VAT in Romania, the Rates and Who Pays Them
Romania charges VAT at a standard rate of 21% and a single reduced rate of 11%. Both have applied since 1 August 2025 (art. 291 of the Fiscal Code, as amended by Law 141/2025). The company, not its owner, is the VAT payer. A company whose turnover passes the 395,000 lei exemption ceiling applies for VAT registration.
What is the VAT rate in Romania in 2026?
Romanian VAT (taxa pe valoarea adăugată, TVA) has two rates in 2026. The standard rate (cota standard) is 21%. It applies to every taxable operation that is neither exempt nor on the reduced list (art. 291(1) of the Fiscal Code). The single reduced rate (cota redusă) is 11% (art. 291(2)). Both apply from 1 August 2025 under Law 141/2025, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 699 of 25 July 2025. A separate guide explains how a company gets and keeps the VAT code of a Romanian company.
The Fiscal Code is the primary source. We checked the figures here against ANAF's consolidation on 13 October 2026. The European Commission's Your Europe table lists Romania at 21 and 11, last checked on 13 July 2026. It tells readers to confirm the rates with the national VAT authority. Under Directive 2006/112/EC, art. 96 to 98, each Member State fixes its own standard rate, at least 15%. A Member State may use at most two reduced rates, each at least 5%. Romania uses one.
The VAT rates in force in Romania in 2026, and the former rates, which are history. Each row names its legal basis.
| Rate | What it applies to | In force | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, 21% | Every taxable operation that is not exempt and not on the reduced list | Since 1 August 2025 | Fiscal Code art. 291(1); Law 141/2025 |
| Reduced, 11% | The supplies listed in art. 291(2); the only reduced rate | Since 1 August 2025 | Fiscal Code art. 291(2); Law 141/2025 |
| Other rates | The Commission's table lists no super-reduced and no parking rate for Romania | Table last checked 13 July 2026 | Your Europe |
| Former standard, 19% (history) | The standard rate before the 21% | 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2025 | ANAF before-and-after table |
| Former standard, 20% (history) | The standard rate in 2016 | 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016 | ANAF before-and-after table |
| Former reduced, 9% and 5% (history) | Merged into the single 11% rate | Until 31 July 2025 | ANAF guidance on the new rates |
| Transitional 9% for one home (ended) | One qualifying home | 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 | Art. III(1) Law 141/2025, printed under art. 291 |
Is the Romanian standard VAT rate 19% or 21%?
It is 21%. The 19% rate is history. It was the standard rate from 1 January 2017 until 31 July 2025, after 20% in 2016 (ANAF's before-and-after table of Law 141/2025). Law 141/2025 set 21% from 1 August 2025. On the same date the former 9% and 5% reduced rates were merged into the single 11% rate (ANAF's guidance on the new rates).
A transitional 9% rate for one qualifying home ran until 31 July 2026. It has ended, so no 9% rate applies in October 2026 (art. III(1) of Law 141/2025, printed under art. 291 of the Fiscal Code). A page that still gives 19% as the current rate is out of date.
current values history
the rates
20%
- history 2016
19%
- history from 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2025
21% standard and 11% reduced
- current from 1 August 2025
Former 9% and 5%
- history to 31 July 2025, merged into 11% at that point
Transitional 9% for one home
- history ending on 31 July 2026
the exemption ceiling
300,000 lei
395,000 lei
- current from 1 September 2025
The registration ceiling moved as well. OG 22/2025 was published in Monitorul Oficial no. 806 of 29 August 2025. It raised the small-enterprise exemption ceiling from 300,000 lei to 395,000 lei on 1 September 2025 (ANAF's notice).
What does the 11% reduced rate cover?
The reduced rate applies only to the supplies listed in art. 291(2) of the Fiscal Code. Every other taxable supply is at 21%. On 1 August 2025 some operations moved to 21%, veterinary medicines among them. ANAF's guidance lists the rest.
- Human medicines (art. 291(2)(a)).
- Food and drinks for human and animal consumption (art. 291(2)(b)).
- Excluded from food: alcoholic drinks and the non-alcoholic drinks of NC code 2202.
- Excluded too: foods with added sugar, total sugar at least 10 g per 100 g.
- Water supply and sewerage services (art. 291(2)(c)).
- Fertilisers and pesticides of the kind normally used in agriculture (art. 291(2)(e)).
- School textbooks, books, newspapers and magazines, on paper or electronically (art. 291(2)(g)).
- Admission to castles, museums, memorial houses and historic monuments (art. 291(2)(h)).
- Firewood supplied to individuals (art. 291(2)(i)).
