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13
August
2022

The sectoral plan against wage informality: how it works

August 13, 2022
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Key points
  • The Tax Administration regularly identifies sectors at high risk of misreporting wages, based on comparison with the market average.
  • In 2022, alongside construction and trade, insurance, media/communications, and private education were added as high-risk sectors.
  • The specific list of sectors changes over time; the principle of risk-based selection remains the same.
Updated October 18, 2026. Published August 13, 2022. The original notice presented Phase II of the 2022 sectoral plan against wage informality, with a specific list of sectors. The content has been rewritten around the general principle underlying this practice, which remains valid today.

In August 2022, the Tax Administration announced the second phase of a sectoral plan against wage informality. Based on taxpayers' self-declarations and comparisons with the market average, insurance companies, media and communications, and private education institutions were identified as high-risk sectors, alongside construction and trade, which had been assessed previously.

From our daily work, we see that many businesses underestimate the risk of reporting the minimum wage when an employee actually receives more, thinking it will go unnoticed. In reality, the Tax Administration compares the declared wages with the sector average and sends personalized letters to high-risk businesses before conducting an audit.

Consequences for the employee and the business

Declaring a lower wage than the actual one doesn't just affect the business. The employee themselves risks a lower pension in the future, since social contributions are calculated on the declared wage, not on the actual take-home pay. The Tax Administration urges citizens to report such cases for precisely this reason.

Why does it matter today?

Regardless of which sector is under scrutiny at any given time, the principle remains the same: the declared wage must reflect reality. If your business is in a sector with many employees earning near the minimum wage, verify that your filings reflect the reality of the work before you receive a personal letter from the Tax Administration.

How we handle this with our clients

When we prepare our clients' payrolls, we compare the reported wages with the typical market rates for that sector and position to avoid unnecessary risk of an audit or warning letter.

Every time there is a tax or financial change that affects your business, we notify you directly by email with a practical explanation.

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About the author

Andi Haxhillari is an economist and the founder of AlProfit Consult, an accounting, tax advisory, and financial management firm in Tirana, established in 2015. He holds the professional title of Certified Accountant, certificate no. 359, issued by the Certification Authority of the Ministry of Finance on July 4, 2012. He graduated with a Master's degree in Accounting and as a General Economist from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tirana. For more than ten years, he has worked as an external economist for small and medium-sized businesses in Albania.

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