Cluj-Napoca

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed10% flat, plus 25% pension and 10% health contributions

Residents pay a flat 10% on salary from a foreign employer and on net freelance income. An employee of a foreign employer declares and pays the tax monthly, by the 25th of the following month. The tax is charged after deducting social contributions. Where Romania is the competent social-security state, these are 25% for pensions (CAS) and 10% for health (CASS) on the full gross salary with no ceiling, so about 41.5% of gross goes in tax and contributions. EU coordination rules and bilateral agreements can keep you in another country's system, so check your A1 or certificate of coverage. An employer with no presence in Romania can agree that the employee pays the contributions. Freelancers usually register as a sole trader (PFA) and are taxed on actual profit. In 2026, CAS of 25% is due only if net income reaches 12 minimum wages (RON 48,600, using the RON 4,050 monthly minimum wage in force on 1 January 2026), on a base you choose of at least 12 or 24 minimum wages. So above RON 97,200 of net income the compulsory CAS stops rising. CASS of 10% is due on actual net income, on at least 6 minimum wages (RON 24,300) unless you already pay it on other income, and at most 72 minimum wages (RON 291,600, raised from 60 for 2026 income). Both contributions are deducted before the 10% tax. Many freelancers use a one-person company on the 1% microenterprise tax instead (see regimes). Foreign tax on the same income is credited under a tax treaty, up to the Romanian tax.

On the nomad visa

Romania's digital nomad long-stay visa is for non-EU nationals employed by a company registered outside Romania, or working through their own foreign company, who earn at least three times the Romanian average gross salary. The Fiscal Code (art. 228(1)(d)) treats their salary from that foreign employer or company as not taxable in Romania, as long as they are present for no more than 183 days in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year. For the same period they are also outside the Romanian pension and health contribution systems (art. 136(b) and 153(1)(b)). The catch: if you stay longer than 183 days, you become resident from the first day of your stay. You then owe the 10% flat tax on worldwide income and, normally, social contributions, so a holder who renews the permit and lives there most of the year gets no lasting break. The exemption covers only that salary or company income. Freelancers paid directly by clients are not covered, and your home country may still tax you.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Taxed16% on dividends, crypto gains and gains through foreign brokers; 10% on interest, rent (8% effective) and pensions; plus 10% health contribution

Residents declare foreign investment income in the annual single return (Declarația unică) and pay at the rate for that type of income. Since 1 January 2026: dividends pay 16% (10% in 2025). The net annual gain on shares, derivatives and investment gold sold through a foreign broker pays 16% (10% in 2025). Crypto gains pay 16%, with small gains under RON 200 per transaction untaxed if the year's total stays under RON 600. Shares sold through a Romanian broker are taxed at source at 3% if held for at least 365 days and 6% if held for less. Interest pays 10%. Rent pays 10% on the rent less a flat 20% deduction, so 8% of gross. Foreign pensions pay 10% on the amount above RON 3,000 a month. On top, a 10% health contribution (CASS) applies once your dividends, interest, gains, rent and other non-work income reach 6 minimum wages a year. It is charged on a stepped base of 6, 12 or 24 minimum wages (RON 24,300, 48,600 or 97,200 in 2026), so it is at most RON 9,720. Pensions pay CASS on the amount above RON 3,000 a month, unless EU rules or a bilateral agreement make another country responsible for your health cover. Tax paid abroad is credited under a treaty, up to the Romanian tax on that income.

Net wealth and inheritance

Levies on assetsNo inheritance tax

0.9% a year on a home's taxable value above RON 2,500,000, and on cars costing over RON 375,000 (5 years)

There is no net wealth tax and no inheritance or gift tax as such. The catch is a 1% tax on inherited Romanian real estate when the succession is not completed before a notary (or court) within 2 years of the death. Sellers of Romanian property pay 3% of the sale price if they held it for up to 3 years and 1% after that, assessed on at least the notaries' minimum market values. Gifts of real estate between spouses and relatives up to the third degree are exempt; other gifts of real estate pay the same rates. Owners pay an annual local building tax of 0.08%–0.2% of the home's taxable value, set by each local council (in Bucharest, by the General Council). Taxable value is the floor area times a per-square-metre value fixed in the Fiscal Code, adjusted for location. Law 239/2025 set new per-square-metre values from 2026 (RON 2,677 for a brick or concrete home with utilities). Councils may not set a 2026 rate below their 2025 rate. A special tax on high-value property adds 0.9% a year on the part of a residential building's taxable value above RON 2,500,000, and on the part of a car's purchase price above RON 375,000 for its first five years.

Tax resident after

183 days a year

Top income tax rate

10%

When you become tax resident

You are resident if you meet any one of four tests: your domicile is in Romania; your centre of vital interests is there (judged on family who came with you and on economic ties such as a Romanian employer, business, property, bank accounts or cards); you are present for more than 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year; or you are a Romanian citizen working abroad for the Romanian state. A newcomer who passes the 183-day test is taxed on worldwide income from the first day of arrival, not just from day 184. Under the centre-of-vital-interests test, worldwide tax starts from the day you declare that your centre of vital interests is in Romania. If you can prove residence in a treaty country, the treaty's tie-breaker rules apply. Once resident, you stay resident until you leave, and you must file a departure form 30 days before leaving for more than 183 days. A tourist or short stay that stays under 183 days, without moving your life to Romania, does not make you resident.

Top income tax rate

Bucharest: a flat 10% on all taxable employment and business income, with no national surcharge and no municipal income tax, so the rate is the same across the country. It is charged on salary after social contributions. Employees also pay 25% pension and 10% health contributions on gross pay with no ceiling, which take the combined deduction to about 41.5% of gross. Dividends, crypto gains and gains through foreign brokers pay 16%.