Income Tax in Romania for the Owner of an SRL
Romanian personal income tax (impozit pe venit) is a flat 10% on the taxable income of each source. Some income has its own rate. Dividends distributed from 1 January 2026 carry 16%, and so does the gain from selling SRL shares. Liquidation income carries 10%. Salary also carries CAS 25% and CASS 10%, which are contributions, not tax. These are the rates in force in October 2026.
What is the income tax rate in Romania?
Personal income tax in Romania is a flat 10% on the taxable income of each source in each category (art. 64(1) of the Fiscal Code). It is the individual's tax, not the company's. VAT belongs to the company, and the Romanian VAT number page explains how a company gets a VAT code. This guide covers the owner of an SRL (societate cu răspundere limitată, a limited liability company).
The 10% is not the only rate. Special rates override it (art. 64(2)). Dividends, the capital gain on selling shares and liquidation income form one category, investment income (art. 91). The company's profit tax and micro-enterprise tax are different taxes. The contributions are separate too.
Romanian income tax rates by route for the owner of an SRL, with the exceptions to the 10% beside it; each row names its basis.
| Route | Tax on the individual | In force | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| General rate | 10% of the taxable income of each source | October 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 64(1) |
| Salary under an employment contract | 10% on the gross pay less the month's contributions, and at the main job the personal deduction and other capped deductions | October 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 78(2) |
| Administrator's pay | The same rule, as salary-assimilated income | October 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 76(2)(o) |
| Dividend distributed from 1 January 2026 | 16%, final, withheld by the paying company | From 1 January 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 97(7); Law 141/2025 art. VII(1)(c) |
| Dividend distributed on 2025 interim accounts | 10%, with no recalculation | Kept for these dividends | Law 141/2025 art. VII(2), printed under art. 97(7) |
| Dividend rates that are history | 10% for dividends distributed in 2025, replacing 8%; the 8% was kept for dividends distributed on 2024 interim accounts | History | OUG 156/2024 art. LXIV and LXV(4)-(5) |
| Gain on selling SRL shares | 16% of the annual net gain, set in the single return | Income of 2026 onward | Fiscal Code art. 123(1^2); Law 239/2025 art. XII pt. 16 |
| Liquidation income (surplus over the contribution) | 10%, final, withheld by the company | October 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 97(5) |
| The company's profit tax (not the owner's tax) | 16% of taxable profit | October 2026 | Fiscal Code art. 17 |
Salary
- 10%rate
- The companywithholds
- None listedreturnour analysis
- CAS and CASScontributions
Administrator's pay
- 10%rate
- The companywithholds
- None, on the same readingreturnour analysis
- CAS and CASScontributions
Dividend
- 16%rate
- The companywithholds
- Nonereturnthe 16% is final
- CASS only, for persons in the Romanian health systemcontributions
Gain on selling shares
- 16%rate
- The individual, in the single returnwithholds
- Yesreturn
- CASS only, for persons in the Romanian health systemcontributions
Liquidation income
surplus over the contribution
- 10%rate
- The companywithholds
- Nonereturn
- CASS only, for persons in the Romanian health systemcontributions
How much tax is deducted from a salary in Romania?
Salary tax is monthly and final. The paying company calculates it and withholds it at source (art. 78(1)). At the main job the base is the gross pay less the month's contributions. It is also less the personal deduction, union dues and the other capped deductions the article lists. Those are voluntary pension and health insurance, sports subscriptions and ETF purchases. At any other job the base is the gross pay less the contributions (art. 78(2)).
