TL;DR:
The 7% rate often described as Moldova's corporate tax is the Moldova IT Park (MITP) turnover tax established by Law 77/2016. It is not Moldova's general corporate income tax.
Moldova's standard corporate income tax is 12% on profit. The MITP 7% replaces CIT, payroll personal income tax, employer and employee social and medical contributions, and several local taxes for qualifying IT residents.
The regime is statutory, anchored in primary legislation, and guaranteed by the state through 2035 with an operational term to 2037.
The most frequently asked question about Moldovan tax is whether the 7% rate quoted in international coverage is real. The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that the 7% is a specific turnover tax for residents of the Moldova IT Park (MITP) under Law 77/2016, not a generic corporate rate available to any company registered in Chisinau. The standard corporate income tax is 12% on profit. This article sets out what the 7% actually is, who pays it, what it replaces, and how it compares with other low-tax regimes in Europe.
Key takeaways
- The 7% is a single turnover tax for MITP residents, established by Law 77/2016 of 21 April 2016.
- It is not Moldova's general corporate rate. Moldova's standard CIT is 12% on profit.
- It replaces CIT, employee personal income tax, social and medical contributions, real estate tax, road tax and several local taxes.
- VAT, dividend withholding tax and customs duties continue under standard rules.
- The regime is state-guaranteed through 31 December 2035, with the operational term to 2037.
What the 7% actually is
The 7% is a single, turnover-based tax payable each month by registered residents of the Moldova IT Park. It is calculated on gross sales revenue rather than on profit, and consolidates a long list of taxes a non-MITP Moldovan company would otherwise file separately.
Under Article 14 of Law 77/2016 and the related provisions of the Codul Fiscal, the 7% MITP tax replaces:
- Standard corporate income tax, ordinarily 12% on profit
- Personal income tax on employee salaries, ordinarily 12%
- Employer and employee social contributions
- Mandatory medical insurance contributions
- Real estate tax on assets used in the qualifying activity
- Road tax for vehicles owned by the resident
- Several local taxes administered by municipalities
VAT continues separately under the standard rules of the Codul Fiscal, with the headline rate at 20%. Customs duties on imported goods are also unaffected. Dividend withholding tax on distributions to individuals remains at 6% and is paid in addition to the 7%.
The headline rate cannot fall below a per-employee monthly floor, the most commonly missed point in international summaries of the regime. The floor is 30% of the forecast average monthly salary in the economy, refreshed annually. For 2026 it works out to approximately MDL 5,220 per employee per month.
Who pays it
The 7% is available to a defined population of companies. Eligibility is not automatic on registration. A Moldovan SRL or SA must meet four cumulative conditions:
- Be registered as a resident of the Moldova IT Park with the park administration
- Derive at least 70% of revenue in each reporting period from qualifying IT activities listed in Law 77/2016
- Maintain written employment contracts with the staff used to generate that qualifying revenue
- Pay no less than the per-employee monthly minimum, approximately MDL 5,220 per employee for 2026, regardless of turnover
Residency is granted on application to the MITP administration and renewed by ongoing compliance rather than by a one-off certificate. A sustained drop below the 70% revenue threshold, or a failure to maintain employment contracts, results in loss of residency, after which the company reverts to standard CIT and payroll regimes.
Foreign founders may own a Moldovan SRL outright and that SRL may apply for MITP residency, but the residency attaches to the company, not to the shareholder. A non-Moldovan legal entity cannot pay the 7% on its own revenue.
What activities qualify
The list of qualifying activities is set out in Law 77/2016 and is narrower than the everyday phrase "tech company" suggests. Representative qualifying activities include:
- Software development, including bespoke development and packaged software
- IT consulting and systems integration
- IT outsourcing, including dedicated team and managed-service models
- Data processing, hosting and related activities
- Web portal operation
- Computer facilities management
- Other adjacent digital services where the substance is technical IT work
Activities commonly assumed to qualify but which do not include pure trading in IT hardware, financial services, IT recruitment carried on without an underlying development capability, marketing and creative services, and general management consultancy. Mixed companies are not excluded outright, but qualifying revenue must reach the 70% threshold and be evidenced by contracts that map cleanly to the Law 77/2016 list.
How the rate compares with other Moldovan and regional regimes
The 7% is best understood alongside the other low-tax options that founders typically consider in the same decision.
- Moldova standard CIT: 12% on profit. The default for any Moldovan company outside the special regimes.
- Moldova 0% reinvested profits: 0% on retained earnings, 12% on profit at the moment of distribution. Open to SMEs with turnover up to MDL 100 million and up to 249 employees. Sector-neutral.
- Moldova simplified SRL regime: 4% of turnover. For non-VAT-registered SRLs with turnover under MDL 1.5 million.
- Moldova MITP: 7% of turnover. For qualifying IT residents under Law 77/2016.
- Romania micro-company regime: 1% or 3% of turnover depending on activity, with restrictions for software services and turnover thresholds that have tightened in successive amendments.