- Heat energy supplied in the cold season to the listed consumers (art. 291(2)(k)).
- Dwellings supplied as part of social policy (art. 291(2)(l)).
- Hotel accommodation (art. 291(2)(m)).
- Restaurant and catering, except alcoholic drinks and NC code 2202 drinks (art. 291(2)(n)).
Which rate goes on an invoice when the rate changes?
The rate on an invoice is the one in force when the chargeable event (faptul generator) occurs. An invoice may be issued, or an advance received, before the supply. Then the rate is the one in force when the tax became chargeable (art. 291(4) with art. 282(2)).
If the rate changes between an advance invoice and the supply, the invoice is adjusted (regularizare). The rate in force on the supply date then applies (art. 291(6)). Art. 291(6) is the rule for advance invoices when a rate changes. We read no ANAF guidance on how it applied to the change of 1 August 2025.
Invoices go through RO e-Factura within 5 working days of issue from 1 January 2026 (OUG 89/2025, per ANAF's note). The company applies these rules through its own accounting staff or under a contract with a CECCAR member. This site issues and corrects no invoices.
Who has to register for VAT, and from what turnover?
Registration turns on the small-enterprise exemption ceiling (plafon de scutire). The ceiling is 395,000 lei of annual turnover, tested on the supplies the company makes in a calendar year (art. 310(1)-(2) of the Fiscal Code). The taxable person is the company, not its owner.
Passing the ceiling
The company applies for registration at the latest on the date it passes 395,000 lei (art. 310(6)). Normal VAT runs from the transaction that passes it. If it does not apply, ANAF registers it from that date. ANAF also assesses the VAT it should have collected (art. 310(6^1)).
Opting in below the ceiling
Below the ceiling a company may opt into normal VAT at any time (art. 310(3)). It is registered from the date of its request (art. 316(1^1)).
What an exempt company cannot do
An exempt small enterprise deducts no input VAT and may not show VAT on its invoices (art. 310(10)).
| Situation | What happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Below 395,000 lei | The exemption applies: no input VAT is deducted and no VAT is shown on invoices | Art. 310(1) and (10) |
| Passing the ceiling | The company applies at the latest on that date; normal VAT runs from the transaction that passes it | Art. 310(6) |
| Not applying | ANAF registers the company from the date the ceiling was passed and assesses the VAT it should have collected | Art. 310(6^1) |
| Opting in below the ceiling | At any time; registered from the date of the request | Art. 310(3) and 316(1^1) |
| The ceiling before 1 September 2025 (history) | 300,000 lei, raised to 395,000 lei by OG 22/2025 | ANAF notice |
The 395,000 lei exemption ceiling and what follows from it. The former 300,000 lei figure is shown as history.
Can a company leave VAT again?
A registered company can ask to leave normal VAT. An exempt company needs a special code for some EU acquisitions and cross-border services. Cash-accounting VAT is an option inside VAT.
Leaving VAT
A registered company may ask to be removed if its previous-year turnover stayed under 395,000 lei and it has not passed that figure this year. The company files the request between the 1st and the 10th of the month after its VAT period. ANAF decides by the end of that month (art. 310(7)).
The special code for an exempt company that buys in the EU
An exempt company needs the special code of art. 317 before an intra-EU acquisition of goods above the Code's acquisition ceiling (art. 317(1)(a)). It needs it too before cross-border services for which the recipient owes the VAT, whether it provides or receives them (art. 317(1)(b)-(c)). The code does not make it a normally registered VAT payer (art. 317(10)).
Cash-accounting VAT, an option inside VAT
Cash-accounting VAT (TVA la încasare) has a ceiling of 5,000,000 lei from 1 March to 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 the ceiling is 5,500,000 lei (art. 282(3)).
Looking at an existing company's VAT position?
Send us the company's tax code (CUI). We read its public VAT position with you before anything is signed.
How often is the VAT return filed, and when is it due?
The VAT period (perioada fiscală) is the calendar month (art. 322(1)). It is the calendar quarter if previous-year turnover did not exceed EUR 100,000 and the company made no intra-EU acquisitions of goods that year (art. 322(2)). The EUR 100,000 is converted at the BNR (Banca Națională a României) rate of 31 December of the previous year (norms to art. 322).
The VAT return (decont de taxă) is form 300. It is due by the 25th of the month after the month or quarter, with payment by the same date (art. 323(1), art. 326(1)). A declaration filed late is a contravention. The fine is 500 to 1,000 lei, or 1,000 to 5,000 lei for medium and large taxpayers (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 336). That this covers the VAT return is our analysis of the definitions of a tax declaration. We read no ANAF guidance on the VAT return.
