Rates last updated: 10 October 2026 · How we verify
🇷🇴 Ireland vs Romania Tax in 2026: Which One Actually Costs You More?
Romania has one of the lowest income tax rates in the European Union: a flat 10%. It's the number that gets quoted in every "cheapest countries to work in" list. It's also the number that misleads the most, because it's not where most of a Romanian employee's deductions come from.
Here's what the numbers show for a single employee with no dependants, using verified 2026 rates on both sides:
| Gross salary | Ireland — you keep | Romania — you keep |
|---|---|---|
| €30,000 (RON 160,089) | 87.7% | 58.5% |
| €60,000 (RON 320,178) | 74.9% | 58.5% |
| €100,000 (RON 533,630) | 64.5% | 58.5% |
Ireland keeps more of your salary at every level we tested — almost thirty points more at €30,000. And notice the Romanian column: it's the same at every salary. That's not a rounding coincidence. It's how the system is built.
This guide works through both sides — employees first, then companies and the self-employed — with every calculation shown.
A note on currency. We converted each euro salary into lei at the ECB reference rate of 5 October 2026: RON 5.3363 per euro. The exchange rate makes no difference to the result here: because every Romanian employee charge in our calculation is a flat percentage, the share of salary you keep is identical whatever the exchange rate.
For employees: the same salary, both systems
- On €60,000 (RON 320,178 at the ECB rate) a single employee keeps 74.9% in Ireland and 58.5% in Romania: about €9,800 a year more in Ireland.
- That's an effective rate of 25.1% against 41.5%.
- The Romanian share is the same at every salary.
A single employee, no dependants, on €60,000 gross — RON 320,178 at the ECB rate.
Ireland, 2026
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax at 20% | €44,000 × 20% | €8,800.00 |
| Income tax at 40% | €16,000 × 40% | €6,400.00 |
| Less tax credits | €2,000 personal + €2,000 employee | −€4,000.00 |
| Income tax | €11,200.00 | |
| USC | 0.5% / 2% / 3% across the bands | €1,332.82 |
| PRSI | 4.2% to September, 4.35% from October | €2,542.50 |
| Total deductions | €15,075.32 | |
| Net pay | €44,924.68 |
Romania, 2026
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Pension contribution (CAS) | RON 320,178 × 25% | RON 80,044.50 |
| Health contribution (CASS) | RON 320,178 × 10% | RON 32,017.80 |
| Taxable income | salary less contributions | RON 208,115.70 |
| Income tax | RON 208,115.70 × 10% | RON 20,811.57 |
| Total deductions | RON 132,873.87 | |
| Net pay | RON 187,304.13 |
Effective rate: 25.1% in Ireland, 41.5% in Romania. At the ECB rate, the Irish employee keeps about €9,800 a year more on the same salary.
Why the 10% rate is misleading
- A Romanian employee pays 25% of gross salary to the pension system and 10% to health insurance with no ceiling: 35% before income tax.
- The 10% income tax applies to what's left, 6.5% of gross, so the total is 41.5% at every salary.
- The personal deduction only reaches pay up to the minimum wage plus RON 2,000 a month, and the IT income tax exemption was abolished from January 2025.
Look at where the Romanian deductions actually come from.
Contributions, not tax, do the damage. A Romanian employee pays 25% of gross salary to the pension system and 10% to health insurance — 35% before any income tax is calculated. Irish PRSI is 4.35% since 1 October 2026 (4.2% before).
And there's no ceiling. Most of the countries we've compared stop charging some contributions above a salary cap. Romania doesn't: for employees, both contributions apply to the whole salary, whatever it is. That's why the Romanian rate is flat all the way up.
The 10% only applies to what's left. Income tax is charged on salary after contributions, so it costs 6.5% of gross pay. Add 35% and you reach 41.5% — at €30,000, at €60,000, and at €100,000.
Allowances barely reach professional salaries. Romania's personal deduction only applies to monthly gross pay up to the minimum wage plus RON 2,000 — just over RON 6,000 a month in 2026. Every salary in our table is well above that.
The IT exemption is gone. Romania used to exempt many software developers from income tax entirely. That exemption was abolished from January 2025 wages, along with similar exemptions for construction, agriculture and the food industry. Older articles and salary guides that still mention it are out of date.
Where Romania finally catches up
- Romania becomes cheaper at around €156,000, because above €70,044 each extra euro costs 52.2% in Ireland and 41.5% in Romania.
- Below that, which covers almost every employee, Ireland keeps more, by several thousand euro a year under €100,000.
Because the Romanian rate never rises, and the Irish one does, the gap narrows at high salaries. Above €70,044, each extra euro in Ireland costs 52.2% in income tax, USC and PRSI; in Romania it costs 41.5%, the same as every other euro.
On these figures, Romania becomes the cheaper of the two at around €156,000. Below that — which covers almost every employee — Ireland keeps more of your salary, and below €100,000 the difference is several thousand euro a year.
What the table doesn't show
- Irish reliefs have to be claimed by you.
- Investment income is taxed far more lightly in Romania: from 2026, 3% on shares held over a year and 6% otherwise when sold through intermediaries.
