How to Receive International Payments as a Freelancer in Romania (2026)

PFA (Persoana Fizică Autorizată — Authorized Natural Person) is the standard freelance structure in Romania. Here's how to set it up:

1. Register at your local ONRC (National Trade Register Office) office or online at portal.onrc.ro. Required if you earn above the annual minimum wage equivalent from freelance activities (approximately RON 24,000/year).
2. Choose your CAEN code (economic activity classification) — IT services use CAEN 6201 (custom software development) or 6209 (other IT activities). Graphic design uses 7410, content writing uses 6312 or 7311.
3. Registration cost: approximately RON 200–400 total. Takes 5–10 business days. You'll receive a CUI (Unique Identification Code) that's your business registration number.
4. After ANAF registration: register your PFA with ANAF (National Fiscal Agency) for a tax identification number. This is done automatically at ONRC in most cases.
5. Open a separate bank account for PFA: while legally not required, it simplifies accounting and tax filing. ING Business and Revolut Business have no-fee PFA accounts.

Romanian PFA tax is relatively straightforward compared to many EU countries. The main obligations:

• Income tax: 10% flat rate on net income (income minus deductible expenses). You declare annual income via Declaration 212 (the PFA annual return) to ANAF by May 25 of the following year.
• Social contributions (CAS): 25% of declared gross income, applied to a maximum of 24x minimum gross salary/year (approximately RON 75,000 in 2026). Mandatory only if annual PFA income exceeds 12x minimum gross salary (approximately RON 37,500).
• Health insurance (CASS): 10% of declared income, same cap as CAS. Mandatory if income exceeds 6x minimum gross salary.
• VAT: registration required only if annual turnover exceeds RON 300,000 (approximately €60,000). Most solo freelancers never reach this threshold. If you don't register, you apply a simplified invoicing regime.
• Declaration 212 (annual PFA return): file by May 25 each year. Declares your estimated income for the coming year (for advance payment calculations) and actual income from the previous year.
• Advance payments (plăți anticipate): ANAF calculates quarterly advance tax payments based on your Declaration 212 estimate. Payable in: March 25, June 25, September 25, December 25.

Romania is an EU member but not in the Eurozone — the national currency is RON (Romanian Leu). This creates an additional FX conversion step for EUR income:

• RON/EUR rate is relatively stable compared to other Eastern European currencies — RON has been de facto pegged to EUR since Romania's EU accession preparation.
• Hold EUR in Wise or Revolut until you need RON. Convert what you need for monthly expenses. The RON/EUR rate rarely moves more than 1–2% in a short period.
• For tax purposes, ANAF requires that you declare income in RON using the NBR (National Bank of Romania) reference rate on the invoice date. This is published daily at bnr.ro.
• Keep EUR invoices and the NBR rate documentation together for each transaction — your accountant will need this for the annual Declaration 212.
• If you hold significant USD income: USD/RON has more volatility than EUR/RON. Convert USD to EUR via Wise (0.1% EUR/USD margin) and then hold EUR, or convert directly to RON at Wise's 0.45% USD/RON margin.