Working as a freelancer is booming in Belgium! Whether you are a 3D animator, a filmmaker or a consultant, there are different ways to work as a freelancer. But which status suits you best: the self-employed statute or employee status through payrolling? In this article, we will help you make the right choice. 💼
Freelancer on a self-employed basis 🔎
As a self-employed freelancer, you arrange everything yourself, without the intervention of a payroll company. You are responsible for your own administration, invoicing and taxes. You invoice your customers directly and take care of your own social security contributions.
How does freelancing with an employee status work? 🤷♂️
You work as a freelancer with employee status through payrolling, where you carry out assignments for an end customer on a temporary basis. A payroll company is your employer during these assignments. You are then officially in the payroll company’s services, but you perform tasks for other organisation.
Tip:
Be sure to view our article on the pros and cons of payrolling for freelancers, students and artists!
Factors to consider
1. Job volume 📈
If you don’t have many jobs yet or don’t want to be tied to an assignment for a long time, employee status through payrolling is an easy option with no start-up costs. You then have to register as temporary workers, fill in details and you can get started. But do you work that you are asked several times by different customers, then it is best to consider an independent statute.
2. Administrative taxes 🧾
With payrolling, you enjoy convenience first and foremost. For you, administration is kept to a minimum. You enter your assignments in the online system, carry them out as planned and that’s it. At the end of the year, all your tax data are neatly filled in for your tax return. 📚
Freelancers with an independent statute are responsible for their own bookkeeping. Through a convenient accounting platform such as Dexxter, your tax returns are automatically ready for you based on your income and expenses. Would you rather pay a cost for each transaction through a payroll company or work with monthly or yearly prices for an accounting platform?
3. Peace of mind 💆
Through a payroll company, you enjoy the social protection of an employee status such as leave, pension, minimum wage, health insurance or protection on working hours.
With an independent statute, things run a little differently, but you are certainly not left to your own devices. View the differences between statutes here.
4. Freedom in remuneration 🗽
As a self-employed person, you have greater freedom in price negotiation, invoices & quotations and the allocation of your working hours. You choose when, where and how you work! Along the other hand, you don’t enjoy the same social protection as payroll freelancers. 💰
Conclusion
It is not a question from black or white. The commercial freedom of being self-employed may be decisive, but for others, the social protection and convenience of employee status through payrolling is more important.
Whether you go for the self-employed statute or payrolling depends from your specific situation and preferences. Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages, so go for what best suits your needs as a freelancer. 💪
Freelancing with an independent statute?
View our blog article on how to become a freelancer with an independent statute!
