The Freelance Tax Index 2026
Almost every published comparison of freelance taxation compares income tax rates. For a self-employed person that is the wrong number. Income tax is often the smaller half of the bill: the larger half is mandatory social contributions, which follow completely different rules — different bases, different ceilings, and in several countries a minimum payable even when you earn nothing at all. This index models both.
We calculated what a single sole trader with no dependants actually owes in income tax plus compulsory social contributions on €30,000, €60,000 and €100,000 of annual business profit, in 15 countries, using 2026 figures taken from official tax authorities and PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries. Every figure is sourced. Where a 2026 number could not be verified, the country is flagged rather than estimated, and one country's third income level is left blank rather than modelled outside its regime.
Key findings
- The spread is enormous — 0.0% to 50.1%. At €100,000 of profit, a freelancer in Italy pays 50.1% of it in tax and contributions, keeping €49,940. The same freelancer in Singapore keeps €86,604. That is a difference of €36,664 a year on identical work.
- 5 of 15 countries charge you money at zero profit. A freelancer who earns nothing still owes roughly €6,587 a year in Poland, €3,509 in Estonia and €3,337 in Germany. This is the single most under-reported fact in freelance finance, and it is why a bad year is far more dangerous in some countries than others.
- France charges contributions on turnover, not profit. Under the micro-entrepreneur regime, URSSAF takes 25.6% of every euro invoiced, with no ceiling and no deduction for costs. A French freelancer with heavy expenses pays exactly the same as one with none — a structure no other country in this index uses.
- Poland's social contributions are flat, which makes them regressive. Standard ZUS is roughly PLN 23,100 a year whether you earn PLN 60,000 or PLN 600,000. At low incomes it is one of the heaviest burdens in Europe; at high incomes it is one of the lightest.
- Germany's low headline burden is an illusion of scope. Most German self-employed people are not required to join the state pension or unemployment insurance at all — only health cover is compulsory. The number looks competitive precisely because no retirement provision is inside it.
Effective burden by country
Income tax + mandatory social contributions as a percentage of business profit. Sorted by the €100,000 column. Lower is lighter.
| Country | Social contribution | €30,000 | €60,000 | €100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | None for expatriates | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Singapore | CPF MediSave (compulsory portion only) | 9.9% | 12.9% | 13.4% |
| United States | Self-employment tax (Social Security + Medicare) | 19.0% | 22.1% | 26.9% |
| Australia | Medicare levy | 13.3% | 22.6% | 27.6% |
| United Kingdom | Class 4 National Insurance | 13.3% | 20.0% | 28.8% |
| Canada* | CPP (both employee and employer halves) | 25.8% | 29.1% | 30.5% |
| Ireland | PRSI Class S + Universal Social Charge | 12.3% | 25.1% | 35.5% |
| Netherlands* | Zvw healthcare levy (national insurance sits inside the tax rate) | 34.8% | 35.8% | 36.5% |
| Poland* | ZUS — a flat monthly amount independent of income | 32.4% | 35.6% | 37.8% |
| Spain* | RETA — income-banded flat monthly cuota | 32.3% | 34.9% | 38.9% |
| Estonia | Social tax (33%) | 35.2% | 38.3% | 39.5% |
| Portugal* | Segurança Social — 21.4% on 70% of income | 28.1% | 34.4% | 40.0% |
| Germany | Statutory health + long-term care insurance | 29.4% | 37.1% | 40.8% |
| Italy | INPS Gestione Separata | 43.1% | 45.8% | 50.1% |
| France | URSSAF cotisations — levied on TURNOVER | 28.8% | 34.1% | n/a |
* indicates a country with at least one unverified 2026 figure. Local currency amounts converted from EUR at ECB reference rates of 2026-08-07.
What you owe at zero profit
The most consequential number for a freelancer is not the rate at €100,000 — it is the floor. Employment income stops when work stops; several social security systems do not. These are the annual amounts still payable by an established sole trader whose profit for the year is zero.
| Country | Owed at zero profit | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | €6,587/yr | ZUS — a flat monthly amount independent of income |
| Estonia | €3,509/yr | Social tax (33%) |
| Germany | €3,337/yr | Statutory health + long-term care insurance |
| Spain | €2,460/yr | RETA — income-banded flat monthly cuota |
| Portugal | €240/yr | Segurança Social — 21.4% on 70% of income |
| All others | €0 | Contributions are proportional to income and fall to zero with it |
Start-up reliefs materially reduce these in the first years — Spain's tarifa plana (€80/month for 12 months), Poland's six contribution-free months followed by 24 at a reduced base, and Portugal's 12-month exemption. The figures above describe an established freelancer past those windows.
Is there a ceiling?
