Corporate Income Tax in Romania, the Profit Tax and the Micro Alternative
Short answer
As of 16 October 2026, Romania's corporate income tax is the profit tax, impozit pe profit: 16% of taxable profit (art. 17 Fiscal Code). The company pays it whoever owns it. A small SRL may pay the 1% micro-enterprise tax on revenue instead, if it meets the tests. A buyer of an existing SRL inherits the company's tax history.
What is the corporate income tax rate in Romania in 2026?
The rate in 2026 is 16% of taxable profit, one rate for every company that pays profit tax (art. 17 of the Fiscal Code). Romanian law calls the tax impozit pe profit, profit tax. In English it is also called corporate tax or company tax. It sits in Title II of Law 227/2015.
The text read is ANAF's computer-updated consolidation of the Fiscal Code, current to Law 170/2026. It is not an official republication. The Code is cited as amended. The VAT code is the other attribute a buyer checks: how to verify the VAT code of a company before you buy it.
Company-level rates and the tax that follows, as in force on 16 October 2026, the Fiscal Code as amended.
| Tax | Rate | Base | Who pays | Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit tax (impozit pe profit) | 16% | taxable profit | Romanian legal persons; foreign companies through a permanent establishment or with their place of effective management in Romania | art. 17, 13(1) |
| Sector floor | 5% | the revenue from the activity | night bars, night clubs, discos and casinos | art. 18 |
| Micro-enterprise tax | 1% | revenue; costs not deducted | the micro-enterprise, instead of profit tax | art. 51(1), 13(2) |
| Minimum turnover tax (context only) | 0.5% in the formula for fiscal year 2026 | total revenue less the listed deductions | a company with previous-year turnover above EUR 50,000,000 whose profit tax is lower | art. 18^1 |
| Dividend tax | 16% | the gross dividend distributed from 1 January 2026 | individuals (final tax, withheld by the company), Romanian companies, non-residents before treaty or EU relief | art. 97(7), 43(2), 224(4)(b); Law 141/2025 art. VII |
Who pays corporate income tax in Romania?
Profit tax is owed by the company, not by the person who owns it.
A Romanian company, whoever owns it
Romanian legal persons are the taxpayers, bar the exceptions of art. 13(2). A foreign-owned SRL is one. The article does not turn on the owner's nationality, so the SRL files and pays, not the owner (our reading).
A foreign company with a presence in Romania
A foreign company is taxed on the profit of a permanent establishment in Romania. A foreign legal person whose place of effective management is in Romania is a taxpayer too (art. 13(1)). This page does not cover the tests.
A micro-enterprise pays the other company tax
A company that pays the micro-enterprise tax is outside profit tax. The two are alternatives, never cumulative (art. 13(2)). The tests are set out under the micro-enterprise question below.
A non-resident owner's own returns
A non-resident who must file their own returns appoints a representative with a Romanian fiscal domicile (art. 18(4)-(5) Fiscal Procedure Code). This applies unless the non-resident is resident in the EU or EEA, or in a state party to a tax-cooperation instrument signed by Romania. The duty also falls away for a non-resident in electronic contact with ANAF under art. 79.
How is taxable profit calculated, and which costs are limited?
Taxable profit (profit impozabil) is the accounting result less non-taxable income and fiscal deductions, plus non-deductible expenses (art. 19(1)). A positive result is taxable profit. A negative one is a fiscal loss. The result is cumulative from the start of the fiscal year (art. 19(2)). An expense counts if it is incurred for the economic activity (art. 25(1)).
The limits a small SRL meets first:
- Protocol costs: up to 2% of accounting profit plus profit tax and protocol costs (art. 25(3)(a)).
- Road vehicles not used only for the business: 50% of costs, with the exceptions the rule lists (art. 25(3)(l)).
- A registered seat in a person's home, also used privately: 50% of running and repair costs (art. 25(3)(k)).
- Not deductible: the company's own profit tax, late-payment interest, fines, confiscations and penalties (art. 25(4)(a)-(b)).
