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How is second income (full-time + freelance) taxed in Germany?

Personal Finance & Money Asked by Alex Bass on March 27, 2021

Hello ☀️ I am looking for some advice with some tax/finances questions. I am a software engineer, employed full time in Germany. I’m from the UK (EU citizen with no visa concerns, for now…). I earn >€56k, so I am already in the 42% tax bracket. I have only one income source – for my 2019 tax declaration I just had to enter the details on my Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.

I started doing some freelance development work for a client, charging an hourly rate. I don’t know what the end cost will be but let’s say for simplicity that it’s €1000.

My question is: how do I need to charge the client, and how much of this sum will I keep after tax?

I assume:

  • I have to add VAT (Umsatzsteuer, 16%) to the bill, bringing it to €1160;
  • When I receive the funds, I put away this €160 to another account for paying taxes;
  • €1000 gets added to my total earnings, meaning it will be taxed at 42%, meaning I will keep €580 for myself;
  • I put the 42% of the €1000 (€420) into another account ready for my next tax declaration;
  • In summary, there is €580 for me and €580 (€420 + €160) for the German government

Questions:

  • Is this assumption correct? If not, what have I missed?
  • Do you have any advice for my situation? I’m not asking for tax evasion advice, but perhaps registering a business or renting a business might be more optimal.

I heard there is a tax-free limit on freelance income but I don’t believe this applies to my situation, being full-time employed. I will go to the Finanzamt in any case to get my Steuernummer and Umsatzsteuernummer, but I really like to go in with knowledge beforehand.

One Answer

It is a complicated subject. Thus, I can only give vague hints.

Roughly, you are correct. But you can deduct expenses which you have for this 2nd job from the taxes, so maybe you don't have to pay taxes on the full 1000 €.

Besides, depending on the exact amount of your bills, it might be that you are not obliged to do the "full Umsatzsteuer" stuff. The "Kleinunternehmerregelung" (small enterpreneurs rule) simplifies a lot.

You might find more details here (in German):

And remember to notify your employer about your second income, some work contracts require this.

Answered by glglgl on March 27, 2021

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