Services for this group
Our focus
Sectors in this group
- Artists
- Journalists
- Graphic designers
Seven per cent on rights of use
Granting copyright licences is taxed at the reduced rate; a plain service is not. Many invoices contain both and need to be split.
Künstlersozialkasse
As an insured person you pay half of the contribution. As a client commissioning other creatives you owe the artists’ social levy.
Irregular income
Advance tax payments can be reduced when a year turns out weaker. The application simply has to be made in time.
Fees from abroad
Clients in other countries, withholding tax deducted at source and the question of where the service is taxed.
Equipment, travel and research
Camera, computer, software and travel as business expenses, with the limits that apply to mixed use.
Small business exemption
Whether it pays depends on whether your customers can recover VAT. Opting out binds you for five years.
Common questions
Questions we hear often
Seven or nineteen per cent on my fee?
If you grant a right to use a copyright work, it is seven per cent. For carrying out a plain service it is nineteen. Many invoices contain both and have to be split.
I regularly commission photographers and writers. Does the artists’ social levy affect me?
Possibly yes, even as a sole trader. The German pension authority checks this during audits and assesses arrears retrospectively.
One year was very weak. Do I still have to make the old advance payments?
No. Advance payments can be reduced on application where it is clear the result will be lower.
Who else we work for
Trades and constructionInterim invoices, construction withholding tax and materials paid up front. Sequence shapes cash flow.
Transport and logisticsDrivers, vehicles, tolls and cross-border runs. Four cost blocks, four different rules.
Hospitality and personal servicesWhere cash crosses the counter daily, the tax office pays particular attention to the till and to cost of sales.Request an engagement
Let us get to know each other
Write briefly what the matter is. The questionnaire takes a few minutes and your answers go straight to Marek Hejzel. We then arrange a first meeting, at the practice or by phone.
