Romania's taxes at a glance
| Tax on $50,000 of revenue | 25% to 35% |
|---|---|
| Tax on $100,000 of revenue | 15% to 25% |
| Effective rate at $100,000On profit, after costs of 15% | 22.2% Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026. Computed: revenue RON 463,922, profit RON 394,334, CAS RON 24,300, CASS RON 29,160, income tax RON 34,087, total RON 87,547 = 22.2% of profit |
| Tax on $250,000 of revenue | 10% to 15% |
| Tax system | Worldwide |
| Foreign income, new residents | Taxed Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026 |
| Social contributions, self-employed | 25% Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026. CAS (pension) 25% under Fiscal Code art. 138(a), charged on a fixed base of 24 minimum gross wages (RON 97,200 at RON 4,050) once net income reaches that level, so at most RON 24,300 a year at the minimum base. Health (CASS) is a further 10% of net income up to 72 minimum wages (RON 29,160 at most at RON 4,050) |
Structure used: Self-employed sole proprietor (PFA) taxed in the real system on net income: 10% income tax after deducting 25% pension contribution on a base of 24 minimum wages and 10% health contribution on net income capped at 72 minimum wages. Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Romania tax residency: domicile, vital interests or 183 days in 12 months
The Fiscal Code's definition of a resident individual (article 7, point 28) makes you resident in Romania if you meet at least 1 of these tests:
- A domicile in Romania. Your legal home is registered in the country.
- Your center of vital interests is in Romania. Your home, family and the place your work is run from point to Romania.
- More than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned, counting 1 stay or several stays together.
The day test runs on a rolling window, not the calendar year, so 2 stays that each look short inside their own year can add up to residence. A foreigner who becomes resident is taxed on worldwide income from the date residence starts, not from January 1. If another country also treats you as resident, the tie-breaker in the tax treaty between the 2 countries decides which one taxes your worldwide income.
Staying under 183 days in Romania
Works
A Canadian developer employed by a Toronto company holds the digital nomad visa, spends 150 days in Brașov in any 12-month window and keeps home and family in Canada. The salary stays outside Romanian income tax and both contributions, because the digital nomad exemption covers exactly this person.
Fails
The same developer arrives on September 1 and stays until April 30, counting 122 days in the first year and 120 in the second. Romania counts any 12 consecutive months, so that is 242 days in 1 window: he becomes resident, loses the exemption and owes 10% on his worldwide income from then on.
Romania's 10% flat tax for freelancers (PFA), worked through
Romania has no income tax brackets. Article 64 of the Fiscal Code sets 10% on income from independent activities, salaries and investments alike. Freelancers usually register as a PFA (authorized natural person) and, in the real system, pay tax on revenue minus documented business costs, after deducting the pension (CAS) and health (CASS) contributions they owe.
The contributions are the unusual part. CAS, the pension contribution, is 25% of a fixed base rather than of your income: at least 12 minimum gross wages when net income is between 12 and 24 minimum wages, and at least 24 once net income passes that. CASS, the health contribution, is 10% of net income, capped at 72 minimum wages.
Both bases use the minimum wage in force on January 1 of the income year, under article 135^1 of the Fiscal Code. For 2026 that is the RON 4,050 (about $873) monthly wage, not the RON 4,325 (about $932) that replaced it on July 1. So in 2026 the pension contribution is RON 24,300 (about $5,240) for anyone above 24 minimum wages, and the health contribution tops out at RON 29,160 (about $6,290).
A freelancer (PFA, real system) in 2026, with real costs of 15% of revenue (lei at the ECB rate of September 28, 2026)
| Line | $50,000 revenue | $100,000 revenue | $250,000 revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue in lei | RON 231,961 | RON 463,922 | RON 1,159,805 |
| Net income after 15% costs | RON 197,167 | RON 394,334 | RON 985,834 |
| Pension (CAS), 25% of 24 minimum wages | RON 24,300 | RON 24,300 | RON 24,300 |
| Health (CASS), 10% of net income, capped | RON 19,717 | RON 29,160 | RON 29,160 |
| Taxable income | RON 153,150 | RON 340,874 | RON 932,374 |
| Income tax at 10% | RON 15,315 | RON 34,087 | RON 93,237 |
| Total tax and contributions | RON 59,332 | RON 87,547 | RON 146,697 |
| Share of net income | 30.1% | 22.2% | 14.9% |
Contributions make up 74% of the bill at $50,000 of revenue and 36% at $250,000. The fixed pension base is what makes Romania expensive for lower earners and cheap for high ones: the RON 24,300 (about $5,240) pension charge is the same at $30,000 of revenue as at $300,000.