CAS, CASS and CAM sit beside the income tax on pay; the table shows who bears each and where the exceptions are.
| Contribution | Rate | Borne by | In the base for | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAS (pension) | 25% | The employee | Salary and assimilated income, an administrator's pay included | art. 138(a); art. 139(1)(d) |
| CASS (health) | 10% | The employee | Salary, and the administrator's remuneration | art. 156; art. 157(1)(e) |
| CAM (work insurance) | 2.25% | The employer | The same pay; a cost of the company, not of the owner | art. 220^3(1) |
| CASS on investment income | 10% | The person, if in the Romanian health system | Dividends, share gains and liquidation income, in bands (table 4) | art. 155(1)(g) |
| Floor on CAS under an employment contract | 25% of the minimum wage per month | The employer bears any shortfall | An individual employment contract; the text read does not say whether it reaches a mandate contract | art. 146(5^6), (5^7), (5^9) |
| EU coordination and bilateral agreements | An exception | Checked per case | An administrator insured in another EU state may fall outside Romanian CAS and CASS; an A1 certificate shows it | art. 220^1(a) |
The personal deduction goes only to salary at the main job. It applies up to a ceiling of 2,000 lei above the minimum wage (art. 77). The employer pays the tax by the 25th of the month after the month the pay is for (art. 80(1)). Small payers under art. 80(2) pay by the 25th of the month after the quarter. An example is a micro-enterprise with fewer than 3 employees on average. The employer files the monthly declaration (form 112) by the 25th of the next month (art. 147(1)). The company's own accounting staff, or a CECCAR member under contract, runs the payroll. A separate guide covers who may keep a Romanian company's books.
How is the pay of a company's administrator taxed?
The shareholders appoint an administrator (administrator). The administrator is paid under a mandate or management contract (contract de mandat). The Fiscal Code treats that pay as salary.
Salary-assimilated income
The Fiscal Code treats an administrator's remuneration as salary (art. 76(2)(o)), so the 10% rule applies. The sum is in the CAS base (art. 139(1)(d)) and in the CASS base (art. 157(1)(e)). The company adds CAM.
Profit paid to an administrator
Sums from net profit owed to administrators under the law or the articles are treated as salary too (art. 76(2)(d)). The salary rules apply, not the dividend tax.
A foreign administrator
Contributions apply subject to EU social-security coordination and bilateral agreements (art. 220^1(a)). An administrator insured in another EU state may fall outside Romanian CAS and CASS. Each case is checked with an A1 certificate.
The micro company's employee condition
A micro-enterprise meets its employee condition with a person under a mandate or management contract. This holds if the pay is at least the minimum wage (art. 51(4)(b)). The micro page sets out the turnover ceiling and the linked-enterprise test of the micro regime.
Our computation is a formula, not a ruling for low pay. Take a gross monthly pay G under a mandate contract, not at the main job. CAS is 0.25G and CASS is 0.10G. The tax is 10% of 0.65G (0.065G) and the net pay is 0.585G. The company adds CAM of 0.0225G.
A Bar-registered lawyer drafts the resolution and the contract. The company's accountant runs the monthly computation.
Is the dividend tax 10% or 16%?
It is 16% on dividends distributed from 1 January 2026. A dividend paid to an individual shareholder is taxed at 16% of its amount. The tax is final, and the paying company withholds it (art. 97(7) of the Fiscal Code). The start date comes from Law 141/2025, art. VII(1)(c).
The 10% survives in two places. Dividends distributed on 2025 interim accounts stay at 10%, with no recalculation of the tax (Law 141/2025, art. VII(2)). The text is printed under art. 97(7). The second place is history: 10% was the rate for dividends distributed in 2025. OUG 156/2024, art. LXIV raised it from 8%, and art. LXV(4) applied the rise. The 8% stays for dividends distributed on 2024 interim accounts (art. LXV(5)).
The company pays the tax to the budget by the 25th of the month after the payment. Law 239/2025 also limits distributions from the current profit (art. 69^1 of Law 31/1990). The limit applies in two cases. The first is a carried-forward accounting loss. There the company may distribute only after it sets up the required reserves and covers the loss. The second is net assets below half the subscribed capital on the approved annual accounts. There the company may distribute only after net assets are restored to the legal minimum. The full rule is in the guide on taking profit out of a Romanian company.
