Germany self-employed net income calculator (Freiberufler)
Your income-tax-only net income as a German Freiberufler is revenue minus income tax on the amount above the 12,348 EUR basic allowance — with no trade tax at all, unlike a registered trade business.
Worked example: with Annual revenue of 70,000, this model computes Net income / year 55,587. See the full breakdown.
⚠ Illustrative rates Updated for 2026 · sources checked 2026-08-22
How freiberufler in Germany is calculated
Germany draws a sharp legal line between a Freiberufler (a catalogue liberal profession under §18 EStG — doctors, lawyers, tax advisors, architects, journalists, designers, IT consultants and similar) and a Gewerbetreibender (any other self-employed trade). The distinction is decided case by case by the local tax office, and it matters a great deal: only the trade business owes Gewerbesteuer (trade tax), typically 7% to 17% of profit depending on the municipality.
A Freiberufler skips trade tax entirely and pays only income tax (Einkommensteuer) on profit above the 12,348 EUR basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag) for 2026, at progressive rates rising from 14% toward 45%. This page approximates that curve with two illustrative bands rather than the full formula.
What this page does not include is mandatory health and pension insurance, which for a Freiberufler is arranged privately (or through the Künstlersozialkasse for eligible creative and publishing professions) rather than deducted automatically — and is typically the largest cost after income tax itself.
Worked example
| Annual revenue (EUR) | 70000 |
|---|---|
| Taxable profit (after allowance) ✓ | 57652 |
| Income tax ✓ | 14413 |
| Net income / year (before insurance) ✓ | 55587 |
Every row is computed by the engine from the inputs above. Rows marked ✓ are additionally pinned by a published self-test vector.
Frequently asked questions
How much net income from 70,000 EUR revenue in Germany?
After the 12,348 EUR basic allowance, the illustrative low-tier rate (25%) applies to the 57,652 EUR taxable profit, giving 14,413 EUR income tax and about 55,587 EUR net, before health and pension insurance.
Why does a Freiberufler pay less than a registered trade business?
Because trade tax (Gewerbesteuer), typically 7-17% of profit depending on the municipality, only applies to a Gewerbetreibender — a Freiberufler in a qualifying catalogue profession is exempt from it entirely.
Does this include health insurance?
No — a Freiberufler arranges health and pension insurance privately, so it is not a fixed payroll-style deduction. It typically costs more than the income tax shown here and is not included in this model.
Sources
- § 18 EStG — Einkünfte aus selbständiger Arbeit (Katalogberufe) · checked 2026-08-22
- Norman Finance — Taxes for Freelancers Germany 2026 Guide · checked 2026-08-22
- Jobbers — The Complete German Freelancer Tax Calculator & Guide 2026 · checked 2026-08-22
Estimate. Not tax advice. The rates in this calculator are illustrative: they reproduce the shape of the charge through 3 self-test cases, but they are not the official schedule, so the amount shown will not match your bill. Use the official source above for that.
Check the arithmetic yourself: how this calculator is verified — the formula behind every derived value, the 3 test cases the engine reproduces, and what the badge does and does not claim. Also available as machine-readable JSON.
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