Light entrepreneurship · For students
Student, you can take on gig work easily and worry-free without a company of your own
Gig work during your studies grows your CV as well as your bank balance, so the opportunities are well worth taking.
All work experience counts — and experience in your own field counts double
Work experience from your own field during your studies is genuinely valuable. By the time you graduate you may already have a foot in the door at a future employer, or a solid client base for working for yourself.
Not every field offers gigs in your own discipline while you study. Even then, gig work teaches things a lecture cannot: how to price your own work, how to agree terms with a client, how to keep to a schedule and how to invoice. Those skills carry from one field to the next.
You don’t need a business ID to send an invoice
Many people assume that sending an invoice means founding a company first. In reality you don’t need a company of your own when you work as a light entrepreneur through an invoicing service.
In practice: you agree the price with your client and do the work. We send the invoice on your behalf. When the client pays, you get the money quickly as wages, and withholding tax and VAT are handled for you with the Tax Administration.
You aren’t committing to anything either. You can invoice a single gig through an invoicing service with no monthly fees and no bookkeeping obligation.
How to invoice your first gig
- Agree the price with your client. State the sum clearly and mention whether it includes VAT.
- Create an account — it’s free. Registering takes a few minutes and commits you to nothing.
- Fill in the invoice details. Client details, a description of the work and the sum. We send the invoice on.
- Get paid into your account. Once the client has paid, your wages are paid out to you the same day.
What kinds of gigs do students invoice?
Essentially any work where the client wants an invoice. The most common student gigs are:
- Photographer
- Graphic designer
- Developer
- Social media creator
- Musician
- Translator
- Private tutor
- Waiter
- Event worker
- Cleaner
You’ll find your own field in our profession-specific guides.
What about student financial aid?
Fees earned as a light entrepreneur or an entrepreneur affect student financial aid in exactly the same way as wages earned in an employment relationship.
The income limit is not a fixed sum: it depends on how many months of the calendar year you draw financial aid for. The less aid you draw, the more you can earn.
Annual income limits in 2026
| Months of financial aid | Income limit €/year |
|---|---|
| 1 month | 38,023 |
| 2 months | 35,786 |
| 3 months | 33,549 |
| 4 months | 31,312 |
| 5 months | 29,075 |
| 6 months | 26,838 |
| 7 months | 24,601 |
| 8 months | 22,364 |
| 9 months | 20,127 |
| 10 months | 17,890 |
| 11 months | 15,653 |
| 12 months | 13,416 |
The table is based on Kela’s 2026 euro amounts: €1,118 for each month of financial aid and €3,355 for each month without it. Every month of aid you draw therefore lowers your annual income limit by exactly €2,237. Kela explains the rules in English under how income affects financial aid for students in higher education, and you can check your own limit with Kela’s income calculator.
If you do go over the limit, the situation can still be fixed. You can return financial aid to Kela voluntarily by the end of April of the year following the tax year, in which case the 7.5 per cent increase that comes with recovery doesn’t apply at all. For students in higher education, the returned months of aid also become available to use again.