Freiberufler or Gewerbe: how to tell them apart

Self-employment is freiberuflich if it is named in § 18 para. 1 no. 1 EStG or is close to a listed activity. Typical catalogue professions include doctors, lawyers, tax advisors, architects, engineers, journalists, interpreters, teachers, and scientific consulting. The list is closed for the numbered items, but similar activities can be included via case law.

Freiberufler do not register a trade with the municipality. You still start tax-wise with the tax registration questionnaire. The IHK is usually not responsible for classic Freiberufe. Exceptions and mixed models exist if you sell commercial services beside a catalogue profession.

Anyone self-employed and operating commercially usually runs a Gewerbe. Commercial means: not Freiberuf and intended to last. That includes trade, production, many IT services without engineering qualification, agencies, gastronomy, and crafts. Trade registration is at the municipal trade office. The tax office and IHK or chamber of crafts receive notifications.

Crafts in annex A to the HwO often need entry in the trade register or operation as a permit-free craft. That is a separate track beside Freiberuf and simple Gewerbe. Clarify your role before you plan tools and staff.

The line is not always sharp. An engineer doing pure planning is often Freiberuf. If she sells standard software with support packages, a commercial share may arise. A designer without an art degree is often classified as Gewerbe more often than one with artistic qualification for similar work.

Use the decision tree download as a basis for talks with your tax advisor. The tax office decides in tax registration. A wrong self-assessment can be corrected but costs time and resubmissions.

Software development without an engineering degree is often classified as Gewerbe in practice, while technical reports with engineering qualification may be Freiberuf. Agencies with a production studio and employees look more commercial than solo consultants with pure service contracts.

Artistic work can be Freiberuf if it falls in the catalogue or is artistically shaped. Pure advertising production for third parties without an artistic core is more often Gewerbe. Collect activity descriptions from similar cases in your industry as discussion material, not as legal sources.

International customers do not change the Freiberuf question, but VAT and invoice format can get more complex. Clarify that separately from trade registration.

Freiberuf and Gewerbe are not tax types. Both can use cash-basis accounting (EÜR) or balance sheet depending on revenue and legal form. Taxation type (small business or standard VAT) is independent of Freiberuf or Gewerbe.

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