Choosing a legal status in Romania: PFA, SRL, SA, microenterprise (2026)

PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată) is the Romanian auto-entrepreneur equivalent. Registration is done at ONRC (Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului) in 3 to 5 days, with reduced administrative cost (approximately €50 to €100). PFA can exercise one main activity (adding secondary activities requires modification). No share capital required. PFA is widely used by tech freelancers, consultants, liberal professions (doctors, lawyers, architects, programmers), and solo craftspeople.

Fiscally, PFA is taxed at personal income tax at the unique 10% rate on real profit (income minus deductible professional expenses). To this add social contributions: CAS (pension) 25% and CASS (health) 10%, calculated on a minimum base of 12 gross minimum monthly salaries annually (~50,000 RON, ~€10,000) for PFAs exceeding this income threshold. For low-income PFAs (under the threshold), only minimum health contribution is due (approximately 2,500 RON annually).

II (Întreprindere Individuală) is another sole proprietorship form, rarer than PFA. It allows exercising multiple activities under one structure and can employ salaried workers. Taxation is identical to PFA (10% tax + CAS/CASS contributions). IF (Întreprindere Familială) allows multiple family members to associate in a common activity, with joint unlimited liability.

SRL (Societate cu Răspundere Limitată, French SARL equivalent) is the standard limited-liability form in Romania. Minimum share capital 200 RON (~€40) since the 2022 reform (reduced from 200 RON previously). Creation by private deed or notarial, ONRC registration in 5 to 10 days, total cost €300 to €800. Partners (asociați) are liable only up to their contribution. SRL is used by approximately 700,000 Romanian SMEs in 2024 per ONRC statistics.

Standard fiscal regime for SRL is IS (Impozit pe Profit) at 16% rate. However, the majority of new SRLs start under the preferential « microîntreprindere » regime which taxes 1% of turnover (instead of 16% of profit) if the company employs at least 1 full-time employee. Without employee, the rate is 3% of turnover. This regime is particularly advantageous for high-margin activities (consulting, intellectual services) — on €100,000 turnover for a service activity at 60% margin, total tax is €1,000 (microîntreprindere) instead of €9,600 (IS 16% × €60,000 profit).

The 1 January 2024 reform strongly restricted access to the microîntreprindere regime. The turnover threshold for eligibility was lowered: €500,000 in 2024, then €100,000 from 1 January 2025. Cumulative 2025-2026 conditions: annual turnover < €100,000, consulting/management activity representing less than 80% of total turnover (partial exclusion of pure consulting activities), at least 1 full-time employee. Beyond these thresholds, switch to standard IS regime (16%) is mandatory the following year.

Dividends paid to individual partners are subject to a 10% liberation withholding tax since 2024 (8% previously). For non-resident partners, a bilateral tax treaty can reduce this rate. An SRL director (administrator) can be compensated either as salaried (standard employment contract with CAS/CASS contributions), or as administrator without employment contract (only CASS due if activity limited).

• SRL: capital 200 RON (~€40), liability limited to contribution
• Microîntreprindere: 1% turnover (1 employee) or 3% (no employee)
• Microîntreprindere threshold: €100,000 turnover since 2025
• Standard IS 16% on profit
• Dividends 10% liberation withholding
• ONRC registration 5-10 days, cost €300-800

SA (Societate pe Acțiuni) requires a minimum capital of 90,000 RON (~€18,000), with minimum 30% paid up at constitution. It is used for listed structures (BVB Bucharest Stock Exchange) or large industrial enterprises. Governance obligations are structured: board of directors or directorate + supervisory board, mandatory annual audit beyond certain thresholds. For SMEs, SRL remains largely preferred to SA due to administrative cost and 100-times-lower minimum capital.

SCA (Societate în Comandită pe Acțiuni) combines limited partnership and shares, used for specific arrangements. SCS (Societate în Comandită Simplă) is the simple limited partnership with unlimitedly-liable general partners. SNC (Societate în Nume Colectiv) is the general partnership. For cooperatives, Societăți Cooperative (notably in agricultural and consumption sectors) benefit from participative governance mechanisms.

For startups and innovative businesses, several schemes are mobilizable. The « Start-Up Nation » programme (launched in 2017, renewed several times) grants non-repayable subsidies up to 200,000 RON (~€40,000) for new job-creating businesses. Conditions vary each edition. The « SRL-D » programme (Beginning Limited Liability Company) grants additional fiscal advantages to SRLs newly created by young entrepreneurs.

For EU and non-EU nationals, several entrepreneur visas exist. Long-stay visa for economic activities is accessible to foreign entrepreneurs demonstrating initial investment above €100,000 and creating at least 5 jobs within 3 years. The « Romania Digital Nomad Visa » programme (since 2022) attracts non-EU nomadic workers with minimum monthly income €3,700, with income tax exemption for foreign-source income under conditions.

ONRC (Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului) manages the central registry of Romanian businesses. Online registration via ANAF SPV portal (Spațiul Privat Virtual) is free for individuals; for an SRL, ONRC fees are approximately 100 to 200 RON (€20 to €40). Registration delay is 5 to 10 days after complete filing. Foreign document translation to Romanian (by sworn translator) is mandatory for non-Romanian partners.

ANAF (Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală) is the tax administration. VAT declarations are monthly for companies with turnover above €100,000, quarterly below. ANAF SPV portal allows all procedures online (declarations, payments, VAT refund requests). Standard VAT rate is 19%, with reduced rates 9% (food, medicines, hotels) and 5% (books, cinema, certain medical equipment).

Personnel costs in Romania remain among the EU's lowest. National gross minimum wage is 3,700 RON/month (~€750) as of 1 January 2025, one of the EU's lowest. Total social contributions amount to approximately 36% of gross salary (CAS 25% + CASS 10% + others 1%) — much employee-borne in the Romanian structure, unlike Western countries. For tech profiles (IT), average salary is €1,500 to €3,000/month gross, 30 to 50% cheaper than France or Germany.

For EU nationals, creating a PFA or SRL in Romania requires neither visa nor specific permit (freedom of establishment). Fiscal residence applies automatically after 183 days/year on the territory. For non-EU nationals, long-stay visa for economic activities is required, with additional requirements (investment, job creation). Several Romanian regions (Cluj, Timisoara, Bucharest, Iasi) have become attractive tech hubs for international startups and IT services.

The BoostPro IA « Choose my legal status » module covers the main Romanian forms and orients by profile (solo vs team, projected turnover, sector). The personalized report (€29, 10 minutes) compares projected taxation over 3 years (PFA vs microîntreprindere SRL vs standard IS), integrates structuring elements of the Romanian market (salaries, VAT, ANAF formalities), and identifies micro → IS switching thresholds.