I work in an office from 9 to 6, and I want to pick up some freelance work in the evenings. Do I need to register my second job somehow or notify the tax authorities? What taxes do I need to pay in this case?
With your main job, everything is indeed straightforward - the employer will calculate and transfer everything themselves. But with freelancing, you need to figure it out, because how you formalize it affects your taxes.
The most popular option right now is registering as self-employed through the FTS app. It's minimal bureaucracy: you don't need to open an LLC, no complex reports needed. You pay 4% tax on income if your clients are individuals, or 6% if they're legal entities. You submit the registration application online in five minutes. You're not required by law to notify your main employer, but check your contract - some companies have a clause prohibiting side work. If there's nothing like that, then you can work on the side without worry.
The second option is to open an LLC, but that only makes sense if your income is large. The taxes are higher there, you need to file reports, make pension fund contributions. If freelancing is just a side gig, self-employed status is way more convenient. With self-employment, also keep in mind that your annual income shouldn't exceed 2.4 million rubles, otherwise you'll have to switch to a different tax system.
Are you planning to register as self-employed or through some company for the freelance work? :)
If you're working at your main job under an employment contract, it's straightforward - your employer pays the taxes and contributions. With the second job it depends on the format. If it's also an official employment contract with another employer, you just notify both companies that you have another job, and each one pays taxes on their part of your salary. Freelancing might work differently though.
If freelancing is occasional projects without a formal contract, there are a few options. The easiest and most popular right now is self-employment (personal income tax regime). You register in the tax authority app, send invoices to clients, and pay 4% tax on the amount (or 6% if from individuals). It's legal, transparent, and no one will bother you. You can work two jobs at the same time - no conflicts. The other option is to open a sole proprietorship, but that's more bureaucracy and contributions, not worth it for side work. The main thing is don't hide your income, otherwise you'll have problems with the tax authority later 😉
The main thing is to separate your two sources of income: your primary job and freelance work. With an employment contract, your employer will handle all the withholding and send it to the tax authority, so your only task is not to hide the second source of income. But freelance work needs to be registered separately, otherwise you could run into problems during a tax check.
For freelance work, there are a few options. The simplest and most popular one is to register as self-employed through the My Tax app. There's minimal bureaucracy: you pay 4% of your income if it's from individuals, or 6% if it's from companies. No contributions, no reporting on income breakdown - everything goes through the app. An alternative is an LLC with a simplified tax system, but then you need to deal with contributions, tax reporting, and more headaches. An LLC makes sense if your income is large and stable.
Here's what people often overlook: if you're self-employed but also work under an employment contract, that doesn't prevent you from being self-employed. But there's a catch - some employment contracts have a non-compete clause or a ban on side work. Before you register anything, check your employment contract or ask your HR department. Some large companies really do prohibit this, and you'll need to get permission.
It's actually not about whether you can work two jobs - you can, it's legal. The thing is how exactly you'll set up your freelance work, because that determines your whole tax situation. I know people who just registered as self-employed through the tax app - they pay 4% of their income, no other contributions, everything's calculated automatically. The main thing is not to hide your second income source and report it honestly in your tax return.
If your freelance work goes through some company (like a contract), there might be a different scheme with tax withholding. Check your contract - the terms will be there. Either way, your main employer won't change anything on their end, regardless of whether you work somewhere else or not.
If you're doing freelance work as a self-employed person through the tax authority's app, you don't need any special notifications - the system syncs with the tax service automatically, and your income gets recorded on its own. The main thing is just to remember to pay your professional income tax on time (4 or 6% depending on your status) so you don't run into problems during an audit later.
Working at two jobs officially is completely normal and legal - the main thing is to properly register your freelance income. With your main office job, everything's straightforward: your employer withholds taxes and contributions, and you just don't hide anything. The problem comes with the second part of your income, and there are a few options here.
If freelancing means one-off projects without being registered with a single employer, you either need to register as self-employed (if your region allows it) or open an individual entrepreneur account. Self-employed is the simplest: you download the app, register with the tax service, pay 4% of your income, and log it in the app. With an individual entrepreneur account it's more complicated: you need either a patent or the general taxation system, plus contributions even if you have zero income. Which option to choose depends on the volume and frequency of your orders.
Important thing: if you work under an employment contract with one employer, the contract might have a clause prohibiting concurrent employment or requiring notification. Check your contract - sometimes it says you need written permission. The tax service doesn't get involved in this, but you could have a conflict with your main employer. But I wouldn't recommend hiding your freelance income - it'll come out sooner or later, the tax service will check, and it'll end up worse.
You don't need to notify anyone that you're working at two jobs - it's not prohibited and doesn't require approval from your first employer (unless your contract has an explicit ban, of course). With your main job, everything will be automatically withheld, so there's nothing to worry about there. With freelancing it's more important - either you register as self-employed and pay 4% (or 6% if your client is a private individual), or you register as an individual entrepreneur and then you're dealing with a more complex tax system. A lot of freelancers choose self-employed status precisely because it's the simplest option - through the tax authority app, minimal bureaucracy.
It all depends on whether you register as a self-employed person or as an individual entrepreneur. If you're self-employed, the tax service will find out about your freelance work on their own through the app (when you send receipts), so you don't need to notify them separately - you just pay the personal income tax, usually 4% of your earnings. If you go the individual entrepreneur route, you need to register with the tax service, and then it's a more complex scheme with taxes and contributions, but you also get broader benefits for your business.
Working two jobs is completely legal, but the main thing is not to mess up the freelance registration. Forget about just quietly earning extra money without telling anyone: the tax service will track money coming into your account or through payment systems, and then it'll be way harder to deal with. Hiding income isn't savings - it's trouble.
With your main job under an employment contract, you don't need to worry: your employer will withhold 13% income tax and contribute to the Pension Fund. With freelancing, there are a few options. The simplest is to register as self-employed through the "My Tax" app (only 4% tax on income, no contributions, no bureaucracy). Another option is to set up an LLC on a simplified tax system (often better if you're making serious money, but more paperwork). Third is just to declare your income and pay 13% income tax plus contributions around 30%, but that's the most expensive.
Which to choose depends on how much you're planning to make from freelancing. If a few thousand a month - self-employment is the way. If serious amounts - it's worth calculating an LLC. In any case, you need to inform the tax service when you register your chosen form - you don't need to separately notify your current employer.
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