Albania Freelancer & Self-Employed — D1/DIVA Annual Return

Establish the client's tax residency status under Law No. 29/2023 and confirm the tax year (1 January – 31 December). Albanian tax residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents only on Albania-source income. Residency affects whether foreign income must be disclosed on the D1/DIVA return.

Classify all income streams (self-employed business income, employment, rental, dividends, interest/capital gains) and apply the anti-disguised-employment rule under Law No. 29/2023. If 80% or more of self-employed income comes from a single client, or 90% or more from fewer than three clients, the income is reclassified as employment income taxed at 13%/23% — the 0% small-business band does not apply.

Confirm whether the self-employed profit qualifies for the 0% PIT rate available until 31 December 2029 under the small-business regime. Eligibility requires gross annual turnover of no more than ALL 14,000,000 and the activity must not appear on the excluded-profession list in Council of Ministers Decision No. 753. Profit above ALL 14,000,000 is taxed at 23%.

Classify all business debits from the client's bank statements (BKT, Raiffeisen, Credins, Intesa, OTP, Revolut/Wise) into fully deductible, partially deductible (home office, vehicle, telecoms — business-use proportion only), and non-deductible categories. Compute net taxable profit. Flag capital items for depreciation rather than immediate expensing.

Calculate the self-employed social insurance (23% on a monthly base of at least ALL 50,000) and health insurance (3.4% on at least ALL 100,000) contributions due under Law No. 7703/1993 and Law No. 10383/2011. These contributions are mandatory regardless of the 0% income tax rate and are paid separately — they are not deductible business expenses.

Complete and e-file the annual individual income tax return (D1 / DIVA) on tatime.gov.al by 31 March of the following year. The return consolidates self-employed business profit, any employment income, investment income, and the computed tax liability. Any tax due is payable by the same 31 March deadline; late filing incurs a penalty of ALL 10,000 (income-tax-registered taxpayer) plus 10% late-payment surcharge and 0.06%/day interest.