Romania has a flat 10% income tax — which sounds simple until you see how differently it treats an employee, a freelancer (PFA), and a company. In 2026, the gap between them is enormous, and it grows dramatically with income. The reason is social contributions: for employees they're effectively uncapped; for freelancers they're capped.
Here's the 2026 net take-home for the same gross (in RON; ≈ €0.20 each, so 250,000 RON ≈ €50,000):
| Gross / year | Employee | Freelancer (PFA) | Company | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 RON | 58,500 | 59,130 | 65,700 | Company, by 6,570 |
| 150,000 RON | 87,750 | 99,630 | 96,120 | Freelancer, by 3,510 |
| 200,000 RON | 117,000 | 140,130 | 131,400 | Freelancer, by 8,730 |
| 300,000 RON | 175,500 | 221,886 | 201,960 | Freelancer, by 19,926 |
| 500,000 RON | 292,500 | 401,886 | 343,080 | Freelancer, by 58,806 |
| 750,000 RON | 438,750 | 626,886 | 519,480 | Freelancer, by 107,406 |
(2026 rates, single filer, standard company, profit distributed. Estimates — see caveats.)
The employee sits at a flat ~42% effective rate at every income level — brutal, and it never eases. The freelancer starts similar but their effective rate collapses toward ~16% as income rises. At 750,000 RON the PFA keeps over 107,000 RON more than the same person on payroll. That's not a rounding difference — it's a different financial life.
Why the freelancer runs away with it
A Romanian employee pays roughly 25% CAS (pension) + 10% CASS (health) + 10% income tax — and those social contributions apply across their salary, so the ~42% burden barely moves.
A PFA (freelancer) pays the same 10% income tax, but CAS and CASS are capped: they're calculated on fixed multiples of the minimum wage, not on actual profit. Once you earn past those ceilings, additional income carries only the 10% tax. So the more the freelancer earns, the lower their effective rate falls — the mirror image of the employee.
The company is the best choice at the very bottom (the micro-enterprise 1%-of-turnover regime is extremely cheap on low turnover), but as profit grows the standard 16% corporate + 10% dividend can't keep up with the freelancer's capped contributions.
The takeaway
In Romania, if you're earning well and can operate as a PFA, the tax math is overwhelmingly in your favour — and it's not close at higher incomes. A micro-company is worth a look at low turnover. Being a straight employee is, on tax alone, the most expensive way to earn in Romania.
Caveats (read these)
- These are estimates from a deterministic calculator, not tax advice.
- The PFA contribution caps (tied to the minimum wage) are the whole story here — confirm the current thresholds, which change with the minimum wage.
- The micro-enterprise regime has eligibility limits (turnover ceiling, activity restrictions) that can disqualify you.
- Employee figures assume standard CAS/CASS with no special deductions.
See your own numbers
Compare all three side by side with the full breakdown at taxoptimum.eu, or jump to a worked example:
TaxOptimum is an informational estimator — not tax, legal or financial advice. Rates are 2026, primary-sourced and human-verified; PFA caps and micro-enterprise eligibility change the math — confirm with a Romanian accountant before deciding.