How to register online as a tax payer in Lithuania?

Do you live in Lithuania and work as a freelancer? Do you want to register online as a tax payer?

Please note that the text below is not a legal advice. The author of this article is not responsible for the information provided in this article and not responsible for any consequences, which may arise from using the information of this article. The information provided below is based on personal experience (at least 5 years of freelance job as a permanent resident in Lithuania), and is provided to the best knowledge of the author. The text below may be corrected at any time. The information may not be valid in future as the legislation may change. The information provided below may not necessarily guarantee the lowest possible tax exposure. After you register according to the scheme steps below, you will be required to handle your accounting (simplified form) of your freelance job. In case of any questions or doubt, please call Tax Inspection Office (VMI) number 1882. You will be warned that the conversation is being recorded. Afterwards press "9" for English menu.

The tax office in Lithuania is called "VMI" (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija  – State Tax Inspection).

1. At first, go to this page:

https://sso.vmi.lt/sso/login

2. If you do not have a Lithuanian bank account, go to the nearest VMI office, and ask "I need a username and password for "Mano VMI" system" (Lithuanian: "Prašau išduoti Mano VMI prisijungimo vardą ir slaptažodį").  After you get them,  click the tab "Su VMI priemonėmis" (picture below), enter your username and password.

If you have a Lithuanian bank account, click on the name of your bank from the list:

You will be redirected to the login page to your Lithuanian bank account. Then click the corresponding button near the text which contains "VMI". "Prisijungti" means "Login".

By clicking "Prisijungti" you agree that the bank will pass your data to the third party  (in this case VMI) and you are informed that your have a right to disagree.

4. After you login to Mano VMI, click "Individuali veikla" (Individual economic activity).

5.  Click on "Pažymos" (Certificates of Individual activity):

6. Click on "Mokesčių mokėtojo kontaktinių duomenų tvarkymas" (Modifying Tax Payer data):

7. Check "Įregistruoti užsienio fizinį asmenį" (Register a foreign private person) and click "Toliau" (Next):

8. You may get a warning "The data entered in your previous application will be deleted". Click "Išsaugoti" (this time it means "Proceed"):

9. [OPTIONAL] The Tabs "Gyvenamoji vieta" (Address of residence), and "Elektroninių ryšių rekvizitai" (Electronic contact data) are optional. In the tab "Elektroninių ryšių rekvizitai" it might be useful to indicate your email ("Elektroninio pašto adresas"), so VMI will be able to inform you. You can edit the data by clicking on the green pen. You may enter your email in the field "Nauja kontakto reikšmė", then click "Saugoti" (Save).

10. Click on "Veiklos duomenys" (Data of the Economic Activity):

11. Beneath the title "Pagrindinė veiklos rūšis" (Type of the main Economic Activity), click the green pen. If this section is not available, click the button "Pridėti":

12. In the popup window, start typing the type of your economic activity in Lithuanian:

The dates above indicate when your Economic activity is being started.

• "Registriniai duomenys galioja iki" (Registered data is valid until) – it means until when the data about your earlier economic activity is valid. If you are registering for the first time, do not fill this field.
• "Pakeitimai pradeda galioti nuo" (Your input data will be valid from). In general, do not change these dates if you start conducting your economic activity today.

In the field "Nauja veiklos reikšmė" start typing your Economic Activity in Lithuanian. In the example above, "Programming" is being typed. You can also type the code. Most common codes of Economic activity:

620100 – Computer programming
620000 – Computer programming, consulting, and related activity
631100 – Data processing, hosting and related activities. According to this article, this code is applicable for Google Adsense income.
855000 – Other teaching or tutoring
702000 – Management Consulting
702200 – Business and management consulting
711000 – Architecture, Engineering and related technical consulting
711200 – Engineering and related technical consulting
743000 – Translation (oral or written)

You can find the list in English in this file. Ignore the periods in codes.

If you are unable to find the type of Economic activity, you may use this code:

749000 – Other, nowhere classified, scientific, technical or professional economic activity.

Click "Saugoti".

The fields in "Kitos veiklos rūšys" (Other types of activity) are only if you conduct more than 1 economic activity, for example, translating and internet hosting.

Click "Toliau" (Next).

13. Click the green pen to select the type of the tax payer:

14. In the popup window, choose between  2 options:

The dates above indicate when you are going to start being a taxpayer. "Registriniai duomenys galioja iki" (Registered data is valid until) – it means until when the data of your earlier status of tax payer  is valid. If you are registering for the first time, leave this field "as is".
"Pakeitimai pradeda galioti nuo" (Your input data will be valid from). In general, leave this field as is if you start conducting your economic activity today.

