How are the contributions calculated?
On your net taxable professional income of the same year: turnover minus business costs, as the tax authorities establish it. For a main activity, the 2026 rates published by INASTI are:
- 20.5% of income up to €75,024.54
- 14.16% on the part between €75,024.54 and €110,562.42
- Nothing on income above €110,562.42
- A minimum contribution, calculated on an income of €17,374.08, with a lower minimum for starters
Your social insurance fund adds management fees on top. All amounts are indexed: check them every January.
Why do you pay provisional contributions first?
Because your real income is only known once your tax return has been processed. In the meantime, you pay provisional contributions every quarter, based on your professional income from three years earlier.
When the tax authorities send your actual income to the fund, it regularises: you pay the difference, or get it back. If you expect a much higher income, you can pay more upfront to avoid a large bill. Paying less requires your fund’s approval and objective evidence, according to INASTI.
What do the contributions give you?
Your social status as a self-employed person: pension, family benefits, health care, incapacity benefits and maternity cover. Incapacity is only compensated when it lasts more than seven days, after a six-month qualifying period, and you must declare it to your health fund within seven days, as INASTI explains.
The cover is narrower than an employee’s, which is why the comparison in freelancer or employee: which pays more matters.
Does a side activity or a company change anything?
Yes for a side activity: in 2026, nothing below €1,922.16 of income, a reduced contribution up to €17,374.08, and the full rates above, as explained in how self-employment as a side activity works.
If you work through a company, you still pay contributions personally, on your income as a director. The choice is covered in whether you need a company to freelance in IT. Our definition of self-employed status sums up the rest.
