Tax residence is where Romanian tax stops being a simple 10% and starts being a question about you. The flat rate is the headline that attracts newcomers, but whether and how it applies depends on where you live, who pays you, and what your home country says about the same income. This guide covers income tax in Romania for someone who has just settled: how residence is decided, which rates apply in 2026, what you file and when, and the points that tend to surprise people who work remotely.
When are you tax resident, for income tax in Romania?
According to the Fiscal Code (article 7), you are a tax resident if you meet any one of three conditions: your home is in Romania, your centre of vital interests is in Romania, or you are present for more than 183 days in any consecutive 12-month period that ends in the calendar year. One condition is enough, so you can be resident from the day you move in, without waiting for the 183rd day. If another country also considers you resident, the tax treaty between the two countries decides.
If you stay more than 183 days, you file the residence questionnaire (form Z015) with the tax office of your home within 30 days after the 183rd day, in person, through a representative, or by post with acknowledgement of receipt. A late filing is a contravention with a fine of 50 to 100 lei and a note in your tax record, according to ANAF.
What rates apply in 2026?
- Income tax: 10% for salaries, independent activity, rents, investment income and pensions (article 64).
- Employee contributions: pension (CAS) of 25% and health (CASS) of 10% of gross salary, withheld by the employer.
- Dividends: 16%, a final tax withheld by the paying company.
- Bank interest: 10%, withheld by the bank.
- Pensions: only the part above 3,000 lei a month is taxable, at 10%.
Residents are taxed on income from anywhere in the world. A treaty prevents double taxation, but it does not remove the duty to declare.
What do you file and when for income tax in Romania?
- Get your CNP or a NIF and create your access to the SPV, ANAF's free online personal space. See the Romania CNP number guide.
- If you have a Romanian employer, it withholds tax and contributions each month, and you usually have nothing to declare on that salary.
- If you are paid from abroad while working in Romania, you declare and pay tax yourself every month, by the 25th of the following month (article 82). If you pass your treaty or 183-day limit during the year, tax is due from your first day in Romania.
- For other income (self-employment, rent, investments, foreign income), file the Declarația unică, form 212, in the SPV by 25 May of the following year and pay the balance by the same date.
- For foreign income covered by a treaty, the declaration lets you credit the tax paid abroad or declare the income as exempt, depending on the treaty.
Remote work across borders is where tax residence gets complicated: an employer in one country, a home in another, a treaty to read. Moovy, our AI assistant, can explain which of the rules above apply to your situation and prepare the questions to put to an accountant or ANAF. It does not file your return for you.
Is there a discount for filing early?
Yes, in some years. For income earned in 2025, a reduction of 3% of the income tax applied to people who filed and paid the income tax, CAS and CASS by 15 April 2026. The law allows a reduction of up to 10%, and the actual level is set each year by the annual budget law: the one for 2026 income is not known yet.
How are the contributions for self-employed people calculated?
For a freelancer, tax is 10% of net income after deducting the CAS and CASS owed. The CAS (25%) is compulsory once net income reaches 12 minimum gross wages, and the CASS (10%) applies to net income on a base of at least 6 and at most 72 minimum wages. The thresholds are calculated on the minimum wage in force on 1 January of the income year. The 2026 figures and the VAT limit are in the Romania PFA guide.
What about pensions from another country?
If the treaty between Romania and your country lets Romania tax your pension, the rule is: 10% on the gross pension of the year, less 3,000 lei per month and any health contribution, declared in the Declarația unică (article 130). Tax paid abroad is credited according to the treaty. The picture depends on your country, so check the treaty. See retiring in Romania.
And the local taxes?
Separate from income tax, you pay local taxes to the town hall: a building tax of 0.08% to 0.2% of the taxable value for a home, plus land and vehicle taxes, in two instalments on 31 March and 30 September. The details are in buying property in Romania. Declare a home you buy to the town hall within 30 days; the tax is due from the following 1 January.
Which mistakes are common?
- Waiting for 183 days. Your home or your centre of interests can make you resident immediately.
- Working remotely for a foreign employer without declaring. Nobody withholds for you.
- Forgetting foreign income. Residents declare worldwide income.
- Confusing CASS with private insurance. It is a public contribution tied to income.
- Filing in euros. Declare in lei, converting foreign income under the Fiscal Code rules.
How does income tax in Romania work for different profiles?
The same 10% rate leads to very different paperwork, depending on who pays you.
- Employee of a Romanian company: the employer calculates and withholds income tax, CAS and CASS each month and files the declarations. You normally do nothing for that salary.
- Remote worker paid from abroad: nobody withholds. You file and pay monthly, by the 25th of the following month, and you check your home country's rules and the treaty at the same time.
- Freelancer: you pay 10% on net income after contributions, and you file the annual return. The mechanics are in the Romania PFA guide.
- Landlord: rents are taxed within the 10% regime, and the landlord registers the lease with ANAF within 30 days of signing.
- Investor or saver: dividends are taxed at 16% and bank interest at 10%, both withheld at source in the cases above.
- Pensioner: only the part above 3,000 lei a month is taxable, subject to the treaty.
Which questions decide your tax residency in Romania?
When a new arrival asks whether they are tax resident, three questions settle most cases. Where is your home? Where are your family and economic ties strongest? How many days will you spend in the country over a 12-month period? A yes to any one of them is enough on its own. Keep evidence: a lease, an employment contract, a registration certificate, travel records. If you are also resident elsewhere under that country's rules, the treaty between the two states decides, using its own tests, and ANAF's residence questionnaire helps document your case.
Tax residency in Romania is not the same as the right of residence granted by the IGI. You can have one without the other, which is why the tax and immigration offices ask different questions. See residence in Romania for EU citizens for the immigration side.
What changes by country of origin?
Residence criteria do not depend on nationality. What differs is the treaty between Romania and your country. The instructions for the return refer to Romania's treaties for each type of foreign income, so first check that one exists with your country and what it says. British residents face the same tax rules as everyone else; only their right of stay is different.
Before you decide anything that depends on tax, such as working remotely for a foreign employer or registering as a PFA, have your situation confirmed by a Romanian tax adviser (consultant fiscal) or an accountant (expert contabil). Rates and thresholds are reviewed often, and the Romanian VAT and dividend rates changed recently, so check the current figures with ANAF before you file.