An employee on 4,325 lei: what the company actually pays
Romania's minimum gross wage is 4,325 lei from 1 July 2026 (4,050 in January–June). The company pays 4,418, the employee takes home 2,699, and 1,719 lei go to the state. That is 61% of your cost reaching the person.
1. The full figures
| Item | Lei |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | 4,325 |
| Pension contribution 25% | −1,031 |
| Health contribution 10% | −413 |
| Personal deduction | 865 |
| Income tax 10% | −182 |
| Net in hand | 2,699 |
| Work insurance contribution 2.25% (employer, on top) | +93 |
| Total employer cost | 4,418 |
2. The exemption you cannot see
At the minimum wage, 200 lei of the gross are exempt from all three contributions, so they are computed on 4,125 rather than 4,325. Without it the employee would take home 2,616 instead of 2,699 — 83 lei less — and the company would pay 4,422 instead of 4,418, since the amount is also out of the work-insurance base. It disappears the moment the base salary goes above the minimum — or the gross, extras included, above 4,600 lei — which is why a small raise delivers far less than anyone expects.
3. Meal vouchers: the one place the maths improves
Twenty-one vouchers of 40 lei is 840 lei a month. Health contribution and income tax are withheld on them, but not the pension contribution, and the employer pays no work insurance contribution:
| Salary only | Salary + 21 vouchers | |
|---|---|---|
| Total employer cost | 4,418 | 5,258 |
| Employee receives | 2,699 | 3,379 |
| Share reaching the person | 61.1% | 64.3% |
Those 840 lei of vouchers cost the company exactly 840 and deliver 680 net. The same 840 added to the salary (gross 4,325 → 5,165) costs 863 and delivers 372 — almost the same cost, almost half the benefit, because the 200-lei exemption and part of the personal deduction only exist around the minimum wage.
4. The other direction
People ask it backwards: "I want them to take home X". For a net of 2,699 you land on a gross of about 4,325 and a cost of 4,417. Rule of thumb at the minimum wage: cost is roughly 1.64 × net. Higher up, where the 200-lei exemption is gone and the personal deduction shrinks, the ratio grows.
5. What "total cost" leaves out
4,418 is the payroll cost. An employee also brings occupational medicine checks, equipment and licences, paid annual leave, and the first days of sick leave (days 2–6) borne by the company. None of it shows on the payslip; all of it shows in the bank account.
Free tool What an employee costs Start from the gross, from the net, or from the total you want to spend, with meal vouchers and dependants. No account needed.Sources
Romanian Tax Code — 25% pension, 10% health, 10% income tax, 2.25% work insurance · the 2026 minimum gross wage of 4,325 lei and the 200-lei exemption · the tax treatment of meal vouchers. Figures computed with the application's own payroll engine on the rate set in force from July 2026. Informative only.