Freelancers who have filled in their Personal Income Tax Return through the digital accounting platform SOLO paid more than €11 million in taxes and contributions to the government for 2023.
The deadline for individuals with income from independent sources (self-employment, freelance, rents, crypto, dividends, allowances, stock market sales) to declare their income through the Personal Income Tax Return was May 27, 2024. This year over 8,100 single returns were completed and submitted through SOLO.
The fiscal changes that came into effect in August 2022 affected the amount of tax paid in 2023, resulting in significant increases for certain categories of freelancers. Specifically, new thresholds for health and pension contributions were introduced, the gross minimum wage was increased, and the threshold for classifying an independent activity under the income norm was lowered from €100,000 to €25,000. This mainly affected IT professionals.
According to the data analyzed by SOLO, the IT sector contributed the most in taxes, totaling 4.5 million euros, followed by consultants (€1.4 million), marketing and communication specialists (€1.1 million), and doctors (€700,000). Other top contributors included coaching specialists, trainers and teachers, who paid 400,000 euros, and designers and couriers, who each paid 300,000 euros.
Of all the self-employed who completed and submitted their Personal Income Tax Return through SOLO, more than 3,300 also had an employment contract in 2023, more than 850 were students and more than 500 had income from other sources.
"We are observing a growing trend of people who already have a stable job or are still students, but want to diversify their income with additional activities. However, they need fiscal and legislative predictability, which has been lacking in recent years due to significant tax changes that have affected freelancers", says Annemarie Fabian, Head of Growth at SOLO.
More than 3,600 self-employed people donated 3.5% of their income tax to over 630 NGOs through SOLO, with the total amount donated to these organizations reaching 90,000 euro. This was the last year to redirect 3.5% of income tax from self-employment to support NGOs. From next year, only those who receive salaries can do so.