The company files, through its own accounting staff or under a contract with a CECCAR member. This site prepares and files none of it.
The VAT period and the return: who files monthly and who files quarterly. Each row gives the dates and the article of the Fiscal Code.
| Situation | VAT period | Return and payment | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| The default | Calendar month | Form 300 and payment by the 25th of the month after the month | Art. 322(1), 323(1), 326(1) |
| Previous-year turnover within EUR 100,000 at the BNR rate of 31 December, and no intra-EU acquisitions of goods | Calendar quarter | Form 300 and payment by the 25th of the month after the quarter | Art. 322(2) and the norms |
| A company registering during the year | Quarterly in that year if it stays under the pro-rated ceiling | Form 300 by the 25th of the month after the quarter | Art. 322(3) |
| Declaration of changes of a quarterly filer | Not applicable | Form 010 by 25 January, stating the previous year's turnover and no intra-EU acquisitions of goods | Art. 322(6) |
| An intra-EU acquisition of goods by a quarterly filer | The quarterly period becomes monthly | Form 300 monthly | Art. 322(7) |
| Every company registered under art. 316 or 317 | Not applicable | Recapitulative statement of intra-EU operations, form 390 VIES | Art. 325(1) |
How the Code sets the VAT period
A company registers during the year
and stays under the pro-rated ceiling
- Quarterly in that year
Otherwise: previous-year turnover within EUR 100,000
at the BNR rate of 31 December, and no intra-EU acquisitions of goods
- Quarterly
- Declaration of changesby 25 January
- An intra-EU acquisition of goodsmakes a quarterly period monthly
Otherwise
- Monthly
Form 300 and payment by the 25th of the month after the period
What keeps a company's VAT code alive?
A VAT code is lost on the grounds below, so a company has to keep it alive.
Returns that show activity
No VAT return for 6 consecutive months (monthly filer) or 2 consecutive quarters (quarterly filer) cancels the registration (art. 316(11)(d)). Returns for the same run that show no purchases and no supplies cancel it too (art. 316(11)(e)).
A payment account in Romania
A company declared inactive loses its registration from the date of the declaration (art. 316(11)(a)). Since 1 January 2026 one ground of inactivity is having no payment account in Romania (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 92(1^2)(a)). The second ground is annual financial statements not filed within 5 months of the legal deadline (art. 92(1^2)(b)). The filing rules are in the guide to the statements, the trial balance and the deadlines of a Romanian company.
The fiscal record behind the company
Offences in the fiscal record (cazier fiscal) of the majority shareholders, the sole shareholder, the administrators or the company are a cancellation ground (art. 316(11)(c)). A majority shareholder holds at least 50% of the capital (norms, pt. 88(18)).
High fiscal risk
ANAF registers a company first and analyses the risk afterwards (art. 316(9)). High fiscal risk is a cancellation ground (art. 316(11)(h)). ANAF judges it against Annex 6. The criteria include a foreign administrator without Romanian tax residence, together with capital under 45,000 lei. They include a registered office under a comodat (free loan) of one year or less. They also include fewer than one employee on average. How they combine is not stated. Annex 6 has no criterion on a company's age or on a recent share transfer.
What cancellation does not erase
A cancellation does not release the company from earlier liability (art. 318(2)). While the code is cancelled, the company deducts no input VAT. It still owes VAT on its taxable supplies (art. 11(8)). ANAF pays the first refund claim after a registration only after an advance tax audit (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 169(3)(d)). Since Order ANAF 1123/2026 the first claim after a re-registration counts as a first claim too (pt. 58(3) of Order 352/2022). It applies to returns from August 2026 or the third quarter of 2026.
Is there VAT on the price when you buy the shares of an SRL?
No. Dealings in shares and company parts (părți sociale) are exempt financial transactions. The price of the share transfer of an SRL (societate cu răspundere limitată, the limited liability company) therefore carries no Romanian VAT (art. 292(2)(a)(5) of the Fiscal Code). Buying an SRL means buying its shares through the cesiune de părți sociale. The VAT questions that follow concern the company, not the price.
Two other taxes sit around a share sale, and neither is VAT. The guide to capital gains tax on Romanian shares covers the seller's tax on the gain. A second guide covers the withholding on payments abroad. This page states no rate for either.
What does a company's VAT position mean when it changes hands?