Whether social contributions stop at some income level decides how a system treats success. Capped systems become proportionally cheaper as you earn more; uncapped ones do not.
| Country | Ceiling | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Partial | Social Security portion caps at $184,500 of earnings; Medicare is uncapped. |
| United Kingdom | Uncapped | No ceiling — the rate drops to 2% above the upper profits limit but never stops. |
| Canada | Capped | CPP stops at the YMPE ($74,600); CPP2 above it is not modelled. |
| Australia | Uncapped | The 2% Medicare levy applies to all income above the low-income threshold. |
| Germany | Capped | Health and care contributions stop at €69,750 of assessed income. |
| France | Uncapped | No ceiling whatsoever, and the base is gross turnover rather than profit. |
| Spain | Capped | The cuota tops out at €1,606/month regardless of how much you earn. |
| Italy | Capped | Contributions stop at €122,295 of professional income. |
| Netherlands | Capped | The Zvw levy caps at €79,409; national insurance is confined to bracket 1. |
| Ireland | Uncapped | PRSI has no ceiling, and USC adds a 3% self-employed surcharge above €100,000. |
| Portugal | Capped | The contribution base caps at 12 × IAS per month (€6,445.56). |
| Poland | Flat | ZUS social contributions are a FLAT amount, identical at every income level. |
| Estonia | Capped | Social tax caps at €36,867.60 a year. |
| United Arab Emirates | Capped | Nothing to cap — there is no personal income tax. |
| Singapore | Capped | MediSave caps at S$7,680 a year for those under 35. |
Methodology
The model calculates, for each country, the income tax and compulsory social contributions payable by a resident single individual with no dependants and no other income, operating as an unincorporated sole trader under that country's standard regime. "Profit" means net business income after deductible expenses, before income tax and before social contributions.
Where contributions are deductible against the income tax base, the model applies the deduction in the correct order. Where a country's income tax is a formula rather than brackets — Germany's §32a tariff — the formula is implemented rather than approximated. Personal allowances, tax credits and self-employment deductions are applied where their 2026 values are confirmed.
Four deliberate limits are worth stating plainly. National level only: US state tax, Canadian provincial tax, Spanish regional IRPF, Italian regional and municipal surcharges and German church tax are excluded, because they vary within a country — Canada is the one exception, where a flat 10% provincial assumption was unavoidable and is flagged accordingly. Standard regimes only: elective beneficial regimes such as Italy's forfettario, Poland's ryczałt and Portugal's IFICI are described in the country notes but not used for the headline figure. No voluntary provision: where retirement saving is optional (Germany, Australia, Singapore beyond MediSave) the cost of matching an employee's pension is not added, which flatters those countries. Currency: EUR amounts are converted at ECB reference rates of 2026-08-07; this compares equal nominal sums, not equal purchasing power.
Figures are planning estimates for editorial and research use, not tax advice. Where a 2026 figure could not be verified against an official or tier-one source, the country carries a confidence flag and the specific gap is named in its notes below. France's €100,000 column is blank because that income falls outside the micro-BNC ceiling of €83,600 — modelling it would have required the régime réel, which we could not verify, so we left it empty rather than guess.
Country notes and sources
United States
Sole proprietor (Schedule C), federal only, single filer · confidence: high
- Federal only. State income tax adds 0% (TX, FL, WA and six others) to roughly 13% (California) on top.
- Half of self-employment tax is deductible against taxable income, which the model applies.
United Kingdom
Sole trader, Self Assessment, 2026/27 · confidence: high
- The personal allowance tapers away above £100,000, creating an effective 60% marginal band — the model applies this.
- Class 2 NI is no longer compulsory for most sole traders; only Class 4 is modelled.
Canada
Sole proprietor, federal + 10% assumed provincial · confidence: medium
- Provincial tax is modelled as a flat 10% of taxable income. Real rates range from roughly 8% (Alberta at low incomes) to well over 20% (Quebec at high incomes) — this is the single largest simplification in the index.
- Self-employed Canadians pay both halves of CPP; half is deductible.
Caveats: Provincial rate is an assumption, not a published figure. Treat Canada as indicative only.
Australia
Sole trader, 2025–26 income year · confidence: high
- Australia is unusual: sole traders have NO compulsory retirement contribution. Superannuation is voluntary, so the headline burden understates the real cost of matching an employee's package by roughly 12% of earnings.
Sources: ATO — Individual income tax rates
Germany
Freiberufler / sole trader, §32a EStG tariff · confidence: high
- Germany is the major outlier on pensions: most self-employed people are NOT required to join the state pension or unemployment insurance at all. Only health and care cover is compulsory.
- That freedom is also the trap — the headline burden looks low precisely because no retirement provision is included.