- Affiliated persons deal at arm's length, and transfer-pricing rules apply (art. 19(6)).
- Fees to a foreign affiliate: Law 239/2025 inserted a 1% cap, and OG 6/2026 repealed it. From the first quarter of 2026 such fees follow the ordinary rule of art. 25.
- Borrowing costs: a general ceiling of EUR 1,000,000 a period. A stand-alone entity deducts them in full (art. 40^2).
- Fixed assets: depreciable from a tax value of 5,000 lei (art. 28(2)(b)). Assets of 2,500 to 5,000 lei held at 31 December 2025 follow a transitional rule.
- Profit invested in technological equipment, computers and software put into service is exempt within the tax calculated (art. 22).
- Sponsorship: credited up to the lower of 0.75% of turnover and 20% of the tax (art. 25(4)(i)).
Do fiscal losses carry forward?
Yes. Fiscal losses from 2024 on carry forward for the next 5 consecutive years, against at most 70% of each year's taxable profit (art. 31(1)). Losses of earlier years still unrecovered at 31 December 2023 are recovered from 2024 under the same 70% cap. They keep what remains of their original 7-year window (art. 31(7)).
A loss made under profit tax survives a period under the micro regime and resumes when the company returns to profit tax (art. 31(5)). The loss belongs to the company, not to its owner.
When is profit tax paid, and which payment system applies?
A company pays the tax in one of two systems. The previous year decides which one it may use.
System 1: pay every quarter
The general rule is to calculate, declare and pay the tax by the 25th of the month after quarters I to III (art. 41(1)). For a calendar-year company that is 25 April, 25 July and 25 October. The year's tax is settled by the return date.
System 2: annual calculation with advances
A company may opt for this system under art. 41(2). It takes the option at the start of a fiscal year, and the option binds for at least 2 consecutive years. The company tells ANAF by 31 January (art. 41(3)). Each advance is a quarter of last year's tax, indexed with consumer prices. Advances are due by the 25th after each quarter and by 25 December for quarter IV (art. 41(8)).
Who cannot choose system 2
A company stays on system 1 if, in the previous year, it was newly formed (bar reorganisations). The same holds if it made a fiscal loss or owed no annual profit tax in that year. It holds too if it was in registered temporary inactivity in that year. A company that declared that it carries on no activity at its seat, or paid micro tax, in that year also stays on system 1 (art. 41(6)). A former micro company therefore starts on system 1.
law dates as in the Code on 16 October 2026 calendar-year company
31 January
- system 2 option for annual calculation
25 April
- system 1 payment
- system 2 advance for quarter I
31 May
- law annual financial statements
25 June
- law annual return and settlement of the year's tax
25 July
- system 1 payment
- system 2 advance for quarter II
25 October
- system 1 payment
- system 2 advance for quarter III
25 December
- system 2 advance for quarter IV
Order shows time, not scale.
When is the annual return due, and what does a late filing cost?
The annual profit-tax return (form 101) and the settlement of the year's tax are due by 25 June of the following year. That is the text of art. 42(1) in force on 16 October 2026. ANAF's Cluj-Napoca directorate reminded taxpayers on 18 June 2026 that 25 June 2026 was the deadline for the 2025 return (ANAF notice).
Check ANAF's calendar of fiscal obligations for the year. A modified fiscal year moves return and payment to the 25th day of the sixth month after its close (art. 42(2)). The annual financial statements go to ANAF by 31 May (OMF 2.036/2025). See the annual accounts page. Annual statements more than 5 months late are an inactivity ground (art. 92(1^2)(b)).
Late payment costs interest of 0.02% and a penalty of 0.01% for each day of delay (art. 174(5) and 176(2) Fiscal Procedure Code). A late return is fined 500 to 1,000 lei. For a medium or large taxpayer the fine is 1,000 to 5,000 lei (art. 336).