How are a sale of shares and liquidation proceeds taxed?
A resident individual pays 16% on the annual net gain from selling SRL shares. The gain is set in the single return (art. 123(1^2)). Law 239/2025, art. XII pt. 16 sets the 16%. It applies from the income of 2026 (art. XIII(2)(b)). That makes the first return at 16% due by 25 May 2027 (our computation). Details are in the capital gains tax guide.
An individual shareholder pays 10% on liquidation income. The tax is final, and the company withholds it (art. 97(5)). The Code measures the income as the surplus over the contribution. It also measures it against the tax value of the shares. The two can differ for a member who bought their shares. Both the share gain and liquidation income are investment income and count for CASS below. Selling the whole company is a separate step. The page about how selling a company works in Romania sets it out.
Does the owner of an SRL file a return, and by when?
A person files the single return (Declarația unică, form 212) when they have income of any of these kinds. They are independent, intellectual-property, rental, investment, agricultural or other-source income (art. 122(1)). The return is due by 25 May of the year after the income (art. 122(3)). The person pays the annual tax by the same date (art. 123(7)). For income of 2026 that is 25 May 2027 (our computation).
Income taxed finally at source needs no return. That covers a dividend, as far as income tax goes (art. 122(6)(a)). A return is still due, where applicable, for the mandatory contributions (art. 122(7)). A sale of SRL shares is settled in the return. Salaries are not on the list of sources. A person with only a salary therefore has no listed source (our analysis; it does not cover other or foreign income).
The individual files the return, or a CECCAR accountant or lawyer files it for them. The company's accounting staff or a CECCAR member files the company's declarations.
The statutory dates of the company and of the individual, from the 25th of the month to 25 May; each row names who acts.
| When | What falls due | Who | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| By the 25th of the month after the pay; small payers: by the 25th of the month after the quarter | Salary tax paid | The employer, or the payer of assimilated pay | art. 80(1); art. 80(2) |
| By the 25th of the next month | The monthly declaration (form 112) filed | The employer, or the payer of assimilated pay | art. 147(1) |
| By the 25th of the month after a dividend is paid | The dividend tax paid to the budget and declared | The paying company | art. 97(7); art. 132(1) |
| By 25 January of the year after the distribution | Tax on dividends approved but not paid by year end | The paying company | art. 97(7) |
| By the last day of February | Statement per beneficiary of the tax withheld (form 205) | The paying company | art. 132(1)-(2); ANAF's list of forms |
| By 25 May of the year after the income | Single return (form 212) and annual tax; CASS from the return paid by the same date | The individual | art. 122(3); art. 123(7); art. 174(15) |
| By 25 May of the year after the income | Foreign income of a tax resident declared in the single return | The resident individual | art. 130(1), (4) |
| 30 days before leaving Romania for a stay abroad above 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months | Departure form of a person who became resident and will not prove a change of tax residence to another state | The individual | art. 59(4); art. 230(7) |
Looking at an existing Romanian company?
Send us the company you are considering. We go through its papers with you, including how its owner has been paid so far.
What health contribution (CASS) applies to dividends in 2026?
CASS on investment income applies to persons in the Romanian health system (art. 153(1)(a)-(d)). That includes foreigners with a domicile or an extended temporary right of stay in Romania. It also includes EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who stay over three months without cover elsewhere. All of this stays subject to EU coordination and bilateral agreements. The base of these persons includes investment income, Romanian and foreign (art. 155(1)(g)).
CASS is owed only if the year's cumulated income of these kinds reaches 6 gross minimum wages (art. 170(2)). The base is 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages (art. 170(3)). Dividends count as paid, less the tax withheld (art. 170(4)(d)). CASS is declared in the single return (art. 174^1(1)-(2)) and paid by its deadline (art. 174(15)).
The wage is the one in force on 1 January of the income year (art. 135^1(3)). The Government's explanatory note to HG 146/2026 gives 4,050 lei to 30 June 2026 and 4,325 lei from 1 July 2026. The second figure comes from a text written as a proposal, and we have not read the adopted decision. The July rise does not enter the 2026 bands.
