamt Hessen). Details and the waiver trap: VAT return for a small business in Germany: do I have to file?.
Standard taxation: VAT is generally 19 percent (§ 12 (1) UStG). You file advance returns by the tenth day after the end of the return period (§ 18 (1) UStG). That is the calendar quarter, or the calendar month if the previous year's tax was more than €9,000; if you start the activity, for the years 2021 to 2026 the expected tax of the current year decides in the founding year (over €9,000: calendar month, otherwise calendar quarter), and in the following year the actual tax of the previous year, converted to an annual amount (§ 18 (2) sentence 6 UStG). On top comes the tax return for the calendar year (§ 18 (3) UStG). How the ELSTER transmission works is explained in German advance VAT return (UStVA): filing online, deadlines and permanent extension.

Some freelance services are exempt (for example medical treatment, § 4 no. 14 UStG) or reduced (for example copyright, § 12 (2) no. 7 lit. c UStG).

Freelancers have one special feature: on request the tax office can permit you to calculate the tax not on agreed but on received consideration, as far as you perform supplies from an activity as a member of a liberal profession (§ 20 sentence 1 no. 3 UStG). You then owe the VAT only once the customer has paid.

If you have clients in other EU countries, special place rules apply to services to businesses: a service supplied to a business for its business is in principle performed where the recipient runs its business (§ 3a (2) UStG). You check further duties, such as the recapitulative statement (§ 18a UStG), separately for your case.

By when do I have to file? Deadlines at a glance

What	Deadline	Source
Income tax advance payment	10 March, 10 June, 10 September, 10 December	§ 37 (1) EStG
Advance VAT return	Tenth day after the end of the return period	§ 18 (1) UStG
Income and VAT return without a tax adviser	Seven months after the end of the calendar year: 31 July 2026 for 2025, 31 July 2027 for 2026, which is a Saturday, so the deadline ends on Monday, 2 August 2027	§ 149 (2) AO, § 108 (3) AO
The same returns with a tax adviser	Last day of February of the second calendar year after the tax period: 28 February 2027 for 2025, which is a Sunday, so the deadline ends on Monday, 1 March 2027	§ 149 (3) AO, § 108 (3) AO

The tax office can require you to file earlier, for example if you did not file returns for the previous year or filed late (§ 149 (4) AO). If the tax office asks you to file, you must do so (§ 149 (1) sentence 2 AO).

Which mistakes happen often?

Planning for trade tax although you are a freelancer. It only hits trade businesses (§ 2 (1) GewStG). If the tax office classes your activity as a trade, that changes.
Forgetting the advance payments. They are due quarterly (§ 37 (1) EStG), not only with the notice.
Filing an advance return as a small business owner. Under standard taxation it generally counts as a waiver of the small business scheme (Finanzamt Hessen).
Showing VAT in the invoice although you are a small business owner. Instead you must refer to § 19 (1) UStG (Finanzamt Hessen).
Mixing up the deadlines. Without a tax adviser 31 July, with a tax adviser end of February of the second following year (§ 149 AO).
Throwing receipts away. Accounting vouchers are kept for eight years (§ 147 (3) AO).

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT prepares your returns from your receipts. In three steps:

Upload receipts: You upload your invoices and receipts. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates; you check and confirm.
Create returns: VAT GPT prepares the advance VAT return (monthly or quarterly), the annual VAT return, the EÜR and the income tax return. In the income tax return you choose your role: self-employed (freelancer) or trade business; it includes a section for the EÜR annex.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, everything goes via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

Are you just starting out? In the tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietorships, you choose in VAT GPT whether you apply the small business scheme or waive it. For your tax adviser there is a data export with your receipts and a DATEV file. There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay trade tax as a freelancer? No, trade tax only hits trade businesses (§ 2 (1) GewStG). Freelance activity is not one (§ 15 (2) EStG).

Do I have to pay VAT as a freelancer? You are a business (§ 2 (1) UStG). If you are a small business owner your turnover is exempt (§ 19 (1) UStG); otherwise the rate is generally 19 percent (§ 12 (1) UStG).

How high is the basic allowance? For 2026 it is €12,348 (§ 32a (1) EStG).

When do I file my income tax return? Without a tax adviser seven months after the end of the calendar year; with a tax adviser until the end of February of the second following year (§ 149 (2) and (3) AO).

Do I have to prepare a balance sheet? As a freelancer, as a rule not: you can determine the profit by EÜR (§ 4 (3) EStG). The bookkeeping limits of § 141 AO concern commercial businesses and farmers and foresters.

Do I have to register my freelance activity? You tell the competent tax office when you start (§ 138 (1) AO).

Do I need tax software? You must transmit the returns electronically (§ 25 (4) EStG). What matters in software is explained in Tax software for the self-employed in Germany: what matters.