The company is the taxable person, so the VAT rules in this guide attach to it, not to its owner. A transfer changes who owns the shares. What else it changes is mostly our analysis of the Code, marked as such in the table, because we read no ANAF guidance on transfers. Profit tax is separate. The guide to the corporate income tax a Romanian company pays and when covers it.
| Item | What the law gives | Rule or analysis | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| The share price | No Romanian VAT: exempt financial transaction | Rule | Art. 292(2)(a)(5) |
| VAT period and turnover so far this year | The ceiling and the period attach to the company, so its figures continue after the transfer | Analysis | Art. 310(2) and 322(2) |
| The VAT code | No text says in terms that the code survives a transfer. It is cancelled on the grounds of art. 316(11): 6 months or 2 quarters of missing or nil returns, inactivity, and offences in the fiscal record of a holder of 50% or more or of an administrator | Rule for the grounds; no text on continuity | Art. 316(11)(a), (c), (d), (e) |
| Unpaid VAT | Stays with the company and shows on the tax certificate the seller or the buyer may request | Rule for the certificate; analysis for unpaid VAT | Art. V(2) Law 239/2025; art. 158 and 318(2) |
| The 15-day notice to ANAF | Within 15 days of the transfer, by the seller, the buyer or the company, for the shares of any SRL member | Rule | Art. V(1)(a) Law 239/2025; OUG 13/2026 |
| The Annex 6 criteria | Apply to the company at any time; no criterion on its age or on a recent share transfer | Rule | Annex 6 |
From our practice
We read the VAT status, the period, the turnover so far this year and the returns of the last 6 months. We take them from the seller's documents and the public registers, before anything is signed.
How is a company's VAT position read before it is bought?
Each step below names who performs it. The trade register (ONRC) checks the conditions of the ANAF rule when it enters the transfer (art. V(3) of Law 239/2025, as amended by OUG 13/2026). The ANAF notice and any guarantee therefore come first. We prepare the file and coordinate. The company, the seller or the buyer makes the ANAF filings.
Read the VAT position the buyer
Check whether the company has a VAT code and what its period is. If it has no code, compare its turnover so far this year with 395,000 lei. Read its returns of the last 6 months (art. 310, art. 316(11)).
Request the tax certificate the seller or the buyer; ANAF issues it
Unpaid VAT appears among the arrears. The ordinary certificate is issued within 3 working days and is usable for 30 days (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 158).
Have the transfer drafted a Bar-registered lawyer
The lawyer drafts the deed and the amended constitutive act. The price carries no VAT (art. 292(2)(a)(5)).
Notify ANAF within 15 days of the transfer the seller, the buyer or the company
The rule covers the shares of any SRL member. If the company has arrears, a guarantee is posted. It is enforced if the arrears are unpaid 60 days after the registration (Law 239/2025, art. V; OUG 13/2026). This page does not describe the form or the channel.
File the transfer at the trade register
(the administrator, or a representative under a notarised power of attorney or a lawyer's mandate). ONRC checks the conditions of the ANAF rule when it enters the transfer. We can prepare the file and file under a notarised power of attorney (or a lawyer's mandate).
Continue after the transfer the new administrator and the company's accountant
They go on with the returns. If the company has no code, it can opt in at any time. Registration runs from the date of the request (art. 310(3), art. 316(1^1)).
Sources: the official texts behind this page
The rates and the rules on VAT registration, the period, the return, cancellation and the share transfer come from the official texts below, checked in October 2026. The text cites the e-invoicing deadline and the refund rule after a re-registration to their acts (OUG 89/2025; Order ANAF 352/2022 as amended by Order 1123/2026). The Fiscal Code, not the Commission's table, is the source of the Romanian rates.
- Fiscal Code with norms: rates, exempt share dealings, ceiling, registration, cancellation, period, return and payment.
- Law 141/2025: the 21% and 11% rates and their start on 1 August 2025.
- ANAF's guidance on the new rates: the 9% and 5% merged into 11%, and the operations moved to 21%.
- ANAF's before-and-after table of Law 141/2025: the former 19% and 20% standard rates.
- ANAF's notice on the exemption ceiling: 300,000 lei raised to 395,000 lei on 1 September 2025.
- Form 300: the VAT return and the order whose model is used from the January 2026 period.
- Fiscal Procedure Code: tax certificate, advance audit, inactivity grounds and the fine for a late declaration.
- Law 239/2025: the 15-day notice, the guarantee and its 60-day enforcement.
- OUG 13/2026: the rule covers the shares of any SRL member.
- Annex 6 to the VAT norms: the high-fiscal-risk criteria.
- Your Europe: the Commission's table of rates, Romania 21 and 11, last checked 13 July 2026.
- Directive 2006/112/EC: art. 96 to 98, the EU frame for national rates.
Frequently asked questions about VAT in Romania
What is the VAT rate for Romania, and how much is VAT in Romania in 2026?