Our computation on the 1 January 2026 level, taken as 4,050 lei (inferred). The July rise to 4,325 lei does not enter the bands for income year 2026.
| Band | Base in lei | CASS at 10% in lei | Dividends alone that reach it, gross, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 6 minimum wages | None | No CASS owed | Under the threshold |
| 6 minimum wages | 24,300 | 2,430 | 28,929 lei |
| 12 minimum wages | 48,600 | 4,860 | 57,857 lei |
| 24 minimum wages | 97,200 | 9,720 | 115,714 lei |
When does a person become a Romanian tax resident?
A tax resident individual meets at least one of four tests (art. 7 pt. 28(a)-(d)). First, the person has a domicile in Romania. Second, the centre of vital interests is in Romania. Third, the person is present over 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned. Fourth, the person is a Romanian citizen working abroad for the Romanian state. One test is enough.
Tests of Romanian tax residence
one is enough
- Domicile in Romania
- Centre of vital interests in Romania
- More than 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year
- A Romanian citizen working abroad for the Romanian state
Start day of residence
- The first day of arrivalunder the 183-day test
- The first day the person declares their centre of vital interests in Romania
Departure
for a long stay abroad: above 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months
- The form is filed 30 days before leaving
The vital-interests test weighs personal and economic ties. Involvement in a business is among the economic ties (art. 7 pt. 6). Our reading: running a company in Romania is a tie that is weighed, not a test of its own. No residence test names share ownership.
Under the 183-day test, residence starts on the first day of arrival (art. 59(2^1)). Under the other test, it starts on the day the person declares their centre of vital interests in Romania (art. 59(2)). A person who became resident under the vital-interests or the 183-day test stays resident until they leave. That person files the art. 230(7) departure form 30 days before leaving. The rule covers a stay abroad above 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months. The form applies if the person will not prove a change of tax residence to another state (art. 59(4)). Tax residence is not a residence permit.
What does a resident pay tax on, and what if two countries claim them?
Four rules cover a tax resident's income at home and abroad.
Worldwide income
A tax resident pays tax on income from any source, in Romania and abroad (art. 7 pt. 37). The resident declares foreign income in the single return by 25 May, applying the treaty method (art. 130(1), (4)).
The credit method
For treaty-protected foreign income, the resident deducts the foreign tax paid from the Romanian tax, within the limits of art. 131(1).
The exemption method
The income is exempt in Romania but is still declared in the single return (art. 131(2)). Either method needs the treaty to apply. The foreign tax must have been paid by the individual. The income must be of a category in art. 61. The individual also needs proof from the foreign authority or payer (art. 131(3)).
Two countries claim the person
A person who proves residence in a treaty state is carved out of the vital-interests rule of art. 59(2). The treaty applies instead (art. 59(3)). We read one treaty, Romania-Germany art. 4(2). It says a permanent home decides first. Then come closer personal and economic ties, habitual abode and nationality. ANAF publishes the list of Romania's treaties, with the date each applies from and a mark on suspended treaties. Whether a treaty fits a case is checked per country.
What does a non-resident owner pay tax on?
A non-resident is taxed in Romania only on income from a Romanian source.
Romanian-source income only
A non-resident working in Romania pays tax on the net salary from that work (art. 59(1)(d)). A non-resident individual may be an administrator, founder or board member of a resident company. That income is listed among items treated under the income-tax title (our reading of art. 223(2)(e)). We state no rate for it here.
Dividends and the treaty rate
The company withholds 16% on a non-resident shareholder's dividends (art. 224(4)(b)), from the same start date. A treaty rate caps the domestic rate (art. 230(1)). To claim a treaty or EU rate, the owner gives the paying company a tax residence certificate when the income is paid. It can be the original, or a legalised copy with an authorised Romanian translation. An electronic certificate counts as the original. Without the certificate the domestic rules apply, and the tax is regularised when the certificate is presented (art. 230(2)).
