What actually comes out of a Romanian payslip
The headline structure
Romania is unusual in Europe: a 10% flat income tax, but the employee side carries most social contributions — pension (CAS, 25%) and health (CASS, 10%) come out of gross too. Net is therefore roughly ~58-60% of gross for standard employment; when comparing offers, always talk NET or use gross×the same rule for both. Official source: ANAF.
Withholding and filing
Your employer withholds and remits everything monthly — a standard employee with only salary income typically has no annual return to file. Side income, freelancing or foreign income changes that; that's gestor/consultant territory.
Tax residency
The 183-day rule applies here too: past it (or with your center of vital interests in Romania) you're a Romanian tax resident, with treaties preventing double taxation on the same income.
Common questions
Why is my Romanian net so different from gross?
Because pension (25%) and health (10%) sit on the employee side before the 10% income tax — the mirror image of countries where employers carry those. It also means the flat 10% headline understates the payslip gap; compare offers in net.
The rest of the toolkit: the expat reference library · the live Working in Romania report · companies hiring right now. Compiled from official sources; corrections welcome.