Simplified Regime against Full Statutory Accounting in 2026 — Which Should You Choose?
In 2026 the simplified regime applies to freelancers and companies turning over up to EUR 200,000 a year, and works out taxable income by applying fixed coefficients. Full statutory accounting is mandatory above EUR 200,000, or optional below it, and works out taxable income from actual profit: income less expenses. The right choice depends on your operating margin and on how much deductible expenditure you have.
Comparison table 2026
| Criterion | Simplified regime | Full statutory accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Category B personal income and companies up to EUR 200,000 | Companies, and category B by election or above EUR 200,000 |
| How taxable income is calculated | Fixed coefficients × income | Income less actual expenses |
| Accountant required | No (category B) | Yes — a Chartered Accountant (OCC) |
| Annual accounting cost | EUR 0 (do it yourself) to EUR 1,500 | EUR 1,800 to EUR 6,000 |
| Deduction of actual expenses | No | Yes |
| Filing obligations | VAT + form Modelo 3 | VAT + Modelo 22 + IES + SAF-T + trial balances |
| Suits | Pure services with high margins and few expenses | Activities that buy assets, or carry heavy expenses |
| How long the election lasts | Default regime | Until you file a new declaration of changes (art. 28(5) of the IRS Code) |
The simplified regime — how it works in 2026
The simplified regime applies fixed coefficients to gross income to arrive at taxable income. The taxpayer does not have to evidence expenses, but equally cannot deduct actual costs.
Coefficients in 2026
| Nature of the income | Coefficient |
|---|---|
| Sales of goods and products; restaurant, beverage and hotel activities | 0.15 |
| Other services not covered by the paragraphs above | 0.35 |
| Other income under art. 151 (independent professionals) | 0.75 |
| Operating subsidies | 0.10 |
| Assignment or temporary use of intellectual property | 0.95 |
Since 2018, applying the coefficients requires evidence of general expenses equal to 15% of income (purchases, communications, rent, fees paid, and so on). Without that evidence, the shortfall is added to taxable income.
When the simplified regime wins
- Independent professionals with few expenses (consultants, trainers, translators)
- Providers of digital services with little investment in equipment
- High-margin activities, where the coefficient is lower than the real margin
- Anyone who values simplicity and does not want accounting fees
Full statutory accounting — how it works in 2026
Full statutory accounting works out taxable income from actual profit: all income less all documented, tax-deductible expenses.
What it involves
- Complete bookkeeping of every transaction
- Annual IES and form Modelo 22 (corporate income tax) for companies
- Personal income tax return with annex C for the self-employed
- Monthly filing of the invoicing SAF-T file
- Full deduction of expenses, depreciation and provisions
- Access to tax incentives (RFAI, SIFIDE, ICE, DLRR)
When full statutory accounting wins
- Activities that invest in assets (equipment, vehicles, property)
- Sectors with thin margins and heavy costs (retail, restaurants, construction) — bearing in mind that the coefficient already presumes costs: 85% for sales of goods and restaurants (0.15) and 65% for other services (0.35), so full accounting only pays above those percentages
- Businesses with employees, whose payroll costs are deductible
- Access to corporate tax incentives (SIFIDE II, RFAI, ICE)
- Turnover at or approaching EUR 200,000
Which Expenses Are Deductible Under Full Accounting
Under full statutory accounting, income is computed on real profit, applying corporate tax rules with the adaptations of the IRS Code (art. 32 of the IRS Code). A cost is deductible when it was incurred to earn or secure the income and is backed by an invoice issued to the business. What separates the people who save money from the people who get an unpleasant audit is rarely the list of expenses — it is the documentation and the allocation.
