Freelancing in Berlin as an Australian

Berlin is one of the few cities in Europe where an Australian can turn up, line up clients and get a permit to work for themselves. The catch is the paperwork chain behind it.

The short version

Australians can apply for a residence permit for freelance work at Berlin's immigration office (LEA). You'll need a revenue forecast, letters of intent from clients, proof of health insurance and a Berlin address. The fee is €100 [1].
If you're 45 or older, you also need to show adequate retirement provision [1].
Once you can work, register with your Finanzamt using the online "questionnaire for tax registration" in ELSTER. That's how you get your tax number [2][3].
Small businesses with turnover up to €25,000 last year and no more than €100,000 this year can skip charging VAT [2][4].
Health insurance is your problem now: there's no employer paying half, and freelance teachers may also owe German pension contributions.

Freiberufler or Gewerbe: which one are you?

Germany splits self-employment into two camps, and which one you're in changes the permit, the registration and the tax.

	Freiberufler (liberal professions)	Gewerbetreibende (trade or business)
Typical work	Writing, translating, teaching, design, journalism, many IT and consulting roles, doctors, architects	Shops, online sales, cafés, agencies reselling services, most trades
Residence permit	Permit for freelance work [1]	Permit for self-employment, with a stricter economic test
Register with	Finanzamt only	The trade office (Gewerbeamt) first, then the Finanzamt
Trade tax	No	Yes, above an allowance
Chamber membership	No	Usually the IHK, with a fee
Bookkeeping	Simple income-over-expenses statement	Simple statement until you outgrow the thresholds

The legal test comes from the Income Tax Act's list of liberal professions: academic, artistic, literary, teaching and educational work and similar professions [1]. Software developers and consultants often qualify, but it depends on what you actually do. If the Finanzamt later decides you're running a business, it can reclassify you and charge trade tax. When in doubt, describe your work precisely in the questionnaire.

Step one: the freelance residence permit

Australians can enter Germany visa-free and apply for a residence permit after arriving, which is why so many start out on a working holiday visa or a tourist entry and then switch. You can't invoice anyone until the permit says you can work freelance.

What the LEA asks for

Berlin's service portal lists the documents for a residence permit for freelance work [1]:

application form, passport and one biometric photo
a revenue forecast, which works as your business plan (the LEA has a template)
at least two letters of intent from future clients describing the type and scope of work, plus any fee contracts
a CV with qualifications and references
a professional licence if your field needs one
for artists and language teachers, proof of other regular income such as savings
proof of adequate health insurance (statutory insurance generally counts; private policies are checked)
your lease and proof of rent, plus your Berlin registration certificate

The fee is €100 and processing takes about five to six weeks [1]. Appointments are now allocated by the LEA after it reviews your documents; the old online booking system is gone [1].

The 45-plus rule

If you're 45 or older, you need to show provision for retirement at 67. The figures on the LEA page, applying from 1 July 2024, are a monthly pension of €1,565.03 for at least 12 years, or assets of €225,364 [1]. Australian super, property and savings can be part of that picture, so bring statements. The page also notes that a settlement permit always requires adequate retirement provision [1].

Making the letters of intent count

The letters are where most applications succeed or fail. Clients with a German address help, but international clients, including Australian ones, can be part of the mix. Ask each client to put their letter on letterhead, describe the project, the expected volume and the rate, and sign it. Vague "we'd love to work with you" emails don't carry much weight.

Step two: the Finanzamt and your tax number

Once the permit's in hand, you need a tax number (Steuernummer) for invoices. It's separate from the lifelong tax ID you got after your Anmeldung.

Register for Mein ELSTER. Activation letters come by post and can take up to two weeks [3][5].
Fill in the "Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung", the tax registration questionnaire, online in ELSTER. Do it within a month of starting.
Estimate your revenue and profit for this year and next. These figures set your quarterly tax prepayments, so be realistic, not optimistic [2].
Choose whether to use the small business VAT rule. This is a box in the questionnaire, and opting out ties you to normal VAT for five calendar years [2][4].
Wait for your tax number by post. Your Finanzamt is the one for your home address; in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, for example, it's on Mehringdamm [2].
File every year online. Freelancers must file through ELSTER; paper returns from self-employed people are treated as not filed except in hardship cases [3].

VAT and the small business rule

Germany's standard VAT (Umsatzsteuer) is 19%. Since a reform on 1 January 2025, the small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung) works like this [2][4]:

Last year's net turnover must be no more than €25,000, and this year's no more than €100,000.
If you cross €100,000 during the year, normal VAT applies straight away from that point.
You don't add VAT to invoices and you can't reclaim VAT on your costs.
You generally don't file monthly or quarterly VAT returns.
You must still be able to receive e-invoices, but you don't have to issue them in the structured format.

Most new freelancers start under the rule. If you have big upfront costs, such as equipment, normal VAT can come out ahead because you reclaim the VAT you paid.

Invoicing Australian clients

A German invoice has formal requirements: your name and address, the client's, your tax number, an invoice number, the date, a description of the service and the amount. If you're under the small business rule, add a note that no VAT is charged under section 19 of the VAT Act.

For business services to clients outside the EU, such as an Australian company, German VAT generally doesn't apply even if you're a regular VAT payer, because the service is treated as supplied where the client is based. Your invoice should say so. Australian GST is usually the client's issue when they're a GST-registered business. Get professional advice if you sell to Australian consumers rather than businesses.

Payments from Australia land in a German or multi-currency account. Our guide on sending money between Australia and abroad covers the costs.

Health insurance and pension when you work for yourself

Health insurance is mandatory and it's the biggest fixed cost. Your options:

Statutory insurance (GKV), voluntary membership. You pay the full rate yourself, based on your income, but insurers assume a minimum income even in lean years. Contributions are capped at the 2026 ceiling of €69,750 a year [6].
Private insurance (PKV). Premiums are set by age and health, not income. It can be cheaper when you're young and healthy, but getting back into public insurance later is hard.
Artists and writers may qualify for the artists' social insurance fund (Künstlersozialkasse), which pays roughly half your health and pension contributions, much like an employer.

German pension insurance is voluntary for most freelancers. The big exception: self-employed teachers, including English teachers and many coaches and trainers, are generally compulsorily insured if they don't employ staff. The 2026 pension rate is 18.6% [7]. Check this before you price your lessons.

None of this connects to Medicare. Once you're living in Germany you're unlikely to qualify for it, so read Medicare when you live abroad before you leave.

The Australian side

Freelance income earned in Berlin is taxed in Germany under the Australia–Germany tax treaty, which treats independent professional work as business profits [8]. If you remain an Australian tax resident, you still declare it to the ATO and claim a foreign income tax offset. Most long-term freelancers in Berlin end up as Australian non-residents, so check our guide on Australian tax residency. Keep any Australian ABN details up to date, and don't assume a client paying in AUD changes where you're taxed.

For a peer review of your revenue forecast, or a recommendation for an English-speaking tax adviser, ask in Cooee Germany, our Facebook group for Australians in Germany.

Freelancing in Berlin: the freelance visa, the Finanzamt and VAT