Set up as a freelancer in Germany
The no-brainer way to start your freelance business!
- Get up and running as quickly as possible
- Simple and unbureaucratic establishment
- Receive personalised advice throughout the set-up process
- bookkeeping
- annual accounts
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one-time*
A dedicated consultant
On demand telephone support
Employment contract template (full-time)
Employment contract template (part-time)
Temporary personnel contract template
Internship contract template
Freelancer contract template
Letterhead, legal disclosure and invoice templates
Completion of the trade registration form (Gewerbeanmeldung)
Coordination of all necessary legal formalities
Timely preparation of your tax office questionnaire (Finanzamtfragebogen) for the application of your VAT ID (USt.-ID)
Loan contract template
Digital handbook for founders: Firma gründen (currently only available in German)
Protect your brand, company name and logo in Germany
Protect your company’s most valuable asset with an EU trademark
one-time*
Direct line to the firma.de executive team
Set up of annual accounting Starter 88 Euro
Set up of bookkeeping services Starter
A dedicated consultant
On demand telephone support
Employment contract template (full-time)
Employment contract template (part-time)
Temporary personnel contract template
Internship contract template
Freelancer contract template
Letterhead, legal disclosure and invoice templates
Completion of the trade registration form (Gewerbeanmeldung)
Coordination of all necessary legal formalities
Timely preparation of your tax office questionnaire (Finanzamtfragebogen) for the application of your VAT ID (USt.-ID)
Loan contract template
Digital handbook for founders: Firma gründen (currently only available in German)
Protect your brand, company name and logo in Germany
Protect your company’s most valuable asset with an EU trademark
Net price
Classic | All-In | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
firma.de | ||||
Direct line to the firma.de executive team | ||||
Set up of annual accounting Starter 88 Euro | ||||
Set up of bookkeeping services Starter | ||||
A dedicated consultant | ||||
On demand telephone support | ||||
Employment contract template (full-time) | ||||
Employment contract template (part-time) | ||||
Temporary personnel contract template | ||||
Internship contract template | ||||
Freelancer contract template | ||||
Letterhead, legal disclosure and invoice templates | ||||
Completion of the trade registration form (Gewerbeanmeldung) | ||||
Coordination of all necessary legal formalities | ||||
Timely preparation of your tax office questionnaire (Finanzamtfragebogen) for the application of your VAT ID (USt.-ID) | ||||
Loan contract template | ||||
Other Services | ||||
Digital handbook for founders: Firma gründen (currently only available in German) | Optional | Optional | ||
ETL IP Patent- und Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH | ||||
Protect your brand, company name and logo in Germany Provision of legal services is by ETL IP Patent- und Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Clayallee 343, 14169 Berlin. | Optional | Optional | ||
Protect your company’s most valuable asset with an EU trademark Provision of legal services is by ETL IP Patent- und Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Clayallee 343, 14169 Berlin. | Optional | Optional | ||
399€ excluding tax | 487€ excluding tax | |||
Start | Start |
Note:
* The notary fees and the costs for entry in the Handelsregister (commercial register) are not included in the price and will be charged separately.
** firma.de Firmenbaukasten AG does not provide legal advice itself; firma.de works exclusively with lawyers and independent tax advisors who specialise in the field of limited liability entrepreneurial companies. Please make an appointment: +49 611 17207-0 or by e-mail at support@firma.de.
No minimum capital required
No minimum start-up capital is required to set up a sole proprietorship. Entrepreneurial decisions can be made independently and quickly.
Fast, easy and inexpensive set-up
To get started as a sole proprietor, you do not need a notary or a commercial register (Handelsregister) registration. Thus, saving you time and money.
Accounting exemptions
Sole Proprietorships are exempt from publishing annual accounts if its annual turnover is below €600,000 and profit is below €60,000. Fewer accounting obligations mean lower tax adviser fees.
As an Einzelunternehmen, you keep 100 % of your profits, but you are also 100% liable for damages with your private assets.
A Einzelunternehmen consists of one natural person, who operates as a self-employed businessperson, and may or may not have employees. Sole proprietors can be freelancers, farmers or tradespersons.
To set up a Einzelunternehmen you do not need a minimum share capital, and generally, there are few accounting obligations. They are also exempt from a lot of formalities like notarisation and entry into the commercial register (Handelsregister).