The usual categories
| Category | Examples | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Workspace | Rent, service charges, electricity, water, internet | Capped at 25% when it is your own home |
| Equipment | Computers, furniture, tools, software | Deducted through depreciation over its useful life, not all at once |
| Travel | Fuel, tolls, transport, accommodation | A vehicle assigned to the business attracts autonomous taxation |
| Professional services | Accountant, lawyer, consultancy, training | Fully deductible |
| Insurance | Professional liability, accidents at work | Must relate to the activity |
| Staff | Salaries, employer contributions, meal allowance | For employees — never for the holder of the income |
| Communications and supplies | Telecoms, office materials | A home landline falls inside the 25% cap |
| Professional dues | Professional body, industry associations | Deductible |
The three limits that catch almost everyone
1. Working from home does not give you 100%. Where the activity is carried on in your own home, depreciation or rent, energy, water and the landline are deductible only up to 25% of the properly documented expense (art. 33 of the IRS Code). This is the most common mismatch of expectations for anyone moving to full accounting counting on the whole house.
2. You cannot pay yourself. Remuneration paid to the holder of category B income is not deductible, and the same goes for per diems, meal allowance and use of your own car paid to yourself (art. 33 of the IRS Code). It surprises people coming from a company, where the manager is paid and the company deducts the cost.
3. Shared premises are apportioned. Where the activity is carried on together with other professionals, common charges are split by actual use or, where that cannot be established, in proportion to each person gross income (art. 33 of the IRS Code).
There is one rule that rarely makes it into guides: payments to entities resident in clearly more favourable tax regimes are not deductible, unless you can show they correspond to genuine transactions and are neither abnormal in nature nor excessive in amount (art. 33 of the IRS Code).
Do You Really Need a Certified Accountant?
You do — but it is worth knowing where the obligation comes from, because it is frequently mis-cited. The IRS Code requires category B taxpayers outside the simplified regime to keep full statutory accounting under commercial and tax law (art. 117 of the IRS Code). That article says nothing about a certified accountant.
What requires the professional is the Statute of the Order of Certified Accountants, enacted by Law 139/2015, which reserves to the certified accountant the planning, organisation and coordination of the accounting of entities that keep or must keep full accounting, and responsibility for its technical regularity in accounting and tax matters.
In practice: full accounting is not something you do alone in a spreadsheet. The accountant fee belongs in the regime decision — but it is itself a deductible expense, which lowers the net cost.
Filing Obligations Under Each Regime
The difference in administrative load matters as much as the difference in tax, and it is where the real cost of switching is most often underestimated.
| Obligation | Simplified Regime | Full Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax return | Modelo 3 with Annex B | Modelo 3 with Annex C |
| IES / annual return | No | Yes |
| VAT | Periodic return (monthly or quarterly), unless exempt | Periodic return (monthly or quarterly), unless exempt |
| Invoicing SAF-T | Filed monthly | Filed monthly |
| Books and trial balances | Not required | Full record of every transaction |
| Certified accountant | Not required | Required |
What actually changes is Annex C instead of Annex B, filing the IES, and keeping formal books with every record. VAT and SAF-T depend on your activity and VAT status, not on how your income is computed.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Full Accounting
In favour
- You deduct what you actually spend, instead of accepting the percentage the coefficient presumes
- Investment is depreciated — equipment, vehicles and works enter the calculation across several years
- Tax losses carry forward: a bad year reduces tax in later ones, which the simplified regime does not allow
- Access to tax incentives that require full accounting (RFAI, SIFIDE, ICE)
- Credible accounts for banks, investors and tenders — real financial statements instead of presumed income
Against
- The accountant fee, roughly EUR 1,800 to EUR 6,000 a year depending on volume
- Documentary discipline: with no invoice in the name of the business, the cost does not exist for the tax authority
- More surface to check — more is declared, so more has to be justified
- Autonomous taxation on vehicles and entertainment expenses, which does not arise under the simplified regime
- It does not pay at high margins: at the 0.75 coefficient the simplified regime already presumes 25% of costs with no evidence required
Worked examples — which to choose
Case 1 — freelance consultant, EUR 80,000 a year, EUR 5,000 of expenses
- Simplified: EUR 80,000 × 0.75 = EUR 60,000 of taxable income. Personal income tax of approximately EUR 15,500 (an effective rate of about 26%).
