ELTAF

• Compulsory contributions• Being a psuedo-employee (Scheinselbstständigkeit)• Invoicing• Expenses• Flat rates• So-called „special“ expenses• Income Tax• Charging VAT (Mehrwertsteuer)• Putting a contract together• Dealing with late bills/unpaid invoices

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Versicherungspflichtig sind selbständig tätige(§ 2 SGB VI Selbständig Tätige) • Lehrer und Erzieher, die im Zusammenhang mit ihrer selbständigen

Tätigkeit keinen versicherungspflichtigen Arbeitnehmer beschäftigen• Pflegepersonen, die in der Kranken-, Wochen-, Säuglings- oder

Kinderpflege tätig sind und im Zusammenhang mit ihrer selbständigen Tätigkeit keinen versicherungs-pflichtigen Arbeitnehmer beschäftigen

• Hebammen und Entbindungspfleger• Seelotsen der Reviere im Sinne des Gesetzes über das Seelotswesen...

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Compulsory pension contributions• Where/Who do I have to pay?• How much do I have to pay?• What about back payments?• Could I be caught?• Can I get my money back?

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Ursula von der Leyen‘s Plans

Compulsory pension insurance for all freelancers?

When?

How much?

Yes!!!

From 2013

Depends on your age and sex

• To ensure you have the minimum pension of €660 a month you will have to pay approx:

Females

30-35 €139-€177

36-40 €177-€23241-45 €232-€314

46-50 €314-€449

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Males

30-35 €116-€164

36-40 €164-€213

41-45 €213-€288

46-50 €288-€410

• What does Scheinselbständigkeit mean?• Can a freelance English teacher be classified as

being scheinselbständig?

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Other compulsory insurances

• Health insurance (Krankenversicherung)

• Nursing care insurance (Pflegeversicherung)

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As a freelancer you normally have to insure yourself with a private health insurance scheme, but...

if you had previously been paying in to an Ersatzkasse, you can opt to remain in (after 6/12 months as an employee???)

if you have been paying into a public health scheme in an another EU country and apply to join an Ersatzkasse on your arrival here

if you are married and your spouse‘s health insurance covers you. NB. This is only possible if your income is less than €365 a month.

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What‘s the difference between private and public health insurance?

Can I take out an expat health insurance scheme?

Could I run into trouble with the authorities if I‘m not insured?

Will a private health insurance company accept me if I already have a chronic condition, e.g. asthma, diabetes, hypertension, etc?

What would happen if my spouse stopped working, e.g. to look after the children?

Do all health insurance schemes cover you in the EU and should I include world cover if I often travel outside the EU?

Should-have insurances?• Liability insurance

(Haftpflichtversicherung)• Personal accident insurance

(Unfallversicherung)• Additional dental care insurance, etc.

(Zahnzusatzversicherung)

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Invoicing• What information do you have to include on

every invoice you write?

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„...remember a billion dollars isn‘t what it used to be.“Jean Paul Getty

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Invoicing

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Getting a court order to pay (Mahnbescheid)

To get a Mahnbescheid from your Amtsgericht you have to fill out a form and attach copies of the invoice (together with any reminders you’ve sent) and hand it all in to the Amtsgericht. 

This costs money, but the school will eventually have to foot the bill for the costs you incur there.

Another alternative is to put the matter into the hands of a lawyer. 

This also costs money - and a bit more money than the do-it-yourself Mahnbescheid, but again, unless the school is insolvent, all your costs will be reimbursed.

You can now do this online: www.mahngerichte.de/onlineverfahren/

Expenses• Costs of an office• Office equipment, furniture, etc.• Stationery• Travel expenses• Course books, etc.• Telephone, fax, etc.• Postage• Bank charges• Accountant

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Continued...

