In short: A freelance profession is work for yourself in which you sell your skills directly to clients for a fee — as a translator, designer, programmer or lawyer — without an employer.
Simply put: The freedom is real, but so are the duties: you pay your own contributions, keep your accounts, find clients and have no paid leave. It is "a job without an employer" — when you stop, the income stops. So your rate must cover rest, contributions and a reserve.
Example: A translator wants the net income of a €1,500 gross salary. He prices in 25 days of "leave", sick days and full contributions, so his hourly rate is higher than an employee's.
The EU rule: countries may exempt small businesses from VAT below a national threshold of no more than €85,000 (Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 284, as amended by Directive (EU) 2020/285).
Example: Bulgaria — freelance income is taxed at 10 % after 25 % statutory expenses (40 % for lawyers and notaries) (Personal Income Tax Act, Articles 29 and 48); the person is self-employed (Social Security Code, Article 4). VAT registration is compulsory above €51,130 a year.
Check in your country — Tax regime, contributions and VAT threshold for freelancers.
Source: Directive (EU) 2020/285: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2020/285/oj · NRA (Bulgaria): https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/osiguryavane/osiguryavam-se-sam