Setting Up a Business in Romania

An in-depth guide for foreign entrepreneurs and companies looking to enter the Romanian market — Eastern Europe’s software and tech hub, with a genuinely competitive shared-services and automotive base alongside its IT sector.
This guide covers legal structures (SRL, minimal share capital), business taxation — including a 16% standard corporate rate, 19% VAT, and the micro-enterprise turnover-tax regime (now 1%, with its 2026 threshold reduced from €250,000 to €100,000) — company formation, the cost of labor, and immigration routes for executives, investors, and entrepreneurs. Includes a dedicated chapter on Romania’s IT, shared-services (BPO), and automotive sectors, and the distinct character of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and Timișoara, along with an explicit correction: Romania’s once well-known income tax exemption for IT employees was abolished in January 2025 and no longer applies, flagged clearly to avoid presenting an outdated advantage as current. Includes an operational checklist and useful contacts.
Available in English.