Prospera MundiGuides · Lump-sum sole trade
A lump-sum sole trade alongside employment: contributions, employer and limits
Running a sole trade alongside employment can reduce the contribution burden because the trade is treated as a secondary activity. The trade still creates separate duties, and the employer relationship can be the bigger risk.
Why the contribution calculation is different
When employment already provides the primary insurance basis, the sole trade is treated as a druga djelatnost, or secondary activity. Its annual contribution base is linked to the determined lump-sum income bracket rather than the monthly base used when the trade is the main occupation. Multiple contribution grounds do not cancel each other; they are calculated under different statutory rules.
Lump-sum income tax remains final for that activity. Salary income and the lump-sum base are not simply merged into one annual lump-sum calculation. The 60,000 EUR receipts threshold still applies.
Your employer matters
The Labour Act contains a statutory prohibition on competing with the employer, even without a special contract clause. A separate written post-employment non-compete may also exist. Before opening a trade in the same or a related market, read the employment contract and internal rules and resolve the issue with the employer.
Invoicing your own employer is not automatically prohibited, but it may reveal disguised employment if the supposed independent work is controlled and organised like employment. The real working relationship matters more than the invoice or contract title.
If the employment ends
An active sole trade becomes the insurance basis once the other basis disappears, so the contribution regime changes. Registration of a sole trade also prevents the person from having unemployed-person status and can end eligibility for unemployment cash benefit. The order of steps should be considered before the employment ends.
Examples
A programmer who photographs events
The activity is unrelated to the employer’s business, employment remains active and the trade is genuinely independent. For contribution purposes, the trade is treated as a secondary activity while the employment basis continues.
A designer selling the employer’s own services
The sole trade performs the same work as the employer without approval. This may engage the statutory non-compete and, depending on how the work is controlled, the disguised-employment rules as well.
Employment ends in June
The sole trade remains open after termination. It becomes the active insurance basis and the person is not treated as unemployed while the trade continues.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay contributions twice if I am employed and have a sole trade?
Employment and a secondary activity are separate contribution grounds. Employment does not erase the sole-trade obligation, but the secondary-activity calculation follows different statutory rules.
I am retired. Do I pay contributions on a lump-sum sole trade?
Retirement status does not create one universal answer. The type of pension and the permitted work arrangement must be checked under the pension and contribution rules.
Is lump-sum income combined with my salary in the annual calculation?
No. Lump-sum tax is final for that activity; salary and the prescribed lump-sum base are not simply merged into one ordinary annual business-income calculation.
Does my employer have to approve the sole trade?
The Labour Act prohibits competing with the employer. Check the activity, employment contract and internal rules before starting a related business.
May I invoice my own employer?
It is not automatically prohibited, but the real relationship can be reclassified if it is organised and controlled like employment.
What changes if my employment ends?
An open sole trade can become the active insurance basis, changing contributions. It also affects unemployed-person status and possible unemployment benefit.
Verified primary legal sources
Open verified primary sources (7)
The links open the primary legal texts used in the mechanical verification of this guide.
- Croatian Contributions ActAritem 7. item 6.
- Croatian Pension Insurance ActAritem 12. item 1.
- Croatian Labour ActAritem 101.
- Croatian Income Tax ActAritem 82.
- Croatian Lump-Sum Taxation RulebookAritem 3.–5.
- Croatian General Tax ActAritem 12.a
- Croatian Labour Market ActAritem 17. para. 1. item 2. and 7.
Status date: 31 July 2026. This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice for a specific case. Croatian rules and annual amounts can change; the date above is part of the information.
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