Freiberufler in Berlin

[YGod]

Hi Chef,
Still under contract in Berlin ? did you get an Accountant ?
I have been here contracting here for many moons and have been using Mr H. who is not bad.
I agree with the comment to take someone local which can be a big advantage and you don't have the hastle of posting recepits.
Local accounts also have a better releationship to the Revenue you will be paying.

To the theme of SocialInsurance, I opted to employ someone for over the €400 limit. So far so good though the contracting experience has not been with other problems from the Amts...
If you are still in the sector then all I can say is keep everything clean. They don't trust contractors since the 02 incident in 2007 and many collegues from the Islands have been having premature audits...

If you plan to stay longer then maybe opting to make a GbmH or the new small company (similar to Ltd.) may keep the dogs at bay. The only difference is that the self employed status is history BUT you have a pay a small company tax AND more accountancy fees.


Good luck !

[darmstadt]

I believe renting in Berlin is pretty good value for money. Just checking the sites it looks like between 800 Euro and 1K euro will get you a pretty decent spot.

Probably somewhere round the Zoo where if you don't get a needle up yer bum, you're going to get something blunter. Do a great currywurst up at Humboldt park (Berlin Mitte) and some well dodgy Thai bars around there as well.

[chef]

I believe renting in Berlin is pretty good value for money. Just checking the sites it looks like between 800 Euro and 1K euro will get you a pretty decent spot.

yes, I agree

[sunnysan]

Rents in Berlin

I believe renting in Berlin is pretty good value for money. Just checking the sites it looks like between 800 Euro and 1K euro will get you a pretty decent spot.

[Xenophon]

thats a huge help, thanks thomas

That could have been the top option in your questionnaire.

[darmstadt]

I use this dude - he seems very nice and all staff speaks english and he specialises in contractors.
He can do everything you need.
I have done everything for 18 months via mail and email. Easy to work with.

Mr Claus Henseling
His telephone number is 06004 91920
[email protected]

I remember this guy from some years back. Seemed pretty good then and deals with a few Brits in the Frankfurt area. Was not impressed with certain aspects and went local with a German company which has proved to be damn good. If you go to gulp.de there is a list of accountants who deal with IT freelancers and have recommendations

[chef]

I use this dude - he seems very nice and all staff speaks english and he specialises in contractors.
He can do everything you need.
I have done everything for 18 months via mail and email. Easy to work with.

Mr Claus Henseling
His telephone number is 06004 91920
[email protected]

thats a huge help, thanks thomas

[ThomasSoerensen]

so:
- can anyone recommend an english speaking german accountant?
- any tips on setting up as a freiberufler would be gratefully received until i do some serious research this evening..


Chef

I use this dude - he seems very nice and all staff speaks english and he specialises in contractors.
He can do everything you need.
I have done everything for 18 months via mail and email. Easy to work with.

Mr Claus Henseling
His telephone number is 06004 91920
[email protected]

[BlasterBates]

I would get recommendations from other contractors in Berlin. I think you'll find most good tax advisors speak sufficient English. More important is their experience with IT contractors. Clarify with him how you handle earnings up until now. I don't know what the rules are.

They are clamping down on "Sozialversicherung", but I don't know how serious this is. Definitely worth finding out. One thing about social insurance is that it is not a tax and therefore it is not as serious as not paying tax , if they deem you should pay it.

One question is, should you declare yourself as a "self employed - employee", and pay EUR 250 a month into the German social insurance for a couple of years and then the full employee contribution of EUR 500. A saving grace is that they normally don't charge the employers contribution as well to a freelancer. Or whether you try and "brave it" not paying any at all hoping you pass any investigations that may occur in the future.

I didn't pay it and I did get a form from the authorities, but because this is more than 4 yaers ago I think they're not checking. I hear that if they do catch you it costs EUR 22,000, over a 4 year period. Very similar criteria as in the UK, so if you work for one company for a few years there's a high risk.

Basically there is true self employed, self employed but similar to an employee, and disguised employment. The latter is an offence but is not normally applied to IT contractors.

My advice on this point is to find out from fellow contractors, also you have an advantage that they won't be inspecting you for several years so you can watch what happens to others who have been there longer.

You can get round this by employing someone for EUR 450 a month, but since this is almost the same as the 500 my feeling is you might as well pay it and get a pension.

[expat]

not got it yet but it's looking fairly positive

Suddenly seem to hear the marcia funebre from Beethoven's Third. Oh, that was funeral, not freiberufler.

[chef]

No idea, but congrats, something i'd love to do myself.

not got it yet but it's looking fairly positive

[Manic]

No idea, but congrats, something i'd love to do myself.

[chef]

ok,

after having a trip to Berlin and saying i'd quite like to live there if ever i had the chance, that chance has now come up..

the offer is a 3 month rolling contract for the german gov and Ive been advised by the german agency www.knieper-ag.com to set myself up as a freelancer/Freiberufler.

i've read the overseas guides on here and next step is i need to speak to a german accountant as i have worked here in stuttgart via my limited via a uk agency for 60 days but earned below the VAT threshold, given the rate, this gig alone will definately put me over the VAT threshold limit and i need to know if chef ltd's earnings would be considered or if when i setup as freiberufler the VAT counter begins there..

so:
- can anyone recommend an english speaking german accountant?
- any tips on setting up as a freiberufler would be gratefully received until i do some serious research this evening..
- finally, rental prices in berlin, any ideas?

Chef