← Tax Optimization · Self-Employed (PFA) / Company
PFA — income norm or real system? How to choose
There's no universally better regime for PFA — the right choice strictly depends on how much you actually earn versus the norm set by ANAF for your activity.
What the law says
The income norm is more advantageous if your real income is steady and clearly above the norm set by ANAF for your CAEN code and county — fixed, predictable taxes, with no detailed accounting of expenses. The real system is more advantageous if you have large deductible expenses (equipment, office rent, collaborators, services) that genuinely reduce the taxable base below the norm's level.
Art. 69 Cod fiscal.
How it applies, in numbers
Illustrative example: the ANAF income norm for a certain CAEN code and county is 30,000 lei/year — the tax is calculated on this amount, regardless of real income. If the activity actually generates 60,000 lei, the norm is much more advantageous (tax calculated on 30,000 lei, not 60,000 lei). But if documented expenses (office rent, equipment) reduce real net income below 30,000 lei, the real system would be cheaper.
Common mistakes
The typical mistake is staying on the income norm out of inertia, without calculating each year whether real income has grown well past the norm — or the opposite, switching to the real system without expenses large enough to justify the extra accounting complexity.