Einzelunternehmen must be registered with the tax office (Finanzamt) for taxation and regulatory reasons.
Einzelunternehmen can take the form of a small trader (Kleingewerbetreibender), a freelancer (Freiberufler) or a registered merchant (Eingetragener Kaufmann)
If your annual profits are lower than € 24,500 your business income is exempt from trade tax (Gewerbesteuer).
Freelancers (Freiberufler) do not have to pay trade tax, regardless of their profit.
You can learn more about Einzelunternehmen taxation in our handy guide here.
Unlike the corporate forms with limited liability (i.e. AG, GmbH or UG), freelancers are fully and personally liable. The owner runs the business at his or her own risk, and their private assets become the business's assets.
Besides cash, all other kinds of assets are part of the freelancer’s liability, e.g. vehicles, business premises or machines and devices.
On the plus side, setting up a freelance business is easy because there is no share capital to raise and there are fewer bureaucratic obstacles.
If you want to avoid full, unlimited personal liability choose the GmbH or UG as your corporate form. If you cannot raise the required share capital of € 25,000 for a GmbH, the UG is your best alternative to start a limited liability company in Germany.
Freelancers can keep 100% of their profits. The earnings are taxed via their personal tax rate.
If you want to set up a sole proprietorship of some type it is sometimes not so easy to find out for sure which of the three classifications apply to you: Are you a freelancer, a farmer or a tradesperson? Here is a short summary for each category:
1. Farmer Sole Proprietorship
Unlike the other groups, members of this category are easy to identify. In Germany farming and forestry are recognized occupations requiring formal training.
2. Freelance Sole Proprietorship
Finding out whether you can be categorized as a freelancer is not as easy. For a list of typical freelance professions (in German) click here.
Your always have to consider your individual case. The final classification is made by the competent revenue office (Finanzamt).
3. Tradeperson Sole Proprietorship
Traders (Gewerbetreibende) are defined as business people who are neither farmers nor freelancers. If your business activity is not listed as a freelance profession and you are not a professional farmer it is very likely that you will be considered a trader. The final classification is made by the Finanzamt.
Trade tax (Gewerbesteuer)
If you are a freelancer, the German Trade Tax Act (GewStG) does not apply to your business.
Income tax (Einkommensteuer)
Regardless of your classification as a sole proprietor, you must pay income tax, which calculated from what your business earned throughout a financial year. Profit withdrawal does not affect your tax liability.
VAT (Umsatzsteuer)
The Value Added Tax Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz) applies to every sole proprietorship (freelance or otherwise). Calculating the sales tax on your transactions and keeping records of your calculations are an essential part of running your business.
If you have two sole proprietorships, you must submit a VAT return for each of them in a single document to the local tax office (Finanzamt) that you registered your first sole proprietorship at.
Tax exemptions
If your annual turnover is lower than € 17,500, you are considered a Kleinunternehmer (small trader) and are therefore exempt from VAT. This small business classification applies to other types of companies as well.
Turn your name into a business name
The first impression that customers will have of your business is its name - so choose wisely!
For freelance businesses, the freelancer usually turns his or her personal name into the company name, e.g. “Iris Smith”.
Regulations for registered traders
If you have to enter your Sole Proprietorship in the commercial register (Handelsregister), you can choose any suitable company name you want, but it must include the suffix "eingetragene Kauffrau" or "eingetragener Kaufmann" (or the abbreviations e. K., e. Kfr., e. Kfm.).
Sole Proprietorships not listed in the Handelsregister must not add the suffix.
firma.de tip: Add a meaningful business designation
In addition to a company name, sole proprietors are allowed to choose a business or sector designation, e. g. “digital technics” for Marco Mayer Web Solutions e. K. The business designation is meant to have a promotional and decorative effect.
However, the designation must not be confused with the company name that you use to represent your freelancer business in official business dealings.
When you choose a suitable business designation, please note that it must not evoke deceptive associations about your company’s size, capabilities and services. For example, a solo painter and decorator cannot choose “global painting services” as the business designation is misleading.
We've got a whole article about naming Einzelunternehmen here!
An overview of taxes
Find out everything you need to know about Umsatzsteuer, Einkommensteuer and Gewerbesteuer.
How to name your Einzelunter-nehmen
A guide for choosing the right business name for small traders, freelancers & registered merchants in Germany