VAT rates
Romania VAT Rate in 2026, 21% Standard, 11% Reduced and the Rules Behind Them
Since 1 August 2025 a Romanian invoice carries VAT at 21%, at 11% for listed items, or none where the law exempts the supply.
What is the VAT rate in Romania in 2026?
Every taxable supply in Romania carries VAT at 21%, unless it is exempt or on the reduced list (art. 291(1) of the Fiscal Code, Law 227/2015, consolidated by ANAF to Law 170/2026). The reduced rate is 11%. It covers only the list in art. 291(2)(a) to (n). The VAT Directive allows two reduced rates (art. 98(1)), but Romania uses one. The EU rates table shows no super-reduced or parking rate for it. A search for a Romanian "sales tax" means this tax.
For a new company, the first question is whether its invoices carry VAT at all. A company with annual turnover not above 395,000 lei (art. 310(1)) stays outside VAT unless it opts in. It may opt in at any time (art. 310(3)). It can also request VAT with the formation filing, and VAT then runs from the trade register date (art. 316(11)(a)). Either route ends in one of the art. 316 and art. 317 VAT codes. The conditions are further down, under "Does every Romanian company charge VAT?".
VAT is one of several taxes a Romanian company meets. Profit, dividend and payroll taxes are in an overview of the taxes a foreign founder meets in Romania.
| Period | Standard rate | Reduced rates | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| From 1 August 2025 (in force in 2026) | 21% | one rate, 11% | art. 291(1) and (2) Fiscal Code, as amended by Law 141/2025 |
| 1 January 2017 to 31 July 2025 | 19% | 9% and 5%, both merged into 11% on 1 August 2025 | former art. 291(1)(b) and 291(2) Fiscal Code |
| 1 January to 31 December 2016 | 20% | as the 2016 text of art. 291(2) set them | former art. 291(1)(a) Fiscal Code |
| Before 2016 | 24%, as shown in a worked example of the methodological norms (advances at 24% regularised to 20%) | as the earlier texts set them | norms to art. 291, pt. 39 (history only) |
| Transitional, now closed | 21% outside the two windows | 9% for one home per individual, delivered 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 inclusive under an advance contract signed by 1 August 2025; 9% for buildings sold to town halls until 1 August 2026 | Law 141/2025 art. III(1) and (4), printed under art. 291 |
VAT rates in Romania by period, as of October 2026: Fiscal Code art. 291, consolidated to Law 170/2026, and Law 141/2025, published in Official Journal no. 699 of 25 July 2025.
How do you work out the VAT inside a Romanian price?
To add VAT to a net price, multiply it by 1.21 at the standard rate or by 1.11 at the reduced rate. To take VAT out of a price that already includes it, use the VAT share of the gross price: 21/121 at 21%, and 11/111 at 11%.
These fractions are our arithmetic on the rates of art. 291. The statute does not print them. Every VAT calculator for Romania uses them. They also show whether a calculator is current: one that still uses 19/119 or 9/109 applies the rates in force before 1 August 2025.
What changed on 1 August 2025, and what were the old rates?
Law 141/2025 on certain fiscal and budgetary measures (Legea nr. 141/2025 privind unele măsuri fiscal-bugetare) was published in Official Journal no. 699 of 25 July 2025. From 1 August 2025 it raised the standard rate from 19% to 21% for new operations. It also merged the 9% and 5% reduced rates into a single 11% rate, as ANAF's Brașov directorate explains in its note on the rates.
The 19% rate had applied since 1 January 2017, and 20% during 2016, according to the "before" column of ANAF Brașov's before-and-after table of Law 141/2025.
The change went in three directions, not one. Items at 5% rose to 11%. Most items at 9% rose to 11%. A group of former 9% items left the reduced list and went to 21%. The food exclusions in art. 291(2)(b) moved a further set of products to 21%. A "21% and 11%" headline leaves out this third direction. It applies to solar installations, cinema tickets and new homes outside the social-policy list.
- 19% → 21%Standard rateArt. 291(1)
- 5% → 11%Books and newspapers, museums and monuments, firewoodArt. 291(2)(g) to (k)
- 9% → 11%Human medicines, food, hotels, restaurantsArt. 291(2)(a) to (f), (l) to (n)
- 9% → 21%Veterinary medicines, solar panels and heat pumps, cinemas and eventsRemoved from the art. 291(2) list
Left of each arrow: until 31 July 2025. Right of each arrow: from 1 August 2025. Law 141/2025, Fiscal Code art. 291, 2026 text.
| Direction | Items | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 5% to 11% | school books, books, newspapers and magazines; entry to castles, museums, memorial houses, monuments, zoos and botanical gardens; firewood and wood pellets; cold-season heat for households, hospitals, schools, NGOs and social providers | art. 291(2)(g) to (k) |
| 9% to 11% | human medicines; food and non-alcoholic drinks (with the exclusions below); water supply and sewerage; irrigation water; agricultural inputs; social-policy housing; hotel accommodation and camping; restaurant and catering | art. 291(2)(a) to (f), (l) to (n) |
| 9% up to 21% | veterinary medicines; housing outside the social-policy list (formerly 9% up to 120 m² and 600,000 lei); buildings sold to town halls for social renting, after the transitional window; solar panels, solar thermal panels, heat pumps and high-efficiency heating systems; entry to fairs, amusement parks, exhibitions, cinemas and cultural events; sports events | removed from the art. 291(2) list |
| Into 21% by the food exclusions | food supplements (a new exclusion); cozonac, biscuits and bee food, now taxed by sugar content (foods with added sugar and a total sugar content of at least 10 g/100 g, infant milk powder excepted); alcohol and NC 2202 drinks were excluded before and stay at 21% | art. 291(2)(b) |
Where items moved on 1 August 2025: ANAF DGRFP Brașov information note on Law 141/2025, read against art. 291(2) of the Fiscal Code, 2026 text.