Statutory dates, none a promise of ours; for the return, the date of the text in force on 16 October 2026.
| When | What | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January | Communicate the option for annual calculation with advances; it binds for at least 2 consecutive fiscal years | art. 41(3) |
| 31 March | Tell ANAF the micro regime applies (by 31 March of the year of payment) or is left (by 31 March of the next year) | art. 55(2), (5) |
| 25 April, 25 July, 25 October | System 1: the cumulative tax of quarters I to III declared and paid. System 2: an advance of a quarter of last year's tax, indexed | art. 41(1), 41(8) |
| 31 May | Annual financial statements filed with ANAF | OMF 2.036/2025 |
| 25 June | Annual return (form 101) and settlement of the year's tax | art. 41(1), 42(1); ANAF Cluj notice for the 2025 return |
| 25 December | System 2: the advance for quarter IV | art. 41(8) |
| 15 days from a share transfer | Notification to ANAF by the company, the seller or the buyer; with arrears, a guarantee (an event, not an annual date) | Law 239/2025 art. V as widened by OUG 13/2026 |
| 3 working days; 30 days | Issue time and usable life of the tax certificate (an event, not an annual date) | art. 158(5) Fiscal Procedure Code |
Has the tax history of the company you are looking at been read?
We coordinate the checks on an existing SRL before you pay. The accountant and the lawyer do their own reserved work.
Does a small SRL pay the micro-enterprise tax instead?
Profit tax has no lower band for small companies (art. 17). A small SRL may instead apply the micro-enterprise tax: 1% of revenue in 2026, costs not deducted (art. 51(1)). The regime is optional (art. 48(1)). The two taxes never apply together. The tests below decide between 1% and 16%, with no verdict.
| Test | Profit tax | Micro-enterprise tax |
|---|---|---|
| Rate and base | 16% of taxable profit (art. 17) | 1% of revenue, costs not deducted (art. 51(1)) |
| Revenue ceiling | none | the lei equivalent of EUR 100,000 from 1 January 2026 (EUR 250,000 for 2025), tested on revenue at 31 December of the previous year, with the revenue of linked enterprises added (art. 47(1)(c), 47(1^1), 54(3)) |
| Employee | none | at least one employee, or an administrator under a management or mandate contract paid at least the minimum gross wage (art. 47(1)(g), 51(4)(b)) |
| Several companies | no rule | the company must be the only one the shareholders designate, for a shareholder holding over 25% (art. 47(1)(h)) |
| Ceiling passed in the year | not applicable | profit tax from the quarter in which EUR 100,000 was passed (art. 52(1)) |
| Switching | not applicable | no choice of profit tax in the middle of a year; the option runs from the next fiscal year (art. 48(2^1)) |
| New company | profit tax from the next quarter if the employee condition is not met | may be micro from its first year if the employee condition is met within 90 days of registration (art. 48(3)) |
| Notifications | none | by 31 March of the year of payment, and by 31 March of the next year to leave (art. 55(2), (5)) |
| Payment system next year | system 1, or system 2 by option (art. 41) | a former micro company starts on system 1 (art. 41(6)) |
The revenue ceiling is tested with the revenue of linked enterprises, so a buyer's other companies count. The company must also be the only one the shareholders designate to apply the regime.
Is there a minimum turnover tax?
The minimum turnover tax (impozit minim pe cifra de afaceri) has two conditions. The previous year's turnover is above EUR 50,000,000 and the profit tax calculated is lower than the minimum tax. The company then pays at the level of the minimum tax (art. 18^1(1)).
The rate in the formula is 1%, and 0.5% for fiscal year 2026 (art. 18^1(16)). The article applies only until 31 December 2026 (art. 18^1(17)). A small SRL is outside it.
How much tax is paid before the money reaches the owner?
Dividends distributed from 1 January 2026 are taxed at 16%. An individual pays it as a final tax, which the company withholds (art. 97(7)). A Romanian company pays it on the gross dividend (art. 43(2)). A non-resident pays it at the domestic withholding rate, before treaty or EU relief (art. 224(4)(b)).
The start date comes from Law 141/2025, art. VII. Dividends distributed on 2025 interim accounts stay at 10%, without recalculation. A treaty rate caps the domestic rate (art. 230(1)).
