Armenia freelance tax in 2026: every IE regime compared

Armenia freelance tax in 2026 depends on the regime your individual entrepreneur (IE) is registered under, not on a single national rate. Under microbusiness you pay no turnover tax up to AMD 24,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year. Under turnover tax you pay 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of what you receive for most services, or 1%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. for qualifying IT work, up to AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet.. Everyone else lands on the general system, which taxes profit at a rate the sources still argue about. On top of any of these come stamp duty, health insurance and, on turnover tax, a small fixed monthly payment.

The rest of this page puts figures on each line, marks the disputed ones, and shows where the percentage stops being the biggest cost.

What tax regimes can a freelancer IE use in Armenia in 2026

There are four options in practice. Three of them are special regimes you have to elect; the fourth is what you get if you do not.

The high-tech rate is formally a turnover tax rate, but it behaves like its own regime because the conditions are different. It runs until the end of 2031, according to the EY Armenia tax alert on the amendments.

Above AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year, nobody stays on a special regime: the general system applies and VAT registration becomes mandatory, at 20%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. VAT-01: VAT registration threshold. Sources agree, not verified.

What Armenia freelance tax costs at different income levels

Rates are easy to list. What people actually want is the yearly bill, so here are four situations built only from the rule set. Each one assumes a steady state: last year's turnover was the same as this year's, no employees, no expenses claimed.

A developer billing a US startup, right at the stamp duty line

Say you bill AMD 12,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year for software development, and your work qualifies for the high-tech rate.

On the draft figures, the fixed charges together come to more than the turnover tax itself. That surprises people who see the 1%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. rate and stop reading. Earn a little more than AMD 12,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. and stamp duty jumps to AMD 120,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., so the step is worth knowing about.

The catch is the word "qualifies". If less than 90%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of your revenue comes from qualifying activities, or if you need a High-Tech Registry entry you do not have, the same income is taxed at 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. instead. Both points are open questions, covered below. Run your own figure through the IT calculator.

A tutor teaching online, between the stamp line and the microbusiness cap

Now say you teach languages online and bill somewhere between AMD 12,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. and AMD 24,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year. Educational services are reported to stay eligible for microbusiness MB-02: Activities excluded from microbusiness. Sources agree, not verified.

Microbusiness still has a yearly bill: stamp duty and health insurance do not disappear just because the tax rate does. If you hire someone, microbusiness adds AMD 5,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a month per employee FX-06: Microbusiness with employees. Sources agree, not verified. Enter your own income to see both columns filled in.

A designer billing a German agency, above the microbusiness cap

A UI designer billing more than AMD 24,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year cannot use microbusiness, whatever the activity rules say. That leaves turnover tax at 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of everything received, plus the fixed monthly payment, AMD 120,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of stamp duty and AMD 129,600≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of health insurance.

There is a second question for designers. One source says engineering, architectural design, advertising, market research and healthcare have been excluded from turnover tax since July 1, 2025≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., and other sources do not mention it TT-03: Disputed turnover tax exclusions. Sources disagree. The list names architectural design, not graphic or UI design, and no source says how far it reaches. Do not guess on this one. If design were excluded, only the general system would be left. The turnover tax calculator shows the turnover-tax line and flags the doubt.

A consultant or accountant, at any income

Legal, accounting, auditing and consulting work is excluded from microbusiness MB-02: Activities excluded from microbusiness. Sources agree, not verified and from turnover tax TT-02: Activities excluded from turnover tax. Sources agree, not verified. These IEs are on the general system: tax on profit at 23%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., or 20%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. according to other sources GS-01: General system: tax on IE profit. Sources disagree, plus stamp duty and health insurance. VAT is voluntary below AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. and mandatory above it. Whether services exported to foreign clients carry VAT is not settled in our sources GS-03: VAT on services for foreign clients. Not confirmed.

Because the tax base is profit and the rate is disputed, the calculator only gives a rough headline for this case and suggests an accountant. Try your own figure anyway to see the order of magnitude.

Which costs come on top of the percentage

Four charges sit outside the headline rate. Two are settled enough to plan around, two are not.

Stamp duty, the military insurance fee, is AMD 12,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year if your income is up to AMD 12,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. and AMD 120,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. above that FX-03: Stamp duty for IEs. Sources agree, not verified. Every IE pays it, whatever the regime.

Mandatory health insurance is AMD 129,600≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year once your previous-year turnover exceeded AMD 2,400,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. FX-04: Health insurance for IEs. Sources agree, not verified, paid by April 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet.. A newly registered IE does not pay it until the April after its first year. From the payment based on 2026 turnover, the amount is supposed to depend on turnover bands, and those bands were not found in any source FX-05: Health insurance bands for later years. Not confirmed. Expect this line to change.

