I'm an on-site frontend freelancer receiving the same amount every month under a 3.3% contract. How should I handle expenses?
Even on-site, as long as your contract is freelance (business income), you can claim necessary expenses regardless of your on-site status — subscriptions to collaboration tools like Figma or Adobe XD, purchases of work equipment like high-resolution monitors and keyboards, and phone/internet bills can all be recognized with documentation. The most common issue is developers receiving the same monthly settlement without keeping any records, leaving almost nothing recognized as a necessary expense when filing comprehensive income tax — so it's important to keep gathering your spending documentation consistently.
Income Structure Features for Frontend Developers
Key Necessary Expense Items
Tax Advantages for Frontend Developers
Portfolio-building gig income can be tax-planned too
Managing per-project outsourcing income from platforms like Kmong and Soomgo as consolidated business income lets you apply expense ratios and the Nolan Umbrella Fund to save on taxes.
Coordinating stock option exercise timing
Since a startup frontend developer's stock option exercise gain is taxed as employment income, spreading the exercise timing across your salary and bonus payments can ease the progressive rate burden.
Reviewing zero-rate VAT for overseas projects
We review the zero-rate VAT requirements when you work on an overseas SaaS project or provide frontend outsourcing to an overseas client.
The Most Common Mistake in the Field
The most common mistake is working on-site as a freelancer receiving the same monthly amount under a 3.3% contract, while keeping no documentation at all for the equipment, subscriptions, and courses actually used, leaving almost nothing recognized as a necessary expense when filing comprehensive income tax.
A Must-Check for On-Site Freelancers — Disguised Subcontracting & Employee Status
Even if your contract says freelancer, you may be judged an employee based on your actual working reality
A work reality resembling employment carries disguised-subcontracting risk
If you work on-site at a client through an SI firm or agency with fixed working hours, direct work direction and attendance management from the client, and use of in-house facilities and equipment, your actual status may be judged as an employee even if your contract says freelancer. If disguised subcontracting is found, it can lead to retroactive four-major-insurance enrollment and back taxes on employment income.
Work autonomy needs to be preserved to stay safe
A structure where you contract based on scope of work and deliverables, and can decide your own detailed working methods and hours, keeps a freelance (business income) contract safe. Remember that the actual level of direction and supervision matters more than the contract's wording.