Germany · Freelance

Freelancing in Germany as an expat: what you really take home

By Leonard Chioveanu · Updated 22 October 2026 · 7 min read

As a freelancer in Germany you keep your whole invoice, but you pay all of your health and care insurance yourself, have no employer contribution, no paid holiday and no sick pay. To match the net pay of a €60,000 employee you need a profit of roughly €60,400 before you have saved anything for a pension.

Freelancer (Freiberufler) or business (Gewerbe)?

Liberal professions such as IT consultants, designers, translators, teachers and doctors are usually Freiberufler: they register only with the tax office and pay no trade tax. Most other self-employed work is a Gewerbe, which needs a trade registration and may pay trade tax above €24,500 profit, mostly offset against income tax. This guide assumes Freiberufler.

What a freelancer pays

• Income tax on profit, using the same scale as employees, but without the €1,230 employee allowance. You pay it in quarterly advances set by the tax office.
• Health insurance at the full rate: 14.6% plus your insurer's extra contribution (2.9% on average), on profit up to €69,750. Employees pay only half.
• Long-term care insurance: 4.2% without children, also on profit up to €69,750.
• Pension: most freelancers have no compulsory pension insurance. Some professions are exceptions, including teachers, nurses and artists through the KSK.
• VAT is charged to your clients and passed on, so it is not your income. Below €25,000 turnover you can use the small business scheme and not charge it.

€60,000 salary vs €80,000 freelance profit

Single, no children, no church tax, statutory health insurance with a 2.9% extra contribution. Freelance profit is after business costs. 2026 rules.

The freelancer looks €900 a month better off, but has not saved for a pension yet. An employee's pension contributions of €5,580 a year are matched by the employer, so €11,160 goes into the state pension. Saving the same amount privately would use up the whole difference, although private pension contributions such as a Rürup pension are partly tax-deductible.

Day rate rule of thumb

A full-time employee works around 220 days a year. A freelancer, after holidays, sick days, admin and gaps between projects, usually bills 160 to 180. To reach €80,000 profit with €5,000 of costs on 170 billable days, you need a day rate of about €500.

Before you switch

• Health insurance choice. Freelancers can choose private insurance, which can be cheaper when young and healthy but rises with age and is hard to leave.
• False self-employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit). If you work for one client only, under their direction, the authorities may treat you as an employee and the client must pay social insurance backdated. Several clients help.
• Visa. Many residence permits are tied to employment. Freelancing usually needs a separate permit.

Compare freelance and employee pay →

This guide is general information based on the tax rules we could verify for 2026, not tax or financial advice. Rules change and personal situations differ, so check with the tax authority or a qualified adviser before you act. Spotted a mistake? Email contact@expatcents.com.