Expenses (continued)

• Teacher training courses• Membership fees to MELTA, IATEFL,

etc.• Work-related conferences• Your car, motorbike and/or bicycle• Being away from home longer than

eight hours• So-called ‚special‘ expenses

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Low value assets (geringwertige Wirtschaftsgüter, GWG)

• Expenses for things costing ≤€410 net can either be set off immediately or you can put all expenses costing >€150 and <€1,000 net in a pot and write them off at 20% a year for 5 years.

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Other assets Goods costing more than €410 (or €1,000 depending on which system you opt for) have to be written off over different periods of time.

How long does it take to write these things off?• PC• Car• Office furniture• CD Player • Standard software• Bicycle• Fax• Flag pole

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• PC = 3 years• Car = 6 years• Office furniture = 17 years• CD Player = 7 years• Standard software = 3 years• Bicycle = 7 years• Fax = 6 years• Flag pole = 10 years

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Flat rates for travel• by car, €0.30 per km• by motorbike or scooter,

€0.13 per km• by moped, €0.08 per km• by bike, €0.05 per km

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Flat rates for being away from home• Less than 8 hours, €0.00• More than 8, but less than 14 hours, €6.00• More than 14, but less than 24 hours, €12.00• More than 24 hours, €24.00

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Source: http://www.steuer-schutzbrief.de/steuertipp-rubriken/steuer-tipps/artikel/tabelle-reisekosten-im-ausland-pauschalen-erklaerungen-alle-laender.html

Flat rates for being on business outside Germany

Special Expenses (Sonderbetriebsausgaben)

• Pension contributions• Health insurance

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There are limits as to how much you can set off and these seem to vary from year to year (as does what you can set off, e.g. in 2009 you could set off nursing care insurance and liability insurance, but you can‘t now).

Income tax (Einkommensteuer)

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Charging VAT (Mehrwertsteuer)

• You don‘t have to (and shouldn‘t) charge MwSt unless your turnover goes above €17,500.

• The tax office will not inform you that you should start charging MwSt on your invoices.

• If you put MwSt on one bill, you have to charge it on all your bills for that year and pass any MwSt you have collected minus the MwSt you pay to the tax office.

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Are some institutes/organisations released from paying/charging Umsatzsteuer?• Yes, e.g. VHSs, Fachhochschulen, universities, etc.• You should include this text on any invoices you send them „USt befreit nach §4 Nr. 21 UStG”

Are other organisations also exempt?• Yes, e.g. ELTAs who offer „ wissenschaftliche und belehrende Vorträge“• You should include this text on any invoices you send them, „USt befreit nach §4 Nr. 22a UStG“

What should you include in a contract?• Type of course(s) you will teach• Where you will teach them• When you will teach them, e.g. times, days• The duration of the course, e.g. 24 U.E.• Price per U.E.• When you will bill, i.e. in advance/arrears, at the

end of the month• When/How much you will charge for a late

cancellation

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What should you include in a contract?• How much you charge for travel• Whether or not you will find a replacement if you

are sick• A confidentiality clause (i.e. you will not pass

information on to third parties)• The area of jurisdiction, e.g. Munich• That other than increases to the hourly rate you

charge, all changes to the contract have to be made in writing

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Late or non-payment of invoices

Unless otherwise stated, bills have to be paid within 30 days.

1) go to the Amtsgericht and get a form called a Mahnbescheid (or download one).

2) after you have filled out the form with all the relevant details, you have to pay a fee which is based on the sum due, e.g. for a bill worth €300 you have to pay around €60 and for a bill worth €1,500 you will pay around €180.

If a bill is not paid and you decide to take legal action, you have to:

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3) the court will then send your debtor a summons to pay the outstanding invoice(s) + the costs (interest, legal fees, etc)4) if the company still refuses to pay, the court then sends a "Vollstreckungsbescheid" or writ of execution and if that is ignored, the bailiffs.

Late or non-payment of invoices

http://www.online-mahnantrag.de/http://www.mahnbescheid.com/http://www.zinsen-berechnen.de/verzugszinsrechner.php

4.87%

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