Take 100 of taxable profit at domestic rates. Of that, 16.00 is profit tax and 84.00 is the profit after tax. If the company pays out all of it, it does so after the legal reserves and the covering of carried-forward losses (art. 69^1 Law 31/1990, inserted by Law 239/2025). Dividend tax of 16% on 84.00 is 13.44. That leaves 70.56 for an individual owner, a total tax of 29.44. This is derived arithmetic, before treaty or EU relief and before any health contribution of a resident individual.
100.00
taxable profit
16.00
profit tax
84.00
profit after tax
13.44
dividend tax (16% of 84.00)
70.56
net to an individual owner
Total tax 29.44
Derived arithmetic, domestic rates, assuming all the profit after tax is distributed, before treaty or EU relief and before any health contribution of a resident individual.
Related: Dividend Tax in Romania on Distributions to Owners: the full rules for dividends paid to owners.
What does a buyer of an existing SRL inherit on the profit-tax side?
The taxpayer is the company, so its profit-tax history stays when its people change. The table sets out what the law says stays. It does not say whether any company should be bought.
| What stays | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Losses | Recovered over 5 consecutive years against at most 70% of each year's taxable profit; art. 31 has no ownership condition; no text we have read settles whether a bought loss is usable; ANAF may disregard a transaction without economic purpose, a rule that names neither losses nor share purchases | art. 31(1), 31(5); art. 11(1) |
| The payment system | The previous year's status (new, loss-making or without annual tax, inactive, micro) fixes it | art. 41(6) |
| The micro tests | Revenue at 31 December with linked enterprises; one micro company per shareholder over 25% | art. 47(1^1), 47(1)(h) |
| Arrears | Shown on the tax certificate, issued within 3 working days and usable for 30 days | art. 158(5) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| The assessment window | 5 years from 1 July of the year after the tax year; 10 years where the claim results from a criminal offence | art. 110 Fiscal Procedure Code |
| Inactivity | An inactive company owes all taxes but cannot deduct expenses or input VAT; two grounds added from 1 January 2026 are no payment account in Romania and statements more than 5 months late; the older grounds, such as no declaration filed in a calendar half-year, still apply | art. 11(6) Fiscal Code; art. 92(1), (1^2) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| The transfer itself | Notified to ANAF within 15 days by the company, the seller or the buyer; with arrears, a guarantee, enforced if the arrears are unpaid 60 days after the registration of the transfer; any SRL member since OUG 13/2026; form and channel not described here | Law 239/2025 art. V; OUG 13/2026 art. I |
| A company seller's gain | Taxable profit at 16% unless the seller held at least 10% for an uninterrupted year (the exemption does not reach a seller resident in a state with no tax treaty); a foreign seller declares and pays Romanian profit tax itself when it cannot show residence in a treaty state, when no treaty exists, or when the treaty leaves the taxing right to Romania | art. 23(i), 38(1)(b), (2) Fiscal Code |
From our practice. Before anything is signed, we read the last annual accounts and the returns filed (profit tax or micro) from the seller's documents. We read the losses carried and the tax certificate the same way. What those documents leave open goes back to the seller, the buyer's accountant or the lawyer, not to a guess.
How is a company's tax history read before it is bought?
The steps start with the tax history. Each one names who does it.
Read the filed history
The buyer's CECCAR-registered accountant or a lawyer reads the last annual accounts and the returns filed (profit tax or micro). They also read the losses carried and the payment system the previous year forces.
Request the tax certificate
The company, the seller or the buyer asks ANAF for it. Arrears appear on it. It is issued within 3 working days and is usable for 30 days (art. 158(5)).
Have the transfer drafted
A Bar-registered lawyer drafts the deed and the resolutions (art. 3(1)(c) Law 51/1995). The trade register filing is a separate step.
Notify ANAF within 15 days of the transfer
The company, the seller or the buyer files, for the shares of any SRL member. With arrears, a guarantee is shown. ANAF enforces it if the arrears are unpaid 60 days after registration. The form and channel are not described here.
