| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4] > | Poll: Do you earn more than 2000 EUR net/month as a linguist? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you earn more than 2000 EUR net/month as a linguist?".
View the poll results »
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What I earn per month is extremely irregular but on average I earn more than 2,000 €, thank you!
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 23:40
French to English
There are months when I earn more than double that, and others when I earn less, but it all evens out to a decent amount. I earned too much in 2022, bursting through the ceiling for my mini freelance status, so I have had to cut back a bit to avoid having to take the "real" freelance status where the state would take over half my earnings.
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To make life easier, let’s assume it’s net of expenses, not net of tax.
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Kay Denney wrote:
There are months when I earn more than double that, and others when I earn less, but it all evens out to a decent amount. I earned too much in 2022, bursting through the ceiling for my mini freelance status, so I have had to cut back a bit to avoid having to take the "real" freelance status where the state would take over half my earnings.
I am currently in a situation where it would benefit me tax-wise to delay delivering a large ongoing job until the new tax year in April, but how then could I complain about underfunding of public services?
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 23:40
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Christopher Schröder wrote:
To make life easier, let’s assume it’s net of expenses, not net of tax.
If we talk about net income in Belgium, we mean income net of everything, so the "spendable" income.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 23:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Christopher Schröder wrote:
To make life easier, let’s assume it’s net of expenses, not net of tax.
I would think it means net of tax.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 23:40
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
If we are talking about spendable income (income after costs, taxes and social contributions) I earned about 2800 euros per month in 2023, on average.
In Belgium this is considered to be a nice income, but taking into account the aspect of being self-employed this is at the same time far from spectacular (no paid holidays, no (or a very low) paid sick leave, a lower pension...).
But you won't hear me complain. When I started I would have never dreamt of reaching this fi... See more If we are talking about spendable income (income after costs, taxes and social contributions) I earned about 2800 euros per month in 2023, on average.
In Belgium this is considered to be a nice income, but taking into account the aspect of being self-employed this is at the same time far from spectacular (no paid holidays, no (or a very low) paid sick leave, a lower pension...).
But you won't hear me complain. When I started I would have never dreamt of reaching this financial level and it provides me with everything I need and then some more. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 23:40
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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I assumed net of taxes. And I assumed net of business expenses, too. And I assumed "social contributions" to be a type of tax.
On the other hand, for most freelancers, their turnover is actually very similar to their revenue, unless they purchase a lot of computer hardware & software and go to many conferences.
Take your average annual turnover or revenue from the past 5 years, deduct the taxes that you paid, and divide by 12. My language combination is not very high... See more I assumed net of taxes. And I assumed net of business expenses, too. And I assumed "social contributions" to be a type of tax.
On the other hand, for most freelancers, their turnover is actually very similar to their revenue, unless they purchase a lot of computer hardware & software and go to many conferences.
Take your average annual turnover or revenue from the past 5 years, deduct the taxes that you paid, and divide by 12. My language combination is not very highly paid, so I earn at the bottom end of the scale as far as freelance translators are concerned (which is less than double EUR 2000, but certainly more than EUR 2000).
[Edited at 2024-03-26 09:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Gianni Pastore
Italy
Local time: 23:40
Member (2007)
English to Italian
Samuel Murray wrote:
I earn at the bottom end of the scale as far as freelance translators are concerned (which is less than double EUR 2000, but certainly more than EUR 2000).
[Edited at 2024-03-26 09:27 GMT]
…3k average net is nowhere close to the bottom end of the scale. It's actually medium-to-high end, but I guess it all depends on the cost of living, so I assume yours is quite high.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 00:40
Member
English to Turkish
Where is the dude who said he broke the 100K record at the height of Covid? He was translating from Russian if memory serves...
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For the first two or three years of my freelance translator career I was actually working as a contractor for one client, paid by the hour with the possibility of running the timer for 40 hours per week, and no pressing need to invest in memberships, training, equipment etc. So 3k net per month was possible. Being lazy, I made no attempt to grow my business.
That work has now slowed to a drip and I'm finding out what it means to be a freelancer for real. This year is my year of upsk... See more For the first two or three years of my freelance translator career I was actually working as a contractor for one client, paid by the hour with the possibility of running the timer for 40 hours per week, and no pressing need to invest in memberships, training, equipment etc. So 3k net per month was possible. Being lazy, I made no attempt to grow my business.
That work has now slowed to a drip and I'm finding out what it means to be a freelancer for real. This year is my year of upskilling, diversifying, hunting for new clients, taking on crappy work, and investing in things that look like they might help. It won't surprise anybody that my income has been badly impacted. It's early days yet, but it might come in at half of last year, or slightly better. ▲ Collapse
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Baran Keki wrote:
Where is the dude who said he broke the 100K record at the height of Covid? He was translating from Russian if memory serves...
...he translated from Thai into English and I assume 100K means 100K in THB, which is not bad at all when living in LB land...
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 23:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| company or individual? | Mar 26 |
Freelancers are individuals, so "net income" is gross income after taxes and deductions (deductible expenses, contributions etc.):
If you are registered as a company or a similar entity from a tax perspective instead, "net income" is
net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, and taxes for an accounting period.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-03-26 14:42 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:40
Spanish to English
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I don't like this kind of poll, because it's not the kind of information that I tend to keep track of, so it means I have to go and look at my records. As it happens, in 2023, which was a slow year, with about 20% less work than in 2022, I still managed to earn over 200o € net per month.
[Edited at 2024-03-26 12:04 GMT]
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