Cross-Border Tax Advice for Freelancers & Self-Employed Expats in Germany

TWO.TAX is the international brand of TWOTAX GROUP. The group includes Steuerbee & Partner, TwoTax LLC, TwoTax Ltd. and its Canadian affiliated company. It provides cross-border tax consulting for people and businesses whose affairs involve Germany and another jurisdiction.

The responsible entity, office, jurisdictions and deliverables are identified for every engagement.

For a scoped review, use the contact page and include the jurisdictions, tax years, deadlines, relevant correspondence and requested deliverable.

Freelancer essentials in Germany

• Freiberufler vs Gewerbe classification — it decides trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) and registration duties
• Registration with the Finanzamt, VAT-ID, Kleinunternehmer choice (€22,000/€50,000 thresholds)
• Quarterly VAT returns (UStVA), income tax prepayments (Vorauszahlungen), EÜR annual profit statement
• Foreign clients: reverse-charge invoicing, US clients and W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E, avoiding double social-security with Totalization certificates
• Visa holders: profit statements for visa renewal (visa profit proof)