The standard rate is 21% and there is one reduced rate, 11%. Both have applied since 1 August 2025. They come from art. 291(1) and (2) of the Fiscal Code, as amended by Law 141/2025. The reduced rate covers only the listed supplies, such as human medicines, most food, books and hotel stays. Everything else taxable is at 21%.
Is the Romanian standard VAT rate 19% or 21%, and when did it change?
It is 21%. The 19% rate applied from 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2025. Law 141/2025 of 25 July 2025, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 699, set the current standard and reduced rates from 1 August 2025. A page that gives 19% as the current rate is out of date.
What happened to the 9% and 5% rates?
Both former reduced rates were merged into the single 11% rate on 1 August 2025. Some operations, veterinary medicines among them, moved to the 21% standard rate. A transitional 9% for one qualifying home ran until 31 July 2026. It has ended, so no 9% rate applies now.
What does the 11% reduced rate cover?
The list in art. 291(2) of the Fiscal Code. It covers human medicines, food and drinks for people and animals with listed exclusions, water and sewerage, books and newspapers, and museum admissions. It also covers firewood, cold-season heating, hotel accommodation, and restaurant and catering except alcoholic drinks and NC code 2202 drinks. Everything else taxable is at 21%.
Which rate goes on an invoice issued before a rate change and delivered after it?
The rate in force at the chargeable event (faptul generator). If the rate changes between an advance invoice and the supply, the invoice is adjusted. The rate in force on the supply date then applies (art. 291(4) and (6) of the Fiscal Code). The company's accountant applies the rule.
Is VAT always 23%?
No. Each Member State fixes its own standard rate. Under Directive 2006/112/EC it may not be lower than 15%, and Romania's is 21%. The Commission's Your Europe table lists Romania at 21 and 11, last checked on 13 July 2026. It tells readers to confirm the rates with the national authority.
What is Romanian VAT?
VAT (TVA) is the tax of Title VII of the Fiscal Code, charged on taxable supplies that are not exempt. The taxable person is the company, not its owner. The company invoices at the right rate, files the VAT return and pays the VAT due. It does this through its own accounting staff or a CECCAR member.
Does a Romanian company have to register for VAT, and what if it passes the ceiling without registering?
A company must register at the latest on the date its annual turnover passes 395,000 lei (300,000 lei before 1 September 2025). A new company that declares it will pass the ceiling applies before its first taxable operation. If it does not apply, ANAF registers it from that date and assesses the VAT due.
Are VAT returns monthly or quarterly?
Monthly by default. Quarterly if the previous year's turnover did not exceed EUR 100,000, converted at the BNR rate of 31 December. There must also have been no intra-EU acquisitions of goods. A company registering during the year files quarterly in that year if it stays under the pro-rated ceiling.
When is the VAT return due, and what does a late one cost?
Form 300 is due by the 25th of the month after the month or quarter, with payment by the same date. A declaration filed late is fined 500 to 1,000 lei, or 1,000 to 5,000 lei for medium and large taxpayers. That this covers the VAT return is our analysis of the Fiscal Procedure Code.
Is there VAT on the price of the shares when I buy a Romanian SRL?
No. Dealings in shares and company parts are exempt financial transactions (art. 292(2)(a)(5) of the Fiscal Code). The price of an SRL share transfer therefore carries no Romanian VAT. The company's own VAT position, such as its code and any unpaid VAT, is a separate question.
Can a company leave VAT again?
Yes, if its previous-year turnover stayed under 395,000 lei and it has not passed that figure this year. The company files the request between the 1st and the 10th of the month after its VAT period. ANAF decides by the end of that month (art. 310(7) of the Fiscal Code).
If I buy a company, which VAT period and ceiling apply to me?
The company's. Its period follows its own previous-year turnover. Its turnover earlier in the calendar year counts towards the 395,000 lei ceiling. This is our analysis of art. 310(2) and art. 322(2) of the Fiscal Code. We read no ANAF guidance on share transfers.
Does a bought company keep its VAT code?
No text says in terms that the VAT code survives a transfer. ANAF cancels it on the grounds of art. 316(11). These are 6 months or 2 quarters of missing or nil returns, inactivity, or offences in the fiscal record of a shareholder holding 50% or more or of an administrator. Whether it continues is our analysis only.
Can I get a VAT refund in Romania?
A return can show negative VAT with a refund option. ANAF pays the first claim after a registration only after an advance tax audit (art. 169(3)(d) of the Fiscal Procedure Code). Since Order ANAF 1123/2026 the same applies to the first claim after a re-registration. This page does not cover the route for a foreign business not registered in Romania.