- Full accounting: EUR 80,000 − EUR 5,000 = EUR 75,000 of profit. Personal income tax of approximately EUR 21,000 (an effective rate of about 28%), plus accountant’s fees of roughly EUR 2,400 a year.
- Conclusion: the simplified regime saves around EUR 8,000 a year.
Case 2 — construction company, EUR 150,000 a year, EUR 100,000 of expenses
- Simplified corporate tax regime (coefficient 0.10, the one for other services — art. 86-B(1)(c) of the CIRC): EUR 150,000 × 0.10 = EUR 15,000 of taxable income. Corporate tax (15%, the SME rate on the first EUR 50,000 of taxable income — art. 87(2) of the Corporate Income Tax Code, CIRC, as enacted by Law 64/2025) ≈ EUR 2,250.
- General regime: EUR 150,000 − EUR 100,000 = EUR 50,000 of actual profit. Corporate tax (15%, art. 87(2) CIRC) ≈ EUR 7,500.
- Conclusion: the simplified corporate tax regime saves about EUR 5,250, because the 0.10 coefficient presumes 90% of costs and this company runs at 66.7%. Two differences from personal income tax: a company keeps accounts under both regimes — electing the simplified regime in fact requires adopting the micro-entity accounting standard — and there is no 15% substantiation rule. Only companies with income up to EUR 200,000, a balance sheet up to EUR 500,000 and no statutory audit obligation can elect it, in the declaration of commencement of activity or by the end of the second month of the tax period (art. 86-A of the CIRC).
Case 3 — restaurant, EUR 180,000 a year, EUR 140,000 of expenses
- Simplified (coefficient 0.15, which is the one that applies to restaurants and beverages): EUR 180,000 × 0.15 = EUR 27,000 of taxable income.
- Full accounting: EUR 180,000 − EUR 140,000 = EUR 40,000 of real profit, plus the accountant fee.
- Conclusion: the simplified regime wins. The 0.15 coefficient presumes 85% of costs, and this restaurant runs at 77.8% — the presumed deduction is larger than the real expense. For restaurants, full accounting only pays once documented costs exceed 85% of turnover (here, more than EUR 153,000), or when there is heavy investment to depreciate.
These examples are illustrative. A real decision has to take in VAT, social security, voluntary social security contributions, tax incentives and a multi-year projection.
How to change regime
Electing full statutory accounting is done either in the declaration of commencement of activity or in a declaration of changes filed by the end of March of the year in which you want it to take effect (art. 28(4) of the IRS Code). The election does not bind you for three years — that minimum period no longer exists. It stays in force until you file a new declaration of changes (art. 28(5)).
The move to full statutory accounting becomes mandatory once turnover exceeds EUR 200,000 in two consecutive financial years, or EUR 250,000 in a single one.
The HVR diagnostic
We run a client-by-client comparison, with a three-year tax simulation, before confirming a regime. Average saving identified: between EUR 800 and EUR 4,500 a year per client.
Frequently asked questions
What is the simplified regime threshold in 2026?
EUR 200,000 of annual turnover. Above that, full statutory accounting is mandatory.
What are the coefficients in 2026?
0.75 (professions listed in art. 151), 0.35 (other services), 0.15 (sales of goods, and restaurant, beverage and hotel activities), 0.10 (operating subsidies) and 0.95 (intellectual property) — art. 31(1) of the IRS Code. The 0.75 and 0.35 coefficients also carry the 15% substantiation rule.
Can I elect full accounting even with low turnover?
Yes. It is made in the declaration of commencement of activity or in a declaration of changes filed by the end of March (art. 28(4) of the IRS Code). There is no three-year minimum: the election stays in force until you file a new declaration of changes (art. 28(5)).
Does full accounting allow every expense to be deducted?
Yes, provided the expense is documented and tax-deductible: invoiced to the business and connected to the activity.
Which regime is better for freelancers?
It depends on the margin. High margin (consulting, training) points to the simplified regime. Low margin or heavy investment points to full accounting.
Does changing regime carry a tax cost?
Not directly, but it requires accounting reconciliations and can affect the timing of when income and expenses are recognised. Plan it with your accountant.