- Other share gains and dividends pay 16% in Romania, against Ireland's 31% CGT with a €1,270 exemption.
In Ireland, nobody claims your reliefs for you. Rent credit, medical expenses, remote working relief, flat rate expenses — every one has to be claimed, by you. You can claim them for up to four years back. See the top Irish tax deductions you could be missing.
Investment income is taxed much more lightly in Romania. From 1 January 2026, gains on shares sold through intermediaries are taxed at 3% if held for more than a year and 6% otherwise; other gains on shares are taxed at 16%. Dividends are taxed at 16% from 2026. Ireland charges 31% CGT — cut from 33% on 7 October 2026 — with a €1,270 annual exemption. See capital gains tax in Ireland.
For companies and the self-employed
- Romania's corporate tax is 16% against Ireland's 12.5% on trading income, and dividends are taxed at 16% from 2026: 29.44% combined.
- A self-employed PFA pays 10% income tax with pension contributions capped at RON 24,300 a year, so high-earning freelancers pay far less than employees.
- Ireland has no such cap for the self-employed.
| Ireland | Romania | |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 12.5% on trading income, 25% non-trading | 16% |
| Tax on dividends paid out | taxed as personal income | 16% from 2026 |
For companies, Ireland's headline rate is lower. Romania's standard corporate tax is 16%, and since 2026 dividends paid to individuals are taxed at 16% as well. A profit taken out as a dividend therefore bears 16% at company level and 16% of the remaining 84% in the shareholder's hands — 29.44% combined.
The Irish director requirement applies as usual: at least one EEA-resident director, which Romanian residents satisfy.
For the self-employed, Romania works very differently from employment. A self-employed person (PFA) pays the same 10% income tax, but pension contributions are capped — at most RON 24,300 a year in 2026 — and health contributions are capped too. A high-earning freelancer therefore pays a far lower effective rate than an employee on the same income, which is one reason contracting is common in Romania. Ireland has no equivalent: a sole trader pays income tax, USC and PRSI on profit, with no cap.
If you're moving between the two
- The money is usually in your arrival or departure year.
- Coming to Ireland, check emergency tax and Split Year Treatment; leaving, claim the four open years before 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.
- Ireland and Romania have a double taxation agreement, but relief is claimed and evidenced, not applied automatically.
Coming to Ireland from Romania. Your arrival year is worth checking. If your first payslips were on emergency tax, or on a "week 1" basis that doesn't backdate your credits to 1 January, you'll have overpaid — and that only comes back once you file.
If you worked abroad earlier in the year, Split Year Treatment can keep that foreign employment income out of the Irish computation, provided you weren't Irish resident the year before and stay resident the following year. You have to claim it. The country-specific detail is in tax refunds for Romanian workers in Ireland.
Going the other way. Your departure year often produces a refund, and four years remain open behind you. 2022 closes permanently on 31 December 2026. See leaving Ireland and the refund you might be owed.
Ireland and Romania signed their double taxation convention in Bucharest on 21 October 1999. The same income shouldn't be taxed twice — but relief is claimed and evidenced, not applied automatically. You can read the text on Revenue's copy of the Ireland–Romania convention.
Note too that as an Irish tax resident you're within Irish CGT on assets anywhere in the world — although if you're not Irish-domiciled — and moving here doesn't by itself make you Irish-domiciled — a gain on an asset abroad is generally taxed in Ireland only to the extent the proceeds are brought into Ireland.
After three consecutive years here you also become ordinarily resident, which keeps you within the charge for three years after you leave. The framework is in moving to Ireland: how cross-border taxes work, and the fundamentals are in the complete guide.
If your position spans both countries — employment in one, property or a business in the other — that's what our VIP Premium service is for. For a straightforward review of four open Irish years, the Tax Back service covers it. No refund, no fee.
If you're already living in Ireland, the more useful question isn't which country taxes less — it's whether you've claimed the four years that are still open. Start with 2022.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
Romania has a 10% tax rate. Isn't it cheaper than Ireland?
Not for employees. The 10% applies after 35% of salary has already gone in pension and health contributions, so the total is 41.5%. Ireland takes less at every salary up to around €156,000.
Why is my Romanian net exactly the same percentage at any salary?
Because every charge on an employee's salary is a flat percentage with no ceiling and, above low incomes, no allowance. The result is 58.5% of gross at any professional salary.
Does the weak leu change the comparison?
Not the percentages. Converting a different euro salary into lei moves every line by the same proportion. It does change what a Romanian salary is worth in euro — but that's a question about pay, not tax.
I work in IT. Am I still exempt from Romanian income tax?
No. The exemption for software developers ended with January 2025 wages.
Why does my Irish payslip have three deductions instead of two?
Income tax, USC and PRSI are calculated on three different bases. USC has no credits applied to it at all, and PRSI isn't reduced by pension contributions. See how to read your Irish payslip.
How does Romania compare to the other countries?
At €30,000 and €60,000, Romania leaves an employee with the smallest share of salary of all the countries we've compared. At €100,000 its flat rate puts it ahead of Italy, Portugal and Germany. See Ireland vs Poland tax, Ireland vs Germany tax and Ireland vs Italy tax.