The fixed monthly payment applies to IEs on turnover tax. One source puts it at AMD 5,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a month in total; another says AMD 5,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of income tax plus the same again as a social contribution, which makes AMD 10,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. FX-01: Fixed monthly payment. Sources disagree. The calculator shows both. It is reported as due by day 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of each month, which inherits the same doubt DL-05: Fixed monthly payment date. Sources disagree.

The social (pension) payment is the real unknown. A percentage-of-income payment for IEs is described in one source, but nobody says clearly whether it applies to foreign nationals, or to IEs on turnover tax or microbusiness FX-02: Social (pension) payment for IEs. Not confirmed. The calculator leaves it out and says so. Ask an accountant this one directly.

Expenses are the other way round: documented costs may lower turnover tax down to a floor, but the only detailed table is contradicted by another source TT-04: Expenses under turnover tax. Sources disagree. We show the gross rate and note that documented expenses may lower it.

All of these, with their dates, are in the IE fixed costs and tax calendar.

Who is excluded from microbusiness and turnover tax

This is where most of the confusion lives, and where a wrong guess costs the most.

Microbusiness excludes legal, accounting, auditing, consulting and notarial services. The list was widened on July 1, 2025≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. with further professional and staffing categories MB-02: Activities excluded from microbusiness. Sources agree, not verified. Beyond that core list, sources split. One says that since July 1, 2025≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. microbusiness is closed to IT and data processing, advertising, translation, medicine, dentistry and most professional B2B services. An older one lists design, marketing and translation, and says some exclusions apply only in Yerevan MB-03: Disputed microbusiness exclusions. Sources disagree. If you write code, design, market or translate, treat microbusiness as unconfirmed for you. The microbusiness guide goes through the activity list.

Turnover tax excludes NACE groups M69 (legal and accounting), M70 (management consulting), N78.2 and N78.3 (temporary staffing), plus banks, insurers, investment firms, pawnshops, payment organisations, gambling, notaries and audit firms TT-02: Activities excluded from turnover tax. Sources agree, not verified. The Fincore summary of the changes is the most detailed secondary source on this. The disputed extra list for engineering, design, advertising and healthcare is the one covered in the designer example above TT-03: Disputed turnover tax exclusions. Sources disagree.

The high-tech rate has two questions of its own. The share test is clear: at least 90%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of revenue from qualifying activities IT-01: IT rate: conditions. Sources agree, not verified. What happens below that share is not; the calculator assumes the ordinary services rate on all turnover, and that assumption is waiting for an accountant. And sources disagree on whether you need to be in the High-Tech Registry of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, or whether service-based IT work qualifies without separate certification IT-02: IT rate: High-Tech Registry. Sources disagree. For a developer that question decides between 1%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. and 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., so get it answered in writing. Rates by activity are in the turnover tax guide.

How this compares with being an employee

An employee in Armenia pays income tax of 20%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. on gross salary EM-01: Employee income tax. Sources agree, not verified, plus stamp duty of AMD 1,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a month on a salary up to AMD 1,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a month and AMD 15,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. above it. That stamp duty figure comes from a single source and older rules had more bands EM-02: Employee stamp duty. Sources disagree.

There is also an employee social payment, but its formula above a certain salary is not confirmed EM-03: Employee social payment. Not confirmed, and nothing reliable was found on employee health insurance EM-04: Employee health insurance. Not confirmed. So the employee figure we show is a floor, not a full bill.

Even with that caveat, the gap between 20%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of salary and 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. or 1%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of turnover is large. It is not a like-for-like comparison, though. The IE side carries the fixed charges described above, the employee side is missing the social payment, and the gross salary an employer offers is rarely the same number as the invoice a client would accept. The IE versus employee calculator puts both side by side at the same gross figure.

None of this covers tax in your home country. A Russian tax resident with an Armenian IE, for example, may still owe Russian tax on the same income; see the guide on Armenian IEs and Russian NDFL.

Why other websites quote different rates

If you have read three pages on this and found three different numbers, you are not misreading. There are a few reasons.

Rates changed in 2025. Trade, for example, was raised to 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. from a lower rate TR-01: Turnover tax rate: trade. Sources agree, not verified, and some guides written before that change still quote the old figure. Check the date on any page before you trust its rate.

Some pages quote one activity as if it were the rule. Trade in Government-listed recyclable materials really is taxed at 5%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. TR-02: Turnover tax rate: recyclable materials. Sources agree, not verified, catering at 12%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. TR-04: Turnover tax rate: public catering. Sources agree, not verified, and rent, interest and royalties at 10%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. TR-05: Turnover tax rate: rent, interest, royalties. Sources agree, not verified. A page that gives a range across all activities is technically right and useless for a freelancer.

