SRL or PFA in 2026? A full comparison, with taxes and scenarios

“It depends” is not an answer. Still, to the question “PFA or SRL?” this is what you hear most often. It depends on income, field, expenses, plans.

Let’s take “it depends” out of the picture. In this guide you compare a PFA (authorised natural person) and an SRL (limited liability company) with real 2026 figures, in concrete scenarios — IT, consulting, e-commerce, education — so you can see exactly what you pay and what you get in each option.

If you want the quick answer: use our SRL vs PFA tax calculator. You enter your income and expenses and you see the result in 30 seconds.

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The basic differences, in short

Criterion	PFA	SRL
Legal liability	Unlimited — you answer with your personal assets	Limited — you answer only with the company’s capital
Employees	Maximum 3 employees	Unlimited
CAEN codes (activity codes)	Maximum 5	Unlimited
Admin complexity	Simple (record of income and payments)	More complex (double-entry accounting)
B2B credibility	Limited — some clients ask for an invoice from an SRL	Standard — professional image
Access to money	Direct — the money is yours	Through salary or dividends (taxed separately)
Mandatory accounting	Not necessarily (you can keep the record yourself)	Yes — an authorised accountant is mandatory
Share capital	Not needed	Minimum 500 RON (from 2026)

In short: A PFA is simpler to run, but you are personally liable. An SRL is more complex, but it separates your personal assets from the company’s.

What taxes you pay in 2026

This is the part that matters most — and it changed significantly in 2026.

PFA taxes (real income system)

• Income tax: 10% of net income (after deducting expenses, CAS and CASS)
• CAS (social security contribution, pension): 25%, calculated on fixed thresholds:
  • Net income below 48,600 RON/year → 0 RON (you do not pay CAS, but you do not build up pension either)
  • Net income between 48,600 and 97,200 RON/year → 12,150 RON/year (fixed amount)
  • Net income above 97,200 RON/year → 24,300 RON/year (fixed amount, capped)
  • Exception: pensioners do not pay CAS, whatever their income.
• CASS (health insurance contribution): 10% of net income (minimum 2,430 RON, maximum 29,160 RON/year — capped at 72 gross minimum wages)

CASS exceptions: If you have an employment contract at the same time and you already pay at least 2,430 RON towards health insurance, the PFA’s CASS is calculated as 10% of net income (without the mandatory minimum). The same rule applies to students under 26, pensioners and people with a grade 1 or 2 disability. If the PFA has losses or zero income, you do not pay CASS at all.

PFA advantage: CAS and CASS are capped. No matter how much you earn, you do not pay more than about 53,460 RON/year in contributions (24,300 CAS + 29,160 CASS). At high incomes, the effective contribution rate goes down.

SRL micro-enterprise taxes

• Income tax: 1% of turnover (single rate from 2026 — the 3% rate for turnover above 60,000 EUR no longer exists)
• New in 2026: The restriction for consulting and management was removed — these activities can now use the micro-enterprise regime too
• Employee condition: at least 1 employee (it can be the administrator)
• Cap: turnover below 100,000 EUR/year
• Administrator’s salary: minimum 4,050 RON gross/month (goes up to 4,325 RON from July 2026)
• Dividend tax: 16% (up from 10% — a major change in 2026!)
• CASS on dividends: an extra 10% if dividends go above 24,300 RON/year (no change from 2025)

Warning for 2026: Dividend tax went up from 10% to 16%. This means that taking money out of an SRL is more expensive than before. If you were thinking of an SRL only for the tax advantage — recalculate.

SRL profit tax

• Tax: 16% of profit (income minus expenses) — no change in 2026
• Mandatory if turnover goes above 100,000 EUR/year
• Same dividend rules: 16% tax (up from 10%) + 10% CASS above the threshold

At what income level the equation changes

There is no magic threshold that works for everyone. But there are a few clear breakpoints:

Situation	Recommendation	Why
Income below 4,000 RON/month, small expenses	PFA	You do not pay CAS at all. Minimal taxes, simple administration
Income 4,000–15,000 RON/month, no employees	Calculate both	It depends on deductible expenses. The difference can be 5-10% of income
Income above 15,000 RON/month, expenses below 20%	Calculate both	PFA CAS/CASS are capped, but dividends at 16% erode the SRL advantage
You sell physical products	SRL	Limited liability is essential. Only 9% of new PFAs are in retail
You need more than 3 employees	SRL	A PFA can have a maximum of 3 employees
Large corporate clients	SRL	Professional image — some clients ask for an invoice from an SRL
You want to reinvest the profit	SRL	With a PFA you pay tax on all income. With an SRL, you are taxed only on what you take out of the company

Do not rely on intuition — enter your own figures in the calculator and compare concretely.

4 real scenarios: what to choose by field

Scenario 1: Freelance programmer — 5,000-8,000 EUR/month

Typical expenses: small (laptop, internet, software subscriptions). Probably below 10-15% of income.

A PFA can be better if you work alone and have no employees. Why: expenses are small, so the PFA tax base is not much higher than at a micro-enterprise SRL. But with a PFA you get the money directly, with no 16% dividend tax.

An SRL makes sense if: you want to hire other developers, you work with enterprise clients who ask for a company invoice, or you plan to reinvest (equipment, licences, team).

Relevant sector: IT and professional services are 30% of all newly registered PFAs in Romania — it is the most popular PFA field.

