Your guide to registering as a freelancer in Egypt

💻 Freelancers and content creators owe the taxman paperwork (and money), and the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) has been saying so since as early as 2022. That includes designers, coders, translators, online tutors, and Instagram/TikTok influencers and YouTubers alike. The ETA taxes freelance earnings as income from “non-commercial professions” under Part Four of Income Tax Law 91 of 2005 — and money from foreign clients counts too, as long as Egypt is the center of your work. Content creators even have their own activity codes: 118 (local) and 6020 (international) for video and audio, and 119 and 5819 for written content.

Going legit is also cheaper than it used to be. Since March 2025, a simplified system lets small businesses — freelancers included — pay tax on turnover at rates starting at 0.4%. And on 29 July, an amendment to the tax procedures law changed how freelancers set up shop and keep their books.

In today’s edition of The Enterprise Guide, we break down registration, income tax, VAT, and the paperwork that keeps you out of trouble.

How to register

Under Article 25 of the Unified Tax Procedures Law, you have 30 days from the day you start working to register. The process goes as follows:

• Head to the tax office covering your home or workplace, or start on the ETA’s online portal;
• Bring a copy of your national ID, a lease or ownership contract for your work address, and a recent utility bill;
• Choose your activity, using the codes above where they apply;
• Collect your tax card and registration number.

💡 NOTE- Still setting up? As of 29 July 2026, you can request a temporary tax card valid for eight months; however, it can’t be used to issue e-invoices or receipts.

AND- Back in April, content creators were advised by the ETA that they can only deduct fees paid to freelance editors or scriptwriters if the freelancer’s unified tax registration number appears on the contract and invoice. Expect to be asked for yours when you’re hired within Egypt.

What you owe in income tax

#1- The standard route: You pay the progressive individual rates on your net income, starting at 0% on the first EGP 40k and rising to 27.5% on income above EGP 1.2 mn. If you keep regular books, the ETA taxes your actual revenue minus actual expenses. Without books, it deducts a flat 10% from gross revenue to cover all costs. Law 150 of 2026 now requires anyone practicing a professional activity to keep regular books, though, so plan on proper bookkeeping.

#2- The simpler route: Under Law 6 of 2025, if your annual turnover is EGP 20 mn or less, you can apply to pay a flat share of turnover instead:

• 0.4% on turnover up to EGP 500k;
• 0.5% on EGP 500k to 2 mn;
• 0.75% on EGP 2 to 3 mn;
• 1% on EGP 3 to 10 mn;
• 1.5% on EGP 10 to 20 mn.

The system also spares you a tax audit for five years and exempts you from stamp, registration, capital gains, and dividend taxes. The ETA says it’s permanent.

What you owe in VAT

Most freelancers must register for value-added tax (VAT) from their first day of work, regardless of income. The ETA classifies most freelance work as professional services, which pay a 10% “table tax” on revenue. Services you sell to clients abroad count as exports and are taxed at 0%.

However, selling a product changes the math. If your work involves something you sell, such as designing and selling apps or software, that revenue carries the general 14% VAT rate, and you only need to register once you pass EGP 500k. Content creators face a similar threshold; the ETA requires them to register for VAT once revenue reaches EGP 500k within 12 months.

When it comes to e-invoices, freelancers should issue e-invoices when billing companies registered with the ETA, and e-receipts when selling to individuals. Joining the e-invoice system costs nothing, but skipping it can earn you a hefty fine somewhere between EGP 20k and 100k.

… So how do you stay on the ETA’s good side?

• File your annual return between 1 January and 31 March;
• Report changes to your activity, such as selling or transferring it or leaving the country;
• If you stop working, tell your tax office within 30 days, or you may be taxed for the full year;
• Keep your contracts and platform statements, plus a receipt for every expense you deduct.

💡 Ignoring all this can cost you, as failing to register or file your taxes can be treated as evasion and, if proven as deliberate evasion, is punishable by a fine equal to the unpaid tax and potential sentencing.

ALSO- The IT Industry Development Agency, under the supervision of the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, issues a freelancer ID as proof of employment and income. You qualify if you’re an Egyptian citizen selling digital services on freelancing platforms and you’ve either earned USD 1.2k or more from foreign clients in the past 12 months, or you’ve completed a qualifying ministry-affiliated training program. Some of the perks include banking packages and reductions on med services, and it’s available at no charge. It sits alongside your tax registration without replacing it.