Ranges with a low floor often come from expense deductions: the minimum rate turnover tax can be reduced to after documented costs. That table is disputed TT-04: Expenses under turnover tax. Sources disagree and rarely relevant to service work.

The high figure people quote is the general system rate, 23%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. GS-01: General system: tax on IE profit. Sources disagree. It applies to profit, and only if you are not on a special regime. Some sources give 20%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. instead, the flat personal income tax rate. This is one of the questions in our accountant review.

Finally, the thresholds. Some older pages mention a higher turnover tax cap than AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet.; that was a proposal and every source from 2025 and 2026 uses the lower figure.

When you must choose a regime and what happens if you miss it

A new IE has 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. days after registration to elect turnover tax, microbusiness or the high-tech rate DL-01: Regime election after registration. Sources agree, not verified. An existing IE can elect or change regime by February 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. each year DL-02: Annual regime election. Sources agree, not verified. Miss the window and the general system applies for the whole year DL-03: Missing the election deadline. Sources agree, not verified, which means tax on profit at the disputed general rate. Registering an IE is not the same as choosing a regime: the election is a separate step, and nobody makes it for you.

Registration itself can be done online through hartak.am, with an ID card or e-ID and a digital signature, and the online route costs AMD 0.

Once you are on turnover tax, you calculate and pay it every quarter, by day 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. of the month after the quarter ends DL-04: Quarterly turnover tax. Sources agree, not verified. If you stop qualifying during the year, for example by crossing AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., you have 20≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. days to submit a declaration to the tax authority TT-05: Leaving turnover tax. Sources agree, not verified.

One link to immigration law matters here. From November 1, 2026, residence on the business ground lapses if the State Revenue Committee database shows no taxes calculated from your business within 180 days of the grant (Law HO-11-N on ARLIS). The law does not say how this treats an IE on microbusiness, where the tax is zero, and we found no official clarification. If your residence depends on your IE, do not assume microbusiness is safe; ask the Migration and Citizenship Service or a lawyer before you elect it.

How the calculator ranks your options

The calculator does not tell you which regime to pick. It takes your income, your activity and a few answers, works out which regimes you appear eligible for, and orders them by the lowest estimated yearly cost. Where eligibility is unclear, as with microbusiness for IT or turnover tax for some design work, it says so instead of hiding the option or presenting it as safe.

Each line carries the IDs of the rules it used, and any line built on a rule that is not confirmed gets an estimate mark. The fixed monthly payment is shown both ways. The general system is a rough headline only. Income in dollars, euros or roubles is converted at a default rate you can edit, because the official conversion rule for foreign-currency receipts is itself unconfirmed FXR-01: Currency conversion. Not confirmed. The full method, with every source, is on How we calculate.

Questions people ask

Is freelancing in Armenia tax free on microbusiness?

The turnover tax is zero up to AMD 24,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet., but stamp duty and health insurance still apply, and IT, design, marketing and translation may not be eligible at all MB-03: Disputed microbusiness exclusions. Sources disagree. It is a low bill, not no bill.

Do I need an IE to freelance in Armenia?

To use any of the regimes on this page, yes: they are IE regimes. Working as a private individual is taxed differently and is outside what this calculator covers.

Is the high-tech rate automatic for developers?

No. You have to elect it in time, meet the 90%≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. revenue share, and possibly be listed in the High-Tech Registry, which sources disagree on IT-02: IT rate: High-Tech Registry. Sources disagree.

Do I pay VAT as a freelancer?

Below AMD 115,000,000≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. a year, VAT registration is voluntary; above it, registration is mandatory and you are on the general system anyway GS-02: General system: VAT. Sources agree, not verified. Whether services exported to foreign clients carry VAT is not settled in our sources GS-03: VAT on services for foreign clients. Not confirmed.

Does tax residency change my IE tax?

No. Tax residency, usually tested by spending 183≈Estimate: Uses at least one rule that an accountant has not verified yet. days or more in Armenia, decides whether Armenia taxes your worldwide income or only Armenian-source income, but the IE tax the calculator shows does not change. Sources disagree on how the days are counted, per calendar year or over any twelve-month period RES-01: Tax residency: day count. Sources disagree.

What if I earn in dollars or euros?

Turnover is counted in drams. Which exchange rate and date apply to foreign-currency receipts has not been confirmed FXR-01: Currency conversion. Not confirmed, so ask your accountant which rate they use and keep your bank's conversion records.