Micro-company or corporate tax: what your company pays
Enter revenue, costs and how much you distribute as dividends. You compare both regimes all the way through — company tax, dividend tax and the shareholder’s health contribution — and see which one leaves more, and by how much.
- Runs in your browser
- Down to net in hand
- 2026 rates
Reviewed by Silvia, Chartered Accountant (CECCAR) · updated
The tool
The two regimes meet at a profit margin of 6.25% of revenue.
Rates and rules used
- Micro-company tax
- 1%of revenue, art. 51 (1)
- Corporate income tax
- 16%of taxable profit, art. 17
- Dividend tax
- 16%on distribution, from 1 January 2026
- Shareholder health contribution
- 10%on 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages
Where the answer changes
The difference between the two regimes is not about size but about profit margin. The micro tax applies to revenue, whatever the costs; corporate tax applies to the difference between revenue and costs. The two meet at a margin of 6.25%: 1% of revenue is exactly 16% of a profit that is one sixteenth of it.
Below that margin, corporate tax costs less. Above it, the micro regime does. That is why a service company with low costs almost always wins on micro, while a distributor working on a few per cent of margin pays less on profit.
The second point where the answer changes is distribution. As long as the profit stays in the company, only the company tax is compared. The moment dividends are distributed, the 16% dividend tax comes in and, above 6 minimum wages a year, the shareholder’s health contribution — which does not scale with the amount but jumps by bracket.
What the calculation leaves out
The calculation starts from accounting profit. Taxable profit comes out of it through adjustments a form cannot guess: non-deductible or limited-deductibility expenses (entertainment, sponsorship, provisions, interest), tax depreciation that differs from accounting depreciation, tax losses carried forward, non-taxable income.
It also leaves out tax credits and incentives — sponsorship deducted from the tax, the research and development tax credit, accelerated depreciation — and the special regimes, such as the one for bars, night clubs and casinos (art. 18 of the Fiscal Code).
Two micro-regime conditions are checked here: the EUR 100,000 cap and the existence of an employee. The rest is checked against your company: shareholdings in other companies, the aggregation of revenue across linked enterprises, share capital and the registration date. Passing the cap during the year changes the regime from the quarter of the breach, not from the next year.
Frequently asked questions
01At what profit margin does corporate tax become the better option?
At 6.25%. The micro tax is 1% of revenue and corporate tax is 16% of profit; the two are equal when profit is 6.25% of revenue. Below that margin corporate tax is lower; above it the micro regime is. The calculation above gives the exact difference on your own figures, not just the direction.
02Why does a loss-making company still pay tax under the micro regime?
Because the base is revenue, not profit. A micro-company with revenue of RON 200,000 and costs of RON 260,000 owes RON 2,000 in tax even though the year ended in a loss. The same company under corporate tax would owe nothing and would carry the tax loss forward. This is the situation where moving to corporate tax deserves a serious look.
03How is the health contribution on dividends calculated?
Not as a percentage of the dividends, but on a fixed base set in brackets. Under art. 170 (3) of the Fiscal Code, the annual base is 6, 12 or 24 minimum gross wages, depending on the level of income realised. The contribution is 10% of that base. In practice, anyone crossing the 6-minimum-wage threshold pays as if on 6 wages, even if they distributed just above it — which is why the amount jumps in steps instead of rising gradually.
04What happens if I pass the EUR 100,000 cap during the year?
The company owes corporate tax from the quarter in which the cap was passed, not from the following year. The exchange rate used for the check is the one in force at the close of the previous financial year. This tool compares the two regimes over a full year; for the year of the switch the calculation is done by period, and we do that together.
05Does the calculation include salaries and VAT?
No. Salaries and the related contributions are company costs: put them in the costs field, employer contributions included. VAT does not appear at all, because for a VAT-registered company it is not a cost but a tax collected and paid. For salaries we have the <a href="/en/tools/romania-salary-calculator/">salary calculator</a>.
06Does the result replace advice?
No. It is a simulation on the data you enter, with the general rules of 2026. Choosing a regime also depends on things that do not fit in a form: the shareholding structure, investment plans, applicable incentives, the tax history. Send us the figures and you get a written answer for your own company.
Sources and legal basis
- Fiscal Code (Law no. 227/2015), consolidated version published by ANAF — Art. 17 — the 16% corporate tax rate; art. 51 (1) — the 1% micro-company rate; art. 47 (1) (c) and (g) — the EUR 100,000 cap and the employee condition; art. 48 (3) — the 90-day hiring term; art. 52 — leaving the regime when the cap is passed; art. 170 (3) — the health contribution base of 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages; art. 156 — the 10% rate.
- Law no. 141/2025 on fiscal and budgetary measures — Sets the 16% dividend tax by amending art. 43 (2) and art. 97 (7) of the Fiscal Code, for dividends distributed from 1 January 2026.
- GEO no. 8/2026 — The employee condition within 90 days of registration (art. 48 (3)) and the aggregation of revenue across linked enterprises when testing the cap (art. 52 (5^1)).
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