IT Income Tax Exemption in Romania: New Opportunities for Global Talent
Starting in January 2023, Romania extended its income tax exemption for IT employees, opening the benefit to a wider range of roles and nationalities.
Nestlers Group Editorial Team
Global Mobility Advisory Team
Starting in January 2023, IT employees in Romania became eligible for an extended income tax exemption under a new joint order signed by the Ministries of Research, Education, Labor, and Finance. The measure applied to income earned from January 2023 onward and replaced, with several modifications, the previous rules governing the income tax exemption for IT employees.
What changed
The updated order introduced several changes to the exemption:
- Software development engineer was added to the list of occupations covered by the exemption
- The categories of eligible employees were extended to graduates of secondary education who passed the high school examination and are studying at accredited universities, along with employees holding diplomas recognized or deemed equivalent by the Ministry of Education
- Employees of public institutions who create computer programs became eligible for the exemption
- The exemption's wording shifted from referring to "Romanian citizens and European Union citizens" to simply "employees," meaning non-EU citizens holding a diploma recognized or deemed equivalent by the Ministry of Education can now also benefit
Eligibility conditions
To qualify for the exemption, employees must work for economic operators active in Romania whose object of activity is the creation of computer programs, identified by CAEN codes 5821, 5829, 6201, 6202, or 6209. Employees must also belong to a specialized computer science department reflected in the employer's organizational chart and hold one of the following roles:
- Database administrator
- Analyst
- Systems engineer in computer science
- Software systems engineer
- Computer project manager
- Programmer
- Computer systems designer
- Computer systems programmer
- Assistant programmer
- Assistant analyst
- Software development engineer
A further condition applies to the employer: in the previous fiscal year, the company must have generated income from the creation of computer programs of at least 10,000 euros per employee. Newly established companies and public institutions are exempt from this requirement.
Why this matters
The extended exemption is a meaningful step toward attracting and retaining foreign IT talent in Romania. Opening the benefit to non-EU citizens with recognized qualifications allows companies to draw on a wider pool of experienced professionals, which can strengthen competitiveness and support economic growth. It may also encourage IT employees to pursue internationally recognized qualifications, further improving the overall quality of Romania's technology workforce.
Sources: Ministries of Research, Education, Labor, and Finance of Romania
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