Declaring, and the Romanian representative
A non-resident with Romanian-source income to declare must declare it and pay the tax on each source (art. 129(3)). A taxpayer without a tax domicile in Romania who must file appoints a representative who has one (Fiscal Procedure Code art. 18(4)). The taxpayer must appoint one unless an exemption applies. The exemptions are residence in the EU or EEA, residence in a state with tax cooperation, or electronic communication with ANAF (art. 18(5)(a)-(c)). The electronic option is the one in art. 79.
How does a dividend get from the SRL to its owner, step by step?
Each step names who performs it. A Bar-registered lawyer drafts the resolution. The company's accounting staff or a CECCAR member does the company's filings.
Check that the company may distribute the company's accountant
Art. 69^1 of Law 31/1990 limits distributions from current profit. Law 239/2025 inserted it. The limit applies where there is a carried-forward accounting loss or net assets are below half the subscribed capital.
Approve the distribution the shareholders
A Bar-registered lawyer drafts the resolution.
Pay the dividend and withhold the tax the company
The rate is 16% for dividends distributed from 1 January 2026 (art. 97(7)), and the tax is final. The start date comes from Law 141/2025.
Pay the tax to the budget and declare it the company
The deadline is the 25th of the month after the payment. For a dividend approved but unpaid at year end, it is 25 January (art. 97(7)).
Give the tax residence certificate if a treaty or EU rate is claimed the non-resident owner
The owner gives the paying company the certificate when the income is paid (art. 230(2)).
File the statement per beneficiary, form 205 the company
The deadline is the last day of February of the next year (art. 132).
Count the dividend towards CASS the owner, if in the Romanian health system
From 6 minimum wages of cumulated income, the owner files the single return and pays CASS by 25 May next year (art. 170(2)).
From our practice
When a company changes hands, we ask the seller first for the papers that show how its owner has been paid so far. These are the shareholders' dividend resolutions, the administrator's contract and the company's last statement of withheld tax (form 205).
Sources: the official texts behind this page
Romanian income tax, personal income tax in Romania included, rests on the texts below. The rates and dates are those in force in October 2026 for income of 2026. They come from ANAF's consolidation of the Fiscal Code. We did not check acts published after it.
- Fiscal Code with norms: rates, pay, dividends, the single return, contributions, residence, foreign income.
- Fiscal Procedure Code: art. 18(4)-(5), the representative of a non-resident filer and its exemptions.
- Law 141/2025: art. VII, the 16% dividend tax from 1 January 2026.
- OUG 156/2024: art. LXIV and LXV(4)-(5), the 2025 dividend rate, the rate it replaced and the 2024 interim rule.
- Law 239/2025: share gains at 16% (art. XII, XIII) and the distribution limit (art. XXIV).
- ANAF's list of forms: entries 205, the payer's statement, and 212, the single return.
- The Government's note to HG 146/2026: 4,050 lei, and 4,325 lei proposed from 1 July.
- ANAF's list of Romania's double-tax treaties: to find a state's treaty.
- The Romania-Germany treaty: art. 4(2), an example of a residence tie-breaker.
Frequently asked questions about income tax in Romania
What is the income tax rate in Romania?
The general rate is a flat 10% on the taxable income of each source in each category (art. 64(1) of the Fiscal Code). Special rates override it: 16% on dividends distributed from 1 January 2026, 16% on the gain from selling SRL shares, and 10% on liquidation income. CAS and CASS are contributions, separate from the tax.
How much tax is deducted from a salary in Romania?
The employee bears CAS 25% and CASS 10%. Income tax is 10% of the gross pay less those contributions and, at the main job, the personal deduction and other capped ones. The employer withholds the tax at source and adds CAM of 2.25%. Payment is due by the 25th of the next month (quarterly for small payers, art. 80(2)).
How is the pay of a company's administrator taxed?