Foreign income and remote work once you live in Romania
A resident is taxed on worldwide income from any source, with no remittance basis and no newcomer regime. Foreign salary and freelance fees join the same 10% base as Romanian income, and dividends distributed from January 1, 2026 bear 16%, with credit for tax already paid abroad on the same income.
Dividends also pull in the health contribution. On top of the 16%, dividend income counts toward CASS on a stepped base of 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages, depending on how much of this kind of income you have in the year, so a resident founder paying out profit meets both charges.
For remote workers the question is who pays you and in what form. Article 58 of the Fiscal Code taxes non-residents on employment carried on in Romania and on freelance income earned through a permanent establishment there. An employee of a foreign company working from an apartment in Cluj is doing Romanian employment on paper, which is exactly the case the digital nomad exemption was written for. A freelancer invoicing in their own name is outside that exemption, so their position turns on residence and on whether a permanent establishment exists.
Filing in Romania: the single return and the thresholds
The tax year is the calendar year, and a freelancer settles income tax and both contributions through 1 annual filing, the single return (declarația unică). The Fiscal Code sets its deadline at May 25 of the year after the income.
Your first year as a freelancer in Romania
- Register as a PFA with the National Trade Register Office before you issue your first invoice.
- Keep income and expense records for the real system: only documented business costs reduce net income.
- Track net income against 12 and 24 minimum wages, RON 48,600 (about $10,500) and RON 97,200 (about $21,000) in 2026, because those lines set the pension base.
- Watch annual turnover against RON 395,000 (about $85,100): the VAT small-business exemption stops at that ceiling and you register for VAT.
- By May 25 of the next year, file the single return for the year just ended; it sets the income tax and both contributions.
David's note
For an employee of a foreign company, the digital nomad exemption is worth more than any structure a resident can build, but it hangs on a day count over a rolling 12 months. I would keep a dated log of every entry and exit from the first day, and plan the calendar so the busiest 12-month window never passes 170 days, which leaves room for a delayed flight or a family emergency.
Ways to move to Romania
| Route | Minimum income or investment | Permit length | Makes you tax resident | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-stay visa and temporary residence permit for digital nomads (Emergency Ordinance 194/2002, as amended by Law 22/2022) Source: avocatnet.ro, checked September 29, 2026. Health insurance of at least EUR 30,000 covering the EUDigital nomad visa | RON 27,576 (about $5,940) a month Source: avocatnet.ro, checked September 29, 2026. Gross income of at least 3 times the average gross monthly salary (RON 9,192 for 2026) in each of the 6 months before applying and for the whole visa period: RON 27,576 (about $5,940) a month | Renewable | With enough daysHolders who stay 183 days or less in any 12 months stay non-resident and pay no Romanian tax or contributions on pay from their foreign employer or own foreign company; above 183 days they become resident and are taxed normally. | Open |
Special tax regimes in Romania
Digital nomad exemption for non-residents
Foreigners with digital nomad status who work remotely for a company registered outside Romania, or through their own company registered outside Romania, pay no Romanian income tax, pension or health contributions on that salary-type income while they spend no more than 183 days in Romania in any 12 consecutive months.
Open to new applicants. Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026
Micro-enterprise turnover tax
A Romanian company with revenue up to the RON equivalent of €100,000 (about $114,000) pays 1% of revenue instead of 16% profit tax, if it has at least 1 full-time employee or a director paid at least the minimum wage. Dividends then bear 16% plus health contribution.