Scenario 2: Consultant / marketing / B2B services — 3,000-5,000 EUR/month

Typical expenses: moderate (travel, equipment, software, subcontractors). They can reach 20-30% of income.

A PFA can be better for tax if you have real expenses to deduct — with a PFA you subtract expenses from the tax base. With a micro-enterprise SRL, you pay 1% on all turnover, whatever the expenses.

An SRL makes sense if you work with corporate clients. In consulting and marketing (12-13% of new companies), credibility matters: an SRL is seen differently from a PFA, even if the service is the same.

New in 2026: The restriction that banned the micro-enterprise regime for management and consulting activities was removed. If you are a consultant and you open an SRL, you can apply the 1% tax on turnover — which was not possible before.

Rule of thumb: If more than 80% of your clients are large companies, an SRL is not optional — it is needed for the image.

Scenario 3: E-commerce / online retail

Typical expenses: high (goods, storage, transport, returns). They can go above 50-70% of income.

SRL, without hesitation. Three reasons:

1. Limited liability — if you have stock and suppliers, the financial risk is real. With a PFA, the business debts are your personal debts
2. High expenses = an SRL on profit tax can be better — you pay 16% only on the margin, not on turnover
3. Scaling — employees, a warehouse, many suppliers — a PFA is too limiting

Statistic: Only 9% of new PFAs are in trade. The other 91% choose an SRL — and they are right.

Scenario 4: Teacher / tutoring / education services — 2,000-4,000 EUR/month

Typical expenses: very small (teaching materials, maybe a Zoom subscription).

A PFA is the classic choice. Negligible expenses, moderate income, individual activity. Alternative education (tutoring, private courses) is about 7.5% of new PFAs.

Warning: If your annual net income is below 48,600 RON (below about 4,000 RON/month), you do not pay CAS at all. It is an immediate saving, but it means you do not build up years of pension. If you want to avoid that risk, you can choose to pay CAS voluntarily.

When to move from a PFA to an SRL

If you already have a PFA and you are thinking about an SRL, these are the concrete signals:

• You need more than 3 employees — a PFA allows a maximum of 3
• You want to reinvest profit without immediate taxation — with a PFA you pay tax on all income, even if you do not take it out
• You work with clients who ask for an invoice from an SRL — a common reality in corporate work
• You want to bring in a shareholder — with a PFA you work alone
• Turnover grows above 100,000 EUR — you can no longer be a micro-enterprise as an SRL, but expenses become deductible against profit

What you need to know about the move: You can have a PFA and an SRL at the same time. You do not have to close the PFA to open an SRL. Many freelancers keep the PFA for some activities and open an SRL for others.

What nobody tells you

Dividends at 16% change the equation

Until 2025, dividend tax was 10%. From 2026 it is 16%. Plus 10% CASS if you go above the threshold. This means that for every 10,000 RON of profit paid out as dividends, you withhold at least 1,600 RON in tax (against 1,000 RON last year). You feel the difference.

The real cost of the mandatory employee at a micro-enterprise SRL

A micro-enterprise SRL needs at least 1 employee. If you are alone, you employ yourself as administrator on the minimum wage. Total cost: about 49,700 RON/year. This is a fixed cost whether the company earns or not — with a PFA, this cost does not exist.

With a PFA, the money is yours immediately

With a PFA you do not go through the dividend process. What is left after taxes is yours, directly. With an SRL, even if the company has money in the account, you cannot use it personally except through salary or dividends — both taxed separately.

How to compare concretely — in 3 steps

1. Estimate your monthly income and your real expenses (not the ones you “could have”, but the ones you actually have)
2. Use the eConta tax calculator — enter your figures and compare the net income of a PFA and an SRL
3. Add the non-tax factors: do you need employees? Do you work with corporate clients? Do you sell physical products? Do you want a shareholder?

If the tax decision is close (a difference below 5%), choose based on the non-tax factors. If the difference is big (above 10%), the tax factor decides.

Frequently asked questions

Can I have a PFA and an SRL at the same time?

Yes. You can have them at the same time, for different activities. Many freelancers do this: a PFA for individual consulting, an SRL for bigger projects.

Can a PFA hire employees?

Yes, a maximum of 3 people with an individual employment contract. But they cannot work in the activity the PFA is authorised for — only in related activities.

How much does it cost to move from a PFA to an SRL?

The cost of setting up an SRL is separate from the PFA. Setting up the SRL costs 599 RON (VAT included) + 152 RON Trade Register (ONRC) fees, together with the accounting subscription. The first month of accounting (49 €) and a consultation session (30 €) are free. Closing the PFA has no extra costs.

Which tax regime do I choose for an SRL: micro-enterprise or profit?

If you have income below 100,000 EUR/year and at least 1 employee, you can be a micro-enterprise (1% of turnover). If you have high expenses (goods, employees, rent), profit tax (16% of profit) can be better. Our calculator compares both options.

Is accounting mandatory for a PFA?

Not necessarily — you can keep the record of income and payments yourself (real income system). But an accountant helps you deduct expenses correctly and avoid mistakes in your returns. For an SRL, professional accounting is mandatory.

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Do you not want to calculate on your own? The eConta team helps you with the calculation and the accounting for each option; the company setup, if needed, is done by a lawyer. Start with the tax calculator or ask for a free consultation.