Appoint the accountant and check the regime in the first weeks
The new owner or administrator checks which regime applies for the year and whether a notification is due by 31 March. They do it with a CECCAR-registered accountant or the company's own staff.
Run the cycle and keep the records
The accountant prepares, and the company files and pays. Payments are quarterly, the annual statements are due by 31 May and the return by 25 June. The accounting books and supporting documents are kept for 10 years (art. 25(1) Law 82/1991, 2008 text). That is longer than the 5-year assessment window.
Related: Buy a Company in Romania with Due Diligence: how we coordinate the checks and the transfer for a buyer.
Who keeps the books and files the return?
This site explains these duties. It does not keep books, file returns, give tax advice or draft deeds.
The administrator answers for the accounts
The administrator is responsible for organising and keeping the accounts (art. 10(1) Law 82/1991, 2008 text).
The books: own staff or a CECCAR member
The books may be kept by the company's own staff or under a services contract with a CECCAR member (art. 10(2)-(3)). A foreign-owned company with no staff in practice contracts one.
Returns and tax advice: reserved work
Computing taxes and preparing and filing returns for a client is accountant's work (art. 6(a) OG 65/1994). Doing it without authorisation is a criminal offence (art. 43(1)). Assistance and representation before the tax authorities is tax consultancy (art. 3(1)(e) OG 71/2001).
The transfer deed: a Bar-registered lawyer
Drafting legal acts is a lawyer's activity, exercised only by a lawyer unless the law says otherwise (art. 3(1)(c) and 3(2) Law 51/1995).
Related: E-Invoicing in Romania (RO e-Factura and SAF-T) for a New Owner: another duty of the same new owner.
Official sources
The ANAF consolidations were read on 16 October 2026. Each item names the document and what it supports.
- Fiscal Code, Law 227/2015, ANAF consolidation: rate, taxpayers, base, losses, payment, return, micro tax, dividends.
- Fiscal Procedure Code, Law 207/2015: interest, penalty, assessment window, tax certificate, inactivity, late-return fine.
- Law 141/2025, art. VII: dividends at 16% from 1 January 2026.
- Law 239/2025, art. V: the 15-day notification and the guarantee.
- OUG 13/2026, art. I: the notification covers the shares of any SRL member.
- OG 6/2026: repeal of the 1% cap on fees to foreign affiliates.
- OMF 2.036/2025: annual financial statements filed with ANAF by 31 May.
- ANAF Cluj-Napoca notice of 18 June 2026: the 25 June 2026 deadline for form 101.
- OG 65/1994, art. 6(a) and 43(1): accountant's work and the offence.
- OG 71/2001, art. 3(1)(e): tax consultancy.
- Law 51/1995, art. 3: drafting legal acts is a lawyer's activity.
- Law 82/1991, art. 10 and 25(1): the accounts, books kept under contract with a CECCAR member, and how long the records are kept.
Frequently asked questions about corporate income tax in Romania
What is the corporate income tax rate in Romania in 2026?
The rate is 16% of taxable profit. It is one general rate for every company that pays profit tax (art. 17 of the Fiscal Code). Night bars, night clubs, discos and casinos pay a floor of 5% of revenue (art. 18). A small SRL may pay the separate 1% micro-enterprise tax instead, if it meets the tests.
Is there a lower rate for small companies?
There is no lower profit-tax rate. A small SRL may pay the micro-enterprise tax instead: 1% of revenue (art. 51(1)). It must meet the tests, among them a revenue ceiling of the lei equivalent of EUR 100,000 from 1 January 2026 (art. 47(1)(c), 54(3)). The regime is optional. It replaces profit tax and is not a reduced rate.
What is the difference between income tax and corporate tax in Romania?
The company pays profit tax on its taxable profit at 16% (art. 17). An individual owner then pays a separate final 16% tax on a dividend. The company withholds it (art. 97(7)). Individual income taxes on salaries and other income are outside this page.
Who pays corporate tax in Romania?