- Health contributions are charged on a minimum assessment base of €1,318.33/month even at zero profit, which is where the €3,337 floor comes from.
- Genuine liberal professions (Freiberufler) are exempt from trade tax (Gewerbesteuer); traders are not.
Sources: Bundesfinanzministerium — Die wichtigsten steuerlichen Änderungen 2026, krankenkassen.de — Rechengrößen in der Sozialversicherung 2026, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Germany
France
Micro-entrepreneur (BNC, profession libérale) · confidence: high
- France is structurally different from every other country here: micro-entrepreneur contributions are charged on GROSS TURNOVER, not profit, and there is no ceiling. A freelancer with high costs pays the same as one with none.
- The BNC rate reached its final phase-in step of 25.6% in 2026, up from 21.1% before July 2024.
- The micro-BNC regime is capped at €83,600 of turnover, which is why the €100,000 column is blank — above it you move to the régime réel, which this index does not model.
- Income tax is charged on turnover minus a flat 34% allowance; actual expenses are not deductible.
Caveats: The €100,000 level falls outside the micro-BNC ceiling and is deliberately not modelled rather than estimated.
Sources: Service-Public.gouv.fr — Barème de l'impôt sur le revenu 2026, URSSAF micro-entrepreneur rates 2026
Spain
Autónomo, estimación directa, state + default regional scale · confidence: medium
- Spain is the only country in this index with a hard floor: an autónomo owes roughly €205 every month — about €2,460 a year — even at zero or negative profit.
- The IRPF scale shown is the state scale plus the default regional half. Actual top rates range from about 45% in Madrid to about 54% in the Comunitat Valenciana, so the real figure depends on where you live.
- New autónomos pay a flat €80/month for the first 12 months (tarifa plana), extendable a further year at low incomes.
- Spain has NO VAT registration threshold — IVA applies from the first euro invoiced.
Caveats: The model assumes the autónomo selects the minimum contribution base within their income band, which is the common but not universal choice. The 2026 RETA table is a rollover of the 2025 table; the specific BOE instrument was not confirmed.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Spain, Infoautónomos — Cuota de autónomos 2026
Italy
Ordinary regime, professional without a cassa (Gestione Separata) · confidence: high
- Italy cut its second IRPEF bracket from 35% to 33% effective 1 January 2026 — any source still showing 35% is describing 2025.
- Regional (1.23–3.33%) and municipal (0–0.9%) surcharges are excluded here because they vary by address; add roughly 2–4 points for a real-world figure.
- Most Italian freelancers under €85,000 elect the regime forfettario instead, which substitutes a single 15% tax (5% for the first five years) on a fixed percentage of revenue. That regime is materially cheaper than the ordinary one modelled here.
- Professionals can legally recharge a 4% rivalsa INPS to clients on top of their fee.
Caveats: The forfettario profitability coefficients could not be verified for 2026, so the cheaper regime is described but not scored.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Italy, Assolombarda — Gestione separata INPS, valori 2026 (Circolare INPS n. 8/2026)
Netherlands
ZZP'er, Box 1, before heffingskortingen · confidence: medium
- The Dutch bracket-1 rate of 35.75% already bundles national insurance (AOW/Anw/Wlz) — there is no separate pension line for the self-employed.
- Self-employed people are excluded from employee insurance entirely: no unemployment cover, no state disability cover. Private AOV insurance is an additional real cost not shown here.
- The zelfstandigenaftrek is being phased out fast — €3,750 in 2024, €2,470 in 2025, €1,200 in 2026, and legislated to fall further.
Caveats: IMPORTANT: Dutch tax credits (algemene heffingskorting up to €3,115 and arbeidskorting up to €5,685) are NOT applied, because the 2026 taper schedule could not be verified. The Netherlands figures are therefore an UPPER BOUND — the real burden is materially lower, especially below €40,000.
Sources: KVK — Belastingtarieven 2026, Belastingdienst — Percentages inkomensafhankelijke bijdrage Zvw
Ireland
Sole trader, Schedule D, 2026 · confidence: high
- Ireland charges the self-employed a 3% USC surcharge above €100,000 that employees do not pay, taking the top USC rate to 11%.
- PRSI Class S rises from 4.2% to 4.35% on 1 October 2026; the model uses Revenue's blended 4.2375% rate for the year.
- The Earned Income Tax Credit (€2,000) now matches the employee PAYE credit, closing a long-standing gap.
Sources: Revenue Commissioners — Tax rates, bands and reliefs, Revenue — USC standard rates and thresholds, gov.ie — PRSI Class S rates
Portugal
Trabalhador independente, regime simplificado (mainland) · confidence: medium
- Under the simplified regime only 75% of professional-service income is taxable — actual expenses are not deducted, so a low-cost freelancer does well and a high-cost one does badly.
