Tax Matters

You too, as a freelancer, have to pay taxes, just like everyone else in employment. In addition, you have to invest in yourself. This requires the necessary financial investments. Fortunately, there are a number of tax breaks that you can take advantage of when you start out. Click on the figures to see which ones they are.

Check out the tax benefits

Tax benefits

1. Self-deployed deduction

You can think of the self-employment deduction as a reward for the risk you take as an entrepreneur. You can claim the self-employment deduction, which significantly reduces the final amount you have to pay taxes on. If you meet the hour criterion (1225 hours worked), you may deduct a fixed annual amount of 7,280 euros.

2. Starter's deduction

The start-up deduction is an increase in the Self-Employment Deduction and is intended for start-up entrepreneurs. This is for starters who started in that tax year. The additional deduction amounts to 2,123 euros. To qualify for this, you must meet the following 3 conditions:

  1. You are entitled to the self-employed deduction.
  2. In the 5 years preceding the tax year in question, you have not used the self-employed deduction more than 2 times
  3. In that same period, you were not an entrepreneur for at least one year

3. Investment deduction

For example, when you start as a freelancer, you need to purchase new equipment to perform your work. To a certain extent, your investments are taken into account. If you have invested in business assets in a fiscal year, you may be entitled to the small-scale investment deduction (KIA). This applies to entrepreneurs who have invested between 2,301 and 314,673 euros in business assets.

4. Fiscal retirement reserve (FOR)

Unfortunately, as a freelancer, you don't automatically build up a pension. Luckily, as an entrepreneur you can annually reserve a portion of your profits for your retirement provision, also called the fiscal retirement reserve (FOR). You do not have to pay tax on this amount immediately: you get a deferral of payment. The amount you can set aside is subject to a maximum. In 2018, it is 9.44 percent of the profit, although you must take into account a maximum amount of 8,775 euros.