Freelance in Algeria: budgeting an irregular income

Freelance in Algeria: what the auto-entrepreneur status is

For a long time, working for yourself legally meant registering at the trade register or setting up a company. Law 22-23 of 18 December 2022 created the auto-entrepreneur status for people who work alone on an activity from an official list. It is managed by the Agence nationale de l'auto-entrepreneur (ANAE) , which keeps the national register on its online platform. The platform opened in January 2024, and designers, developers, trainers, translators and content creators are among the people the status was meant for.

According to ANAE, you are eligible if you are of legal working age, Algerian and living in Algeria (or a foreign resident in line with the regulations), and your activity is on the list of eligible activities. That list is grouped into seven fields, including digital services, consulting and training, and culture and audiovisual work. Regulated professions such as doctors, lawyers and architects are excluded. Check your exact activity on the ANAE list before you apply, because the code you pick goes on your card.

• Registration: online at anae.dz. ANAE gives an average processing time of 12 to 24 hours.
• No trade register and no shop or office needed. You can work from home.
• Tax: a tax number from your tax office, then a single flat tax (IFU) at 0.5% of turnover.
• Social security: affiliation with CASNOS, the fund for the self-employed, which gives access to health cover and a pension.
• Bank: since a Bank of Algeria note of January 2024, ANAE says a business account needs only three documents: the card, an ID and proof of address.

Auto-entrepreneur taxes in Algeria: what you actually owe

The tax administration (DGI) sets the auto-entrepreneur IFU at 0.5% of turnover, for annual turnover up to 5 000 000 DA. The minimum tax is 10 000 DA, against 30 000 DA for the ordinary IFU regime. Because 0.5% of 2 000 000 DA is exactly 10 000 DA, anyone who earns less than that pays the minimum. The tax is worked out on what clients pay you, and you can't deduct your laptop, internet or software.

CASNOS is a separate bill. Executive decree 24-49 of January 2024 let auto-entrepreneurs choose a flat contribution of 24 000 DA a year instead of the standard calculation, and decree 26-257 of July 2026 kept that choice. Confirm the amount at your CASNOS office when you register, and ask what pension rights the flat option gives you. The table uses the 2026 tax rules and the 24 000 DA flat option.

The total is small next to the income, so it's easy to forget until the deadline arrives. The provisional return and payment of the minimum are due by 30 June, and the final return (form G12 bis) is due in January of the following year. Check the exact dates with your tax office each year. If you go over 5 000 000 DA three years in a row, the law says you have to register with the trade register to keep working.

Budgeting irregular income: start with a buffer month

A salaried worker's budget runs from one payday to the next. A freelancer's money arrives when clients pay, which might be three invoices in March and nothing in April. A buffer month fixes this. It is a reserve equal to one month of personal and work spending, so you live on money you already have, not money you're waiting for.

1. List what came in each month over the past six to twelve months. Use bank statements, BaridiMob history or your notebook.
2. Add up what one ordinary month costs you: rent, food, Sonelgaz, internet, transport, family support. That is your baseline.
3. Add your fixed work costs (connection, software, phone credit) and the monthly tax reserve from the table above.
4. Keep money aside until it equals one full month of that total. That is your buffer, and you only use it in a lean month.
5. Once the buffer is full, build towards three months, which is a proper emergency fund for an income that moves around.

Pay yourself a salary from your freelance income

Have every client payment land in one place, your business account or a separate wallet, and never spend straight from it. On a fixed date, say the 1st, move a fixed salary to your personal money. At the same time, move the tax reserve and your work costs. Pick a salary you can pay even in a weak quarter. Something close to the average of your three leanest months is a sensible start, and you can raise it after six good months.

Here is a graphic designer who pays herself 60 000 DA a month. She also sets aside 3 000 DA for tax and CASNOS (her turnover is around 940 000 DA a year, so she owes the 34 000 DA minimum) and spends 5 000 DA on work costs. That makes 68 000 DA going out every month. She starts with a 70 000 DA buffer.

March brought in nothing, and her rent was still paid on time. By June the pot holds almost two months of outgoings. She can now move the extra into savings or raise her salary a little. For the household side of the budget, the monthly budget guide works just as well once your salary is fixed.

Freelancing for clients abroad: foreign currency and your budget

Many Algerian freelancers bill in euros or dollars. In March 2024, ANAE reminded auto-entrepreneurs that under Bank of Algeria instruction 06-2021 of 29 June 2021, they can keep 100% of the foreign-currency proceeds from exporting their services, as TSA reported . The Bank of Algeria's own note explains that this money is meant to fund the activity and that cash withdrawals should stay limited. Before your first foreign invoice, ask your bank which account it uses and which documents it wants with each payment.

For your budget, keep it simple. Euros sitting in an account are not dinars yet. Either count them only once converted, or value them at one rate you choose and keep using. Then work out your salary and tax reserve in dinars, because your rent and your épicerie bill are in dinars. If you want to save part of what you earn, the guide on where to keep savings in Algeria compares the options.

How to set this up in Jibi

Jibi is a free budgeting app in Arabic, French and English, on the web, iPhone and Android. It never connects to your bank or to Algérie Poste and never asks for card details: you note what you spend and receive yourself. That suits freelancers whose money comes in several forms.

• Wallets: one each for cash, Edahabia and your CIB or business account, plus a euro or dollar wallet valued at the rate you choose.
• Savings goals: one for the buffer month and one called "Tax and CASNOS" with June as the target month, so you can see whether the reserve will be ready in time.
• Recurring entries: your salary on the 1st, rent, the internet subscription and the monthly tax transfer, so the fixed side of your month is written in advance.
• Monthly budget with a limit per category and a warning near the limit, plus statistics by day and category to spot your lean seasons.