It is salary-assimilated income, so the salary rules apply. The sum is in the CAS and CASS bases, and the company adds CAM. Profit paid to administrators under the articles is treated the same way, not as a dividend. A foreign administrator insured in another EU state may fall outside Romanian CAS and CASS. Each case is checked.
Is the dividend tax 10% or 16%?
It is 16% on dividends distributed from 1 January 2026. The tax is final, and the paying company withholds it. It stays 10% for dividends distributed on 2025 interim accounts. 10% was the 2025 rate, raised from 8% by OUG 156/2024. The 8% stays for dividends distributed on 2024 interim accounts (art. LXV(5)).
Do I file a return on dividends?
Not for income tax, because the 16% is final and the paying company withholds it. A return is still due, where applicable, for the mandatory contributions. A person in the Romanian health system whose cumulated income reaches the CASS threshold therefore files the single return. That person pays the CASS by 25 May of the following year.
What is CASS on dividends in 2026?
For a person in the Romanian health system, 10% on a base of 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages. CASS is owed only once the year's cumulated income reaches 6 wages. For income year 2026 that is 2,430, 4,860 or 9,720 lei (our computation on the 1 January level, inferred as 4,050 lei). Dividends count net of the 16%.
When is the single return due?
On 25 May of the year after the income. The annual tax is paid by the same date (art. 122(3) and 123(7) of the Fiscal Code). For income of 2026 that is 25 May 2027 (our computation). The gain from selling SRL shares is settled in this return. The foreign income of a tax resident is settled there too.
When does a foreigner become a Romanian tax resident?
Any one test is enough. The tests are domicile in Romania, the centre of vital interests in Romania, or more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year. A Romanian citizen working abroad for the Romanian state is the fourth case. Under the 183-day test, residence counts from the first day of arrival.
What does a resident pay tax on?
Worldwide income, from any source in Romania and abroad (art. 7 pt. 37). A resident declares foreign income in the single return by 25 May. The treaty method is a credit for the foreign tax paid within the Romanian limits, or an exemption of income that is still declared. Either needs proof from the foreign authority or payer.
What does a non-resident pay tax on?
Romanian-source income only. Examples are dividends, withheld at 16% and capped by any treaty rate, and the net salary from work done in Romania. A non-resident with Romanian-source income to declare must declare it and pay the tax on each source. That goes through a Romanian representative unless an exemption applies.
Does owning an SRL make me a Romanian tax resident?
No residence test names share ownership. Involvement in a business in Romania is one of the economic ties weighed in the vital-interests test. Running a company there is therefore a tie, not a test of its own. That is our reading of the text, not a ruling on any person's case.
I live in two countries. Who taxes me?
A person who proves residence in a state with which Romania has a double-tax treaty is carved out of the vital-interests rule of art. 59(2). The treaty applies instead. In the one treaty we read, Romania-Germany, a permanent home decides first. Then come closer personal and economic ties, then habitual abode, then nationality. Other treaties may differ.
Does a non-resident need a Romanian representative to file?
In general yes. A taxpayer without a tax domicile in Romania who must file appoints a representative with a Romanian tax domicile (art. 18(4) of the Fiscal Procedure Code). There are three exemptions: residence in the EU or EEA, residence in a state with tax cooperation, or electronic communication with ANAF under art. 79.
What does the company file when it pays me?
For salary and assimilated pay, the company files the monthly declaration (form 112) by the 25th of the next month. For a dividend, it pays and declares the withheld tax by the 25th of the next month (art. 132(1)). It also files a statement per beneficiary (form 205) by the last day of February of the following year.
Can my company pay a dividend if it has losses?
Not freely. With a carried-forward accounting loss, it must first set up the required reserves and cover the loss. With net assets below half the subscribed capital on the approved accounts, it must first restore them to the legal minimum (art. 69^1 of Law 31/1990, inserted by Law 239/2025). The accountant checks the latest accounts first.