In the field "Mokesčių mokėtojo tipas" there are 2 options:

• "Nenuolatiniai Lietuvos gyventojai, vykdantys individualią veiklą Lietuvoje per nuolatinę bazę" (Non-permanent residents of Lithuania, conducting economic economic activity through the permanent base in Lithuania). According to VMI explanation, you should choose this if you are a foreigner in Lithuania, and you conduct your freelance job only, and this is your only purpose of coming to Lithuania (for example, in my opinion, not working in a Lithuanian company, not taking a loan from a Lithuanian bank, not studying in a Lithuanian institution, not getting your income from Lithuanian sources etc.). In this case  you only need to pay your income tax, which is effectively 3,5% – 10,5% on all money you get from your freelance job. In this case your maximum tax exposure on all the money you get from your freelance job – 10,5%.
• If you have more ties to Lithuania than your home country, you should choose "Gyventojai, vykdantys individualią veiklą" (Residents, conducting an economic activity). In this case, your approximate effective tax rates on the money you get from your freelance job: 1. Income tax – 3,5% – 10,5%; 2. Compulsory Public Health Insurance contributions (Lithuanian: PSD) – 4,4 % or 42,37 EUR / month, whichever is higher (2020); 3. Public Social Security contributions – 7,89 % or lower. So in this case your maximum tax exposure on all money you get from your freelance job will be around 23%, or even higher if your  income is low, because mandatory public health insurance is at least 42,37 EUR / month, no matter what (unless you are studying or are registered as unemployed (which is not true as you are doing a freelance job).

Click "Saugoti" (Save), and "Toliau" (Next).

15. Here you will need to provide an  information about where you conduct your economic activity. Click "Pridėti" (Add):

16. Most likely all you need to do is to check the box "Sutampa su gyvenamąja vieta Lietuvoje" ("The same as the residence address in Lithuania", and the data from Government registries will be automatically entered.  Click "Saugoti" (Save):

If if does not fill up automatically after selecting the above mentioned checkbox, or when Government does not have any information about where you live in Lithuania, you can fill your address manually. Meaning of other fields:

• "Pakeitimai pradeda galioti nuo" (Changes will become effective from). Do not change this field if you start your economic activity today.
• "Pavadinimas*" (Title of you Economic activity), any random title , for example "Magic English tutoring", "John Smith programming services" etc. (Optional);
• "Interneto svetainės adresas" (Internet website) (Optional);
• "Miestas / kaimas" (City, town or village);
• "Gatvė" (Street);
• "Namas" (House number);
• "Pašto kodas" (Zip code);

Click "Saugoti" (Save). Click "Toliau" (Next).

17. [OPTIONAL] The next item is "Atstovai" (Representatives). If you register as a tax payer according to the scheme described in this article, you will be obliged to handle your accounting. In this case the accounting is handled in simplified form. The fields in this tab mean:

• "Apskaitą tvarkantis asmuo" (The person who handles accounting) – Enter the person's details in case you ask somebody else to handle your accounting. 
• "Fizinio asmens atstovas (REG812)"  (The representative of the private person) – in case you want another person to deal with all your tax issues under your name (power of attorney), fill the details of this person in this field. When you arrange this matter, when you want another person to deal with government institutions under your name – it must be certified by a public notary.

Click "Saugoti" (Save). Click "Toliau" (Next).

18. The next tab is "Pridedami dokumentai" (Attached documents). In most cases you can skip this tab. However, in case you are from non-EU (EEA) country, you need to submit your residence permit. Click "Įkelti" (Upload):

In the popup window select "Leidimas nuolat gyventi Lietuvoje" (A residence permit to live in Lithuania):

In the field "Dokumento kopija", click Browse, select your scanned copy of your residence permit, click "Įkelti" (Upload).

Click "Saugoti". Click "Toliau" (Next).

19. In the last tab "Dokumento patvirtinimas" (Confirmation), you will get all warnings in case there is something wrong. Click "Patvirtinti".

After you confirm, in 1-5 business days you will be given the Certificate of Individual activity. You will be registered as a tax payer in Lithuania.

Frequently asked questions:

I stopped at step 12 and closed the window. Can I continue to work from step 12 later on?

Yes, unfinished documents are saved for 10 days. After you login to "Mano VMI", scroll down, click on "Ruošiami" (Documents being prepared):

Click on the title of your document:

And you will be able to continue.

How can I download my Certificate of Individual Economic Activity?

Do the procedure again from Step 1 to Step 6. In the Step 6, click on the green button "Individualios veiklos pažyma".

How can I know if everything went well?

If you are able to download your Certificate of Individual Economic Activity (previous question), it means that you are successfully registered as a tax payer in Lithuania.