Romania (RO)
Romania is the largest country in Southeastern Europe — a full Schengen EU member state blessed with the dramatic Carpathian mountains, medieval Saxon towns like Sibiu and Brasov, the legendary Transylvania region, a booming technology sector, and one of the lowest costs of living in the European Union.
Tax & Payslip Guide
Understanding your taxes in Romania — tax year January 1 – December 31 (calendar year).
📊 Income Tax Brackets
| Income from | Income to | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ∞ | 10% | Flat rate on wages and most other income (impozit pe venit) — Romania uses a single flat rate rather than progressive brackets. |
🏛️ Social Contributions
Employee-paid contribution to the public pension system. The employer pays an additional 4% for particular working conditions and 8% for special working conditions. Capped annual base is no longer applied to wages since 2018.
Employee-paid contribution to the national health fund (CNAS). Grants access to public healthcare. Self-employed pay CASS on at least 6 minimum wages if annual income exceeds 6 minimum wages.
Single employer contribution that replaces the former unemployment, accident, medical-leave and wage-guarantee funds. Calculated on gross payroll.
Scaled allowance that reduces the taxable base. Full deduction at minimum-wage level; it tapers to zero for gross salaries above roughly 2x the minimum wage.
🛒 VAT Rates
Standard rate raised from 19% on 1 August 2025; reduced rate raised from 9%. The former 5% super-reduced rate (e-books, cultural events, firewood) was abolished on 1 August 2025 — those supplies moved to the 11% reduced rate or standard rate.
🧾 Sample Payslip Decoder
🌍 Special Expat Tax Rules
Romania has no dedicated expat tax regime (unlike Portugal NHR or Italy impatriati). However, the Digital Nomad Visa exempts qualifying non-EU remote workers from Romanian income tax and social contributions during their stay, provided tax is paid in another country. The IT software-developer income-tax exemption ended for new hires in November 2023 and was fully removed from 2025. Dividend and capital gains tax rates rose from 10% to 16% effective 1 January 2026.
📋 Double Tax Treaties
Romania has double taxation treaties with more than 90 countries including the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, China, India, Canada and Japan. Credit or exemption methods vary by treaty.
Tax & Payslip
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