- Estonia retained-earnings system: 0% on undistributed profit, 22% on profit at distribution, with social tax payable separately on salaries.
- Cyprus IP Box: an effective rate of approximately 2.5% on qualifying intellectual-property income, structurally narrower than a corporate-wide regime and dependent on patent and nexus rules.
The MITP 7% sits in a different shape from the others: broader than an IP box because it covers operating revenue from a defined sector, narrower than a generic corporate rate because it is sector-specific, and turnover-based rather than profit-based, which changes the margin profile at which it becomes attractive.
Why it is statutory rather than a loophole
The regime is established by primary legislation rather than by administrative concession or ruling practice. Law 77/2016 was passed by Parliament on 21 April 2016 and entered into force on 1 January 2017. The 7% rate and the consolidation of separate taxes into a single payment are written into the statute.
The MITP is administered by a dedicated park administration that maintains the register of residents, processes monthly tax filings, and performs periodic eligibility reviews. Residents file each month, and an annual compliance review confirms that the 70% revenue test and the employment-substance requirements have been met.
Substance is a precondition rather than a paper formality. A resident must have real employees, real revenue and documented contracts that map to qualifying activities. The per-employee monthly floor is the mechanism that operationalises this: a company with no genuine staff cannot meet the minimum tax position, and a company with token staff pays the minimum regardless of turnover. The regime closes the obvious avoidance routes at the level of design rather than the level of audit.
What it does not cover
The 7% is comprehensive within its scope but not unlimited. Several taxes remain payable in addition.
- VAT on Moldovan-source supplies under the standard rules, with the headline rate at 20% and reduced rates for specified categories
- Withholding tax on dividends paid to individual shareholders, at 6%
- Withholding on certain payments to non-residents under the Codul Fiscal and applicable double-tax treaties
- Registration and reporting for secondary activities that fall outside the qualifying list, which are taxed under the standard regime
- Customs duties on imported goods, governed by the Customs Code rather than the Codul Fiscal
The split is straightforward. The 7% consolidates direct taxes bearing on operating an IT business in Moldova. Indirect taxes, withholdings on outgoing payments and customs are handled separately because they relate to flows the MITP statute does not address.
Per-employee floor
The per-employee floor sets the minimum monthly tax payable for each member of staff under contract who worked at least one day in the period. It is defined as 30% of the forecast average monthly salary in the economy and is updated annually. For 2026 it works out to approximately MDL 5,220 per employee per month.
A worked example shows where the floor binds. A company with five employees and monthly revenue of MDL 200,000 would, on a pure 7% calculation, owe MDL 14,000. The floor for five employees at MDL 5,220 each is MDL 26,100, so the floor binds and the company pays MDL 26,100. Once monthly revenue per employee crosses approximately MDL 74,600, the headline 7% exceeds the floor and the regime behaves as a clean turnover tax. The 7% is built for revenue-per-employee profiles characteristic of professional software work.
How long it lasts
Law 77/2016 sets the operational term of the Moldova IT Park to 2037 and the state guarantee of the tax regime to 31 December 2035. Companies entering now have a planning horizon of around a decade in which the rate, the scope and the substance requirements are committed by statute. Any amendment after 2035 would require parliamentary action and would not retroactively affect periods already taxed under the existing law.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 7% Moldova's general corporate tax rate?
No. Moldova's general corporate income tax is 12% on profit. The 7% is the turnover tax payable by qualifying residents of the Moldova IT Park under Law 77/2016. Companies outside MITP pay the 12% rate on profit, with payroll taxes and social contributions filed separately.
Can a non-Moldovan company access the 7% directly?
No. The 7% applies to a Moldovan SRL or SA that is a registered MITP resident. Foreign founders can own that Moldovan company outright, but the residency and the rate attach to the company, not to the shareholder, and foreign legal entities cannot pay the 7% on their own revenue.
Does the 7% include VAT?
No. VAT continues to apply separately under the standard rules of the Codul Fiscal, with the headline rate at 20%. MITP residency consolidates direct taxes and payroll-related contributions, not indirect taxes.
What happens if my IT revenue drops below 70%?
A sustained drop below the 70% threshold removes the company from the MITP regime. The company reverts to standard CIT and payroll from the date of removal, with ordinary filing obligations restored. Brief variations may be reviewed in context, but the threshold is monitored continuously across reporting periods.
Is MITP residency open to founders abroad?
Yes, indirectly. A foreign founder can incorporate a Moldovan SRL and apply for MITP residency for that company. The substance requirements still apply: the SRL must have employment contracts with the staff used to generate qualifying revenue, and the per-employee floor must be paid each month.
For practical mechanics of operating inside MITP, see the MITP filing guide. For the underlying flat-rate logic and where the 7% stops paying off on margin, see flat tax rates for IT firms. The alternative for non-IT SMEs is set out in the 0% reinvested-profits regime, and the formation route itself is covered on the Moldova company formation page.
Related calculator: MITP 7% tax calculator. Slide your numbers and see the answer move.