Romanian legal persons pay it, so a foreign-owned SRL does. Foreign companies pay it through a permanent establishment in Romania. Foreign legal persons whose place of effective management is in Romania pay it too (art. 13(1)). A micro-enterprise pays the micro-enterprise tax instead (art. 13(2)). On our reading, who owns the company does not change who the taxpayer is.
How is taxable profit calculated?
Start from the accounting result. Subtract non-taxable income and fiscal deductions, then add non-deductible expenses (art. 19(1)). A positive fiscal result is taxable profit. A negative one is a fiscal loss. The result is cumulative from the start of the fiscal year (art. 19(2)). Expenses must be incurred for the economic activity (art. 25(1)).
Which costs are only partly deductible?
Protocol costs are deductible up to 2% of the base the Code names (art. 25(3)(a)). Mixed-use road vehicles and a home seat used privately are deductible at 50% (art. 25(3)(l), (k)). The vehicle rule lists exceptions. The company's own profit tax, late-payment interest, fines and penalties are not deductible at all (art. 25(4)(a)-(b)).
Can the company pay a management fee to a foreign parent?
Costs incurred for the economic activity are deductible (art. 25(1)). Affiliated parties deal at arm's length (art. 19(6)). Law 239/2025 inserted a 1% cap on such fees. OG 6/2026 repealed it, and ordinary deductibility applies from the first quarter of 2026. The company's accountant checks whether a given fee qualifies.
When do I pay and when is the return due?
You pay quarterly, by the 25th of the month after quarters I to III (art. 41(1)). The year's tax and the annual return are due by 25 June of the next year (art. 42(1)), as in force on 16 October 2026. ANAF's Cluj directorate confirmed 25 June for the 2025 return. ANAF's calendar shows the dates for the year.
Can I pay in advance instead of quarterly?
Yes, at the start of a fiscal year, by option (art. 41(2)-(3)). It binds for at least two consecutive years, and you tell ANAF by 31 January. A company cannot choose it if last year it was new, loss-making, without annual profit tax, in registered temporary inactivity, declared without activity at its seat, or a micro payer (art. 41(6)).
Do fiscal losses carry forward?
Yes. A fiscal loss carries forward for 5 consecutive years, against at most 70% of each year's taxable profit (art. 31(1)). Losses of earlier years keep their original 7-year window under the same cap (art. 31(7)). A loss also survives a period under the micro regime (art. 31(5)).
What is the minimum turnover tax?
It is a floor for companies whose previous-year turnover is above EUR 50,000,000, and the rate in the formula is 0.5% for 2026 (art. 18^1). The company pays at the level of the minimum tax when its profit tax is lower. The article applies only until 31 December 2026. A small SRL is outside it.
What happens if I pay or file late?
A late payment costs interest of 0.02% and a penalty of 0.01% for each day of delay (art. 174(5), 176(2) Fiscal Procedure Code). A late return is fined 500 to 1,000 lei for a legal person that is not a medium or large taxpayer. A medium or large taxpayer is fined 1,000 to 5,000 lei (art. 336).
How much tax is paid before the money reaches the owner?
The company pays 16% profit tax. Then 16% dividend tax is due on what it pays out (art. 17, 97(7); Law 141/2025 art. VII). That is 29.44 per 100 of profit at domestic rates for an individual owner. It is derived arithmetic, before treaty relief and before any health contribution of a resident individual.
I am buying an existing SRL: what tax history do I inherit?
You inherit its losses, its arrears, a 5-year window in which ANAF may reassess, and a status that fixes the payment system. A transfer of the shares of any SRL member is notified to ANAF within 15 days. With arrears, a guarantee goes with it. No text we have read settles whether a bought loss is usable.
Does a dormant SRL still pay profit tax?
Tax follows profit. A declared-inactive company still owes taxes and cannot deduct expenses (art. 11(6) Fiscal Code). Two grounds are new from 1 January 2026: no payment account in Romania, and annual accounts over 5 months late (art. 92(1^2)). Older grounds, such as no declaration in a calendar half-year, remain. Whether a dormant company files a return stays open.