Global coverage
Available in +150 countries
Employer costs, taxes, minimum wage and leave rules for hiring here, plus the faster route: hire a contractor with Ontop, no local entity needed.
2026
Currency
RON lei (Romanian Leu)
Employer contributions
~2.25% (employer CAM: work insurance contribution)
Minimum wage
4,582 RON (4,050 RON construction sector)
Payment frequency
Monthly
Calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31)
Capital
Bucharest
Timezone
EET (GMT+2)
Employee or contractor
If the work is project-based or you need to move fast, a contractor gets you the same talent with a fraction of the paperwork.
Employee
~6,135 RON total
/month
For a gross salary of
6,000 RON gross/month
Setup
Local entity or employer of record, plus tax and social security registration
Employer contributions
~2.25% (employer CAM: work insurance contribution)
Mandatory extras
Annual Bonus
Monthly admin
Monthly payroll / D112 by 25th / ANAF taxes / annual recalculation
Contractor with Ontop
No local entity
$49
/contractor/month
The agreed rate, plus Ontop from $49 per contractor per month.
Sign a contract, yours or an Ontop template. No local registration on your side.
No employer contributions: the contractor handles their own taxes and social security.
One payment per invoice, in one payroll run.
Paid into their Ontop Global Account in USD.
See the full side-by-side comparison
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A contractor's rate usually covers their own taxes, so compare total cost, not just gross pay. Run your numbers in the contractor vs employee calculator.
Hiring here: the full breakdown
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Payroll guide
Employer costs come on top of gross pay. Use these figures to budget a hire and to compare it with a contractor rate.
Total monthly cost
~6,135 RON total
Example gross salary
6,000 RON gross/month
~4,455 RON net
Net pay to the employee
Tax and employee contributions
Withheld from gross pay
~135 RON employer CAM
Employer contributions on that salary
Employer contributions
~2.25% (employer CAM: work insurance contribution)
Employee contributions
25% CAS pension + 10% CASS health
Total cost above gross
~2.25% above gross (CAS borne by employer minimal)
Figures are estimates for planning. Rates change with each budget and can vary by sector, so confirm them before you make an offer.
What people earn here, from the legal floor to the main cities, plus the extra pay most employers budget for.
National average
~5,000 RON
Per month
Bucharest
7,000 - 12,000 RON
~30%
Cluj-Napoca
5,500 - 9,000 RON
~15%
Monthly gross. National average salary per year:
~60,000 RON
Minimum wage
4,582 RON (4,050 RON construction sector)
Paid:
Monthly
Extra pay
Annual Bonus
Discretionary; 13th month in public sector
December
Collective agreements can set sector minimums above the national one. Check whether one applies to the role before you set the salary. Next step: estimate the full cost of an employee.
Who collects what, how often, and what happens when a payment is late.
Income tax brackets
10% flat income tax
Tax year:
Calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31)
Filing calendar
Monthly by 25th (D112)
Social security payments
May 25 (D212 declaration)
Income tax
End of January
Employee tax certificate
Adeverință de venit
May 25
Annual return
Declarație de venit (D212)
Late payment penalties
Late D112: 0.02% daily; late tax: 0.02%/day + 0.01%/day penalty
Who collects what
ANAF
Tax collection
CNPP / CNAS
Pension and health contributions
ITM (Inspectoratul Teritorial de Muncă)
Labor law enforcement
The time off and paid leave every employee is entitled to by law. Budget for it when you compare an employee with a contractor.
Annual leave
Concediu de odihnă
20 working days
Public holidays
15 public holidays
Sick leave
Concediu medical
75% from CNAS (employer advances first 5 days at 75%)
Maternity leave
18 weeks
85% from CNAS (indemnizație maternitate)
The contracts you can use, and what ending an employment relationship costs.
Permanent
Contract Individual de Muncă (CIM) Nedeterminat
Fixed term
Contract Individual de Muncă Determinat
Independent contractor
Contract de Prestări Servicii / PFA
Collective agreements
Contract Colectiv de Muncă (CCM)
Ending employment
Compensație concediere
How it is calculated
Minimum 20 days average salary
Calling someone a contractor does not make them one. If the role works like employment in practice, local authorities can reclassify it, with back contributions and penalties.
The errors that most often trigger back payments and penalties here, and what to do instead.
Reîncadrare PFA (Reclassification of Freelancers)
Risk Level: HIGH
ANAF regularly reclassifies PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată) contracts as employment relationships when workers serve a single client exclusively with fixed schedules. The reclassification triggers full CAS + CASS + income tax back-payment plus 0.02% daily penalties.
Revisal Non-Registration
Risk Level: HIGH
All Romanian employment contracts must be registered in REVISAL (electronic labor register) before the employee's first working day. Late or missing registrations generate ITM fines of 10,000-20,000 RON per employee.
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Next topicOntop is the Global Workforce Engine for contractor teams: contracts, compliance documents and payments in 150+ countries.
150+
countries
$49
per contractor per month
1 run
to pay your whole team
USD
Global Account for every contractor
FAQ
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Ontop works with contractors, not employees. As Contractor of Record, Ontop handles contracts, compliance documents and payments for contractors in 150+ countries. To employ someone, you need a local entity or an employer of record. Ontop doesn't act as your employer of record.
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Employers pay contributions on top of gross salary. The cost table on this page shows the rates that apply here and a worked monthly example. A contractor with Ontop costs the agreed rate plus Ontop from $49 per contractor per month.
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Many countries require an extra month or an annual bonus for employees. The salaries section on this page shows the one that applies here and when it is usually paid. Contractors are paid what you agree in the contract.
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Employers withhold income tax and the employee's social security share every pay run, then pay them to the local authorities. The taxes section on this page lists the brackets, rates and filing deadlines that apply here.
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Yes. The contractor vs employee calculator compares the full cost of an employee, employer contributions included, with a contractor rate plus Ontop's monthly fee.
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When the work is project-based, you need to start fast or you don't have a local entity. If the person will work fixed hours, under your direction and only for you, local law may treat them as an employee, so hire them as one.
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Misclassifying employees as contractors, missing tax and social security deadlines, and ignoring collective agreements that set higher wage floors. The mistakes section on this page covers the ones that come up most often here.
Compare employer costs, taxes and contractor rules in nearby countries:
Ready to hire? See Ontop pricing or learn how to build a global team without an employer of record.
Ready to hire? See Ontop pricing or learn how to build a global team without an employer of record.