Freelancing in Moldova: the new 2026 freelancer regime, a single 15% tax up to MDL 1.2 million, and the VAT threshold

Moldova has just made freelancing dramatically simpler. From 1 January 2026, a dedicated freelancer regime lets an individual work legally without registering a company — one online sign-up, one flat tax, and no classic accounting. Here is how the new rules work.

The 2026 freelancer regime

The regime comes from Law No. 228 of 10 July 2025, which entered into force on 1 January 2026. It lets an individual provide services as an independent entrepreneur without forming an SRL (limited company) or an individual enterprise. You register online through the Public Services Agency (ASP) using an electronic signature, and classic bookkeeping and routine tax reporting are not required under the simplified regime. In its first month roughly a thousand freelancers had already signed up.

A single 15% tax up to MDL 1.2 million

The headline is a flat 15% tax on annual income up to MDL 1.2 million. Crucially, that single payment replaces several taxes at once — income tax, social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions and local taxes are all bundled into it. Income above MDL 1.2 million is taxed at 35% on the excess, which is a strong signal that the regime is designed for genuinely small-scale independent work rather than large operations.

The MDL 1.2 million VAT threshold

VAT registration becomes mandatory once your income over any 12-month period exceeds MDL 1.2 million (excluding VAT-exempt and non-taxable supplies). Below that you can register voluntarily. Because the same MDL 1.2 million figure both caps the 15% rate and triggers VAT, crossing it is a meaningful line: beyond it you face the 35% rate on the excess and enter the VAT system with its returns and invoicing rules.

The special bank account and cash monitoring

The regime has one distinctive mechanic: all freelance income must flow through a special bank account opened exclusively for the activity, which is how the single tax is calculated and collected. Where you receive payments in person, a cash register connected to the national electronic sales-monitoring system may also be required. Keeping your freelance money cleanly separated from personal spending is therefore not just good hygiene here — it is how the regime is built to function.

General information about freelancing in Moldova, current as of the review date above, and not tax advice. Thresholds and rates change — confirm current figures with the State Tax Service (sfs.md) or a qualified accountant.