Open, with terms changed recently. Source: static.anaf.ro, checked September 29, 2026
Running your own company from Romania
A Romanian SRL pays 16% profit tax, and dividends to an individual bear 16% as well. On $100,000 of profit taken out in full that is RON 74,228 (about $16,000) of profit tax and RON 62,351 (about $13,400) on the dividend, about 29.4% in all before the health contribution a resident owner also pays on dividends.
Formation runs through the National Trade Register Office, usually online through a lawyer holding your notarized and apostilled power of attorney, so setting up a Romanian SRL does not need you in the country. The administrator can be of any nationality and live anywhere.
At the incomes we model, the 1% micro-company route lands in the same tax bands as a PFA once the owner's minimum-wage mandate contract, the 16% dividend tax and the health contribution are counted, and it disappears above €100,000 (about $114,000) of revenue. Its appeal is in keeping profit inside the company, not in paying it out.
A company registered abroad does not stay outside Romanian tax just because of where it is registered. The Fiscal Code taxes a foreign company whose place of effective management is in Romania as a Romanian taxpayer, so an Estonian or UK company run day to day from your desk in Bucharest can end up owing Romanian profit tax. The dividends it pays you are then taxed at 16% in Romania, with credit for tax withheld abroad.
The digital nomad route and a Romanian company do not mix. The status covers people employed by, or owning, a company registered outside Romania that provides services through information technology, so the business behind the visa has to be registered abroad.
US citizens in Romania: a treaty and a new totalization agreement
The US and Romania have an income tax treaty in force, and since September 1, 2026 a Social Security totalization agreement as well, so a self-employed American pays social contributions to 1 country, not both. If the agreement puts you under Romanian contributions, you need a certificate of coverage from Romania and attach a copy to Form 1040 each year to be exempt from US self-employment tax. The foreign earned income exclusion of $132,900 for 2026, or a credit for the Romanian tax, covers the income tax side, and you still file a US return every year.
The costly mistakes in Romania
The digital nomad exemption does not cover freelancers
The exemption applies to salary or salary-type income from a foreign employer, or from your own company registered outside Romania. A freelancer who invoices clients in their own name gets nothing from it, and a nomad who passes 183 days in any 12 consecutive months loses it along with non-resident status. Once resident, the bill is 10% income tax plus pension and health contributions, about 22.2% of profit at $100,000 of revenue.
The second is the pension cliff. The CAS base jumps from 12 to 24 minimum wages the moment net income reaches 24 minimum wages, so in 2026 crossing RON 97,200 (about $21,000) of net income raises the pension contribution from RON 12,150 (about $2,620) to RON 24,300 (about $5,240) in one step.
The third is building a long plan on the micro regime. Its rules have changed every year since 2023, and the 2026 round cut the revenue ceiling and raised the dividend tax from 10% to 16% at the same time, so any company structure in Romania needs a fresh look each January.
Who Romania suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- High-earning freelancers: the pension contribution sits on a fixed base of 24 minimum wages and health on at most 72, so the total falls to about 15% of profit at $250,000 of revenue.
- Employees or owners of a foreign company on the digital nomad visa who stay 183 days or less a year: no Romanian tax on that pay.
- EU citizens who want an EU base with a flat 10% income tax.
Poor fit
- Lower earners: at $50,000 of revenue the fixed pension base pushes the total to about 30% of profit.
- Dividend-heavy founders after the 2026 rise to 16% plus health contribution.
- Freelancers who invoice in their own name and want the digital nomad exemption, which covers only employees and owners of foreign companies, and anyone who needs a stable small-business regime.
Recent tax and visa changes in Romania
The US and Romania Social Security (totalization) agreement entered into force, so a US citizen self-employed in Romania pays social contributions in one country, not both. ssa.gov
Minimum gross wage raised from RON 4,050 to RON 4,325 a month, which lifts the fixed bases for self-employed pension and health contributions in later years. agerpres.ro
Dividend tax raised from 10% to 16% for dividends distributed from 2026 (Law 141/2025); micro-enterprise regime limited to revenue up to EUR 100,000 at a single 1% rate. static.anaf.ro
Law 69/2023 exempted non-resident digital nomads (183 days or less in 12 months) from income tax, CAS and CASS on pay from a foreign employer or own foreign company. static.anaf.ro
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