Colombia freelancer social security calculator

You do not contribute on what you invoice, but on 40% of it, and never below the minimum wage

📊 The 2026 figures

Minimum wage, the floor of the base1,750,905 a month
Health plus pension on the base12.5% + 16% = 28.5%
Ceiling of the base, 25 minimum wages43,772,625
Solidarity Fund from 4 minimum wagesBase of 7,003,620, 1% to 2%

What changes your contribution

The 28.5% is not applied to your invoice, it is applied to 40% of your invoice. Measured against what you bill it is an effective 11.4%, and mixing up the two multiplies the figure by two and a half.
The minimum wage floor is the part that surprises people. If your 40% does not reach 1,750,905, you still contribute on 1,750,905, and your proportional burden ends up heavier than that of someone invoicing three times as much.
Deductible costs lower the base before the 40% is taken, but the UGPP requires them to be related to the activity and documented. Deducting too much is the most common reason for an audit notice.
You pay both halves. An employee pays 4% for health and 4% for pension because the company pays the rest; you have no company to put up the other half, so you pay the full 12.5% and 16%.

The 40% rule nobody explains properly

A freelancer in Colombia does not contribute on what they invoice: they contribute on the Ingreso Base de Cotización, the contribution base, which is 40% of their income once deductible costs are subtracted. Health at 12.5% and pension at 16% apply to that 40% and to nothing else. This is where the most expensive misunderstanding in the trade comes from: plenty of people believe they owe 28.5% of everything they bill, which would be outrageous, when what they actually owe is 28.5% of 40%, an effective 11.4% of the invoice. Somebody invoicing eight million does not pay 2,280,000 a month: they pay 912,000. The other half of the story is that the freelancer pays both sides. An employee pays 4% for health and 4% for pension, and the employer puts up the missing 8.5% and 12%. A freelancer has no employer to cover that half, so they cover both: the full 12.5% for health and the full 16% for pension. Comparing an employee's 8% with a freelancer's 28.5% without saying this makes it look like a penalty, when all it really means is having no employer.

The floor, the ceiling and what sits on top

The contribution base has a floor and a ceiling. The floor is the minimum wage, 1,750,905 pesos in 2026: however little you invoice, the base never drops below it. Someone invoicing three million has a 40% of 1,200,000, which sits under the minimum, and contributes on 1,750,905 anyway. That makes the weight of social security proportionally heavier at low incomes: 499,008 pesos on a three-million invoice is 16.6%, while the same calculation on eight million comes to 11.4%. It is the exact opposite of what almost everyone expects. The ceiling is 25 minimum wages, 43,772,625 pesos, and above that the contribution stops growing no matter how large the invoice gets. Two more items sit on top of health and pension. The Pension Solidarity Fund is paid only by bases of four minimum wages and up, that is from 7,003,620 pesos, and runs from 1% to 2% depending on which bracket the base falls into. And occupational risk insurance, the ARL, is paid only by those who sign a service contract: the rate depends on the risk class of the activity, from 0.522% for class I to 6.960% for class V. Anyone invoicing on their own account without a contract pays no occupational risk premium.

What to keep in mind

The minimum wage floor is the biggest surprise. If your 40% does not reach 1,750,905, you contribute on 1,750,905 regardless, and you end up paying a larger share of your income than someone invoicing three times as much.
Deductible costs are not just any expense. They must be related to the activity and documented, and the UGPP reviews them. Deducting too much is the most common reason for an audit notice.
If you are also an employee and invoice on the side, both contribution bases add up against the 25-wage ceiling. This calculator looks only at your freelance income.
ARL applies only with a service contract. If you invoice freely, that line is zero and the total drops.
The Pension Solidarity Fund starts at four minimum wages of contribution base. Below 7,003,620 nothing is due, which is why it shows as zero in most cases.
Contributions are filed through the PILA system and paid a month in arrears: what you declare on the form is the previous month's income.

Where this calculator stops

It does not calculate withholding tax or VAT. Social security contributions are one thing and taxes are another.
It does not cover the social protection floor or the BEPS scheme, meant for people earning less than a minimum wage a month who cannot contribute in full.
It does not check that your deductible costs meet what the UGPP requires: it subtracts exactly what you type.
It leaves out the family compensation fund contribution, which is voluntary for freelancers and runs from 0.6% to 2% of the base.
It does not add up the income of someone who is an employee and a freelancer at once, a case with its own accumulation rules.
Your PILA operator's form is what counts. This is here so you can tell whether the amount they charge you makes sense.

Worked examples

One that hits the floor and one that does not

You invoice 3,000,000 a month, with no deductible costs

40% of 3,000,000 = 1,200,000
1,200,000 falls short of the minimum, so the base rises to 1,750,905
Health 12.5% = 218,863 and pension 16% = 280,145

499,008 a month, 16.6% of your invoice. The floor costs you 157,008 more than it would have on 1,200,000

You invoice 8,000,000 a month, with no deductible costs

Base = 40% of 8,000,000 = 3,200,000
Health 12.5% = 400,000 and pension 16% = 512,000
3,200,000 is 1.8 minimum wages: no Solidarity Fund is due

912,000 a month, 11.4% of what you billed. On the full eight million it would have been 2,280,000

Do I contribute on what I invoice or on 40% of it?

On 40%. That 40% of your income, once deductible costs are subtracted, is the contribution base, and it is the only figure the 12.5% health rate and the 16% pension rate are applied to. That is why the much-repeated 28.5% works out, against the invoice, to an effective 11.4%. Someone invoicing eight million pays 912,000, not 2,280,000.

Why do I pay proportionally more when I invoice less?

Because of the floor. The contribution base cannot fall below the minimum wage, which in 2026 is 1,750,905 pesos. If you invoice three million, your 40% is 1,200,000, which sits under it, and you contribute on 1,750,905 anyway: 499,008 pesos, or 16.6% of what you billed. Someone invoicing eight million pays 11.4%. The burden is heavier at the bottom, the opposite of what almost everyone expects.

Why does an employee pay 8% and I pay 28.5%?

Because the employee only pays their half. They put in 4% for health and 4% for pension, and their company puts in the missing 8.5% and 12% that complete the 12.5% and the 16%. You have no company to cover the other half, so you cover it yourself. It is not a penalty on freelancers: the total going into the system is the same, it just all comes out of one pocket.

Which costs can I subtract before the 40%?

Those related to your activity that you can document: premises rent, associated utilities, supplies, tools, work travel. Personal spending does not count. The UGPP can ask for the paperwork, and deducting too much is the most common reason for an audit notice, so it pays to be conservative and keep the invoices.

When do I have to pay the Pension Solidarity Fund?

When your contribution base reaches four minimum wages, which in 2026 is 7,003,620 pesos. Since the base is 40% of your income, that means invoicing around 17,500,000 a month. The rate runs from 1% to 2% by bracket: 1% up to 16 minimum wages, then rising in steps to 2% from 20 minimum wages upward.

Do I have to pay ARL?

Only if you signed a service contract: in that case occupational risk cover is compulsory and the rate depends on the risk class of the activity, from 0.522% for class I, which is desk work, up to 6.960% for class V. If you invoice on your own account with no contract, you pay no ARL and that line comes out as zero.