How do I set my daily rate as a freelancer correctly?

Daily rate calculation has two components: market side and cost accounting. Cost accounting (bottom-up): (Annual fixed costs + desired net income) / number of billable days per year. With 220 working days minus holidays, acquisition time, and unbilled periods, this yields approximately 150-170 billable days. Market side: BA Entgeltatlas shows employed salaries for comparison. Freelancer market data for Germany: GULP Freelancer Study and DRV show median daily rates by sector. Typical ranges 2025-2026: IT freelancer junior 550-750 euros/day, mid 750-1,100 euros/day, senior 1,100-1,800 euros/day. Important: VAT (19%) is added on top -- that is not your income. Bogus self-employment check: Daily rates below approximately 450 euros/day often raise suspicion of bogus self-employment due to insufficient margin. Recommendation: Never calculate your daily rate based on 'what I earned as an employee' -- always base it on actual costs and market rates.