Taxes & business banking for the self-employed

Self-employment

Self-employment

Calculating Income Tax for the Self-Employed

Tax time. No one likes it, and many people in Germany would argue even the tax office doesn’t like it. The accountants and tax agents, well, maybe they like it. That said, it is of course inevitable. Even if you have gotten professionals and experts to help you with your income tax it is important that you are able to account and prepare for income tax time. That means not just in the financial sense but in terms of the obligations upon you as a business owner in the administration sense. We have covered off extensively the differentiations in self-employment constellations, so this article is going to really hone in on the nuances and requirements of the specific tax element of calculating your income tax payables. And hopefully, you’ll be able to run these exercises on your own time and get prepared. The only thing worse that taxes, are surprise taxes, after all.

Kate Bailey

Freelance Editor

Self-employment

Trade Tax for Self-Employed - an explanation

This is an article for those who fall under the trade obligations of self employment. On our blog, you will find many articles about how to understand these distinctions and the implications each of those distinctions come with. What we are aiming to do here is to lay out what is required when it comes to trade tax, and specifically, the declarations you are required to make. Some of you may have hired a tax agent to handle this for you, but, the fact remains, you need to be properly informed and aware of all of the obligations that you must adhere to to keep your business successful, and also sustainable. So, we are going to explore this topic, and perhaps it is not the topic you want to fill you mindspace with, but it will inevitably take your mindspace and some point, so let’s come to good terms with it!

Kate Bailey

Freelance Editor

Self-employment

Freelancers - What Hourly Rate Should You Charge?

There are a lot of assumptions about Freelancers and self-employed people. Some are true - yes the freedom to make the schedule and ‘’choose’’ your clients is great. However, unlike a standard 9 to 5 job where your role is clear and defined, where the organisation you work for scales your salary and aligns it closely with specific experience and also - provides a pathway to earn more, freelancers are left to structure their income themselves as well. The assumption is - this is great, you can really charge what you are worth! However, clients tend to assume freelancers have a ‘’discounted rate’’ or that their direct rate entitles them to harsh negotiations. Quite simply, this is not the case. For freelancers, in this case, it is very important to know how much you should charge, and why - so you can negotiate your worth. In this article, we are going to take a look at what hourly rate you should be charging.

Kate Bailey

Freelance Editor