- New self-employed people get a 12-month social security exemption from first registration.
- The first and second years of activity carry a 50% and 25% reduction in the taxable coefficient.
- IFICI (the replacement for NHR) offers a 20% flat rate on eligible highly qualified and R&D activity for 10 years.
Caveats: The 2026 IAS value (€537.13), the €20/month minimum contribution and the 12-month start-up exemption come from Portuguese secondary sources; seg-social.pt could not be fetched directly. The simplified regime's expense-verification add-back is not modelled and can increase the real liability.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Portugal, PwC Portugal — Guia Fiscal 2026 (IRS)
Poland
Jednoosobowa działalność, tax scale (default regime) · confidence: medium
- Poland's ZUS is the starkest example of a regressive structure in this index: the standard contribution is a flat ~PLN 23,100 a year whether you earn PLN 60,000 or PLN 600,000.
- New businesses get six months contribution-free (ulga na start) then 24 months at a reduced base, so the flat cost only bites from year three.
- A freelancer can elect between the 12/32% scale, a flat 19%, or ryczałt on gross revenue (12% for IT services) — and the choice also changes the health contribution formula, which is often what decides it.
- The VAT registration threshold rose from PLN 200,000 to PLN 240,000 on 1 January 2026.
Caveats: zus.pl was unreachable during research; the 2026 PLN amounts come from a specialist secondary source and are internally consistent with the PLN 9,420 forecast average wage.
Sources: Ministerstwo Finansów — PIT stawki i limity, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Poland
Estonia
FIE (sole proprietor) · confidence: high
- Estonia abolished its income-tapered "tax hump" for 2026: the basic exemption is now a universal €700/month (€8,400/year) that no longer shrinks as you earn more.
- The income tax rate is a flat 22%, not the 20% often quoted — the 20% figure belongs to the separate entrepreneur account (ettevõtluskonto), a simplified regime capped at €40,000/year.
- e-Residency confers NO Estonian tax residency and does not change a freelancer's personal tax position. It is a mechanism for administering an Estonian company remotely, nothing more.
- A sole proprietor owes about €292/month in social tax even at zero profit, which is also what secures health insurance cover.
Sources: Estonian Tax and Customs Board — Tax rates, EMTA — Social tax for self-employed persons
United Arab Emirates
Licensed freelancer, expatriate resident · confidence: high
- There is no personal income tax in the UAE, and expatriates pay no social security contributions.
- A freelancer only enters the corporate tax net if turnover exceeds AED 1,000,000 in a calendar year, and even then the first AED 375,000 of taxable income is taxed at 0% with 9% above.
- Small Business Relief can zero the liability entirely up to AED 3,000,000 of revenue — but as legislated it covers tax periods only through 31 December 2026, so this is the last year unless it is extended.
- The real cost is elsewhere: trade licence fees, mandatory private health insurance and visa costs are all out of pocket.
Caveats: Social security for UAE and GCC nationals does apply and is not modelled here; this row describes an expatriate freelancer.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — UAE, UAE Ministry of Finance — Small Business Relief
Singapore
Self-employed person, YA 2026 rates · confidence: high
- Self-employed people in Singapore make compulsory MediSave contributions only — there is no Ordinary or Special Account obligation, so retirement saving is largely voluntary.
- The MediSave rate rises with age: 8% under 35, up to 10.5% at 50 and above, with the annual cap rising to S$10,080.
- Singapore taxes territorially: foreign-sourced income received by a resident individual is generally not taxed unless received through a Singapore partnership.
- Foreign nationals are precluded from making CPF contributions at all.
Caveats: YA 2026 assesses calendar-2025 income. The rate table has been unchanged since YA 2024 and is expected to carry into YA 2027, but that is not yet confirmed.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Singapore, CPF Board — MediSave contribution rates for SEPs
Use this data
The dataset is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You may republish, chart, adapt and build on any of it, commercially or otherwise, provided you credit FreelanceCalc and link to this page. Journalists and researchers are welcome to it; no permission request is necessary.
Suggested citation
FreelanceCalc (2026). The Freelance Tax Index 2026: income tax and social contributions for the self-employed in 15 countries. https://thefreelancecalc.com/research/freelance-tax-index-2026/
Found an error, or have official 2026 figures for a country we flagged? That is genuinely useful — tell us and we will correct it and note the correction here. We would rather be right than first.
Related tools
If you want these numbers applied to your own situation rather than a standardised profile, the tax set-aside calculator estimates what percentage of each invoice to reserve for the US, UK, Canada and Australia, and the hourly rate calculator works backwards from the income you want to the rate that produces it after costs and unbillable time. The guide to freelance taxes across four systems covers the mechanics behind the figures here.