Which goods and services are taxed at 11%?
The 11% list is art. 291(2)(a) to (n) of the Fiscal Code. It names items one by one and, for food, by customs (NC) code. The table follows that wording and classifies no product beyond it.
| Item at 11% | Limit written into the Code | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Human medicines | veterinary medicines are at 21% | art. 291(2)(a) |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks for human and animal consumption, by NC code | excluded: alcohol, NC 2202 drinks, foods with added sugar whose total sugar content is at least 10 g/100 g of product (infant milk powder excepted), food supplements | art. 291(2)(b) |
| Water supply and sewerage; irrigation water | none beyond the item's wording | art. 291(2) |
| Agricultural inputs: chemical fertilisers and pesticides | 11% until 31 December 2031 inclusive | art. 291(2), (33) |
| School books, books, newspapers and magazines, in print or electronic | none beyond the item's wording | art. 291(2) |
| Entry to castles, museums, memorial houses, monuments, zoos and botanical gardens | fairs, amusement parks, exhibitions, cinemas, cultural and sports events are at 21% | art. 291(2) |
| Firewood and wood pellets | 11% until 31 December 2029 inclusive | art. 291(2), (34) |
| Heat in the cold season for households, hospitals, schools, NGOs and social providers | cold season: a 5-month period, 1 November to 31 March | art. 291(2), (32) |
| Social-policy housing | other housing is at 21% | art. 291(2) |
| Hotel accommodation and camping | none beyond the item's wording | art. 291(2)(m) |
| Restaurant and catering | alcoholic drinks and NC 2202 drinks excepted | art. 291(2)(n) |
Food and drinks: the sugar, supplement and soft-drink exclusions
Food and non-alcoholic drinks for human and animal consumption are at 11%. Art. 291(2)(b) has four exclusions: alcoholic drinks; drinks under NC code 2202; foods with added sugar and a total sugar content of at least 10 g per 100 g of product, except infant milk powder; and food supplements. Each excluded product is taxed at 21%. If a product sits near a line, the test is the statutory wording and the product's NC classification, not a list of examples.
Hotels, restaurants and catering
Hotel accommodation, and accommodation in sectors with a similar function, camping included, is at 11% (art. 291(2)(m)). Restaurant and catering services are at 11% as well (art. 291(2)(n)). Alcoholic drinks and NC 2202 drinks stay at 21%, so one restaurant bill can carry both rates. Both services were at 9% until 31 July 2025. A guide or price list that still shows 9% for hospitality predates Law 141/2025.
Housing, heat, firewood and farm inputs
Housing at 11% is limited to the social-policy list. It covers old people's homes, children's homes and rehabilitation centres for disabled minors. Other housing is at 21%, including the new homes formerly at 9% up to 120 m² and 600,000 lei.
Heat supplied to households, hospitals, schools, NGOs and social providers is at 11% in the cold season. Art. 291(32) defines the cold season as the 5-month period from 1 November to 31 March. Firewood and wood pellets keep 11% until 31 December 2029 (art. 291(34)). Chemical fertilisers and pesticides keep it until 31 December 2031 (art. 291(33)).
Is the 9% VAT rate for new homes still available?
No. Law 141/2025 kept 9% for two transitional cases, and both have closed. Art. III(1) of the law let an individual buy one home at 9% if it was delivered between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026 inclusive, under an advance contract signed by 1 August 2025. Art. III(4) kept 9% for buildings sold to town halls until 1 August 2026. The consolidated Fiscal Code prints both provisions under art. 291.
By October 2026 the only reduced rate in force is 11%. Social-policy housing stays at 11%. Every other delivery of a new home is at 21%. Sales of other buildings are exempt without the right of deduction (art. 292(2)(f)). A summary that still describes 9% in the present tense, or gives the housing window another end date, is based on a text that has expired.
Which rate applies when a contract straddles a rate change?
The rate depends on the date of the supply. The date of the contract or the invoice does not decide it. The steps below are the rule the Code applies to any change of rate. The 1 August 2025 change is the worked case. This guide predicts no future change.
Find the taxable event
The faptul generator (taxable event) is the supply itself: the delivery of the goods or the performance of the service. The rate in force on that date applies (art. 291(4)).
Check for an earlier chargeability date
VAT becomes chargeable (exigibilitate) on the invoice date if the invoice comes first (art. 282(2)(a)). If an advance is paid first, it becomes chargeable on the collection date (art. 282(2)(b)).
Regularise across the change
If the rate changed between that date and the supply, the earlier invoice or advance is regularised to the rate on the supply date (art. 291(6)). A 19% advance for a supply on or after 1 August 2025 is corrected to 21%.
Apply the same rule to reverse charge and imports
The regularisation also applies to reverse-charged supplies (norms pt. 39(2)). Import VAT uses the rate for a domestic supply of the same goods (art. 291(7)).
the supply date decides the rate
- Before 1 August 2025Advance collected or invoice issued: VAT chargeable at 19%Fiscal Code art. 282(2)
- 1 August 2025The standard rate changes from 19% to 21%Law 141/2025
- On or after 1 August 2025Supply made: the taxable event, the rate in force that day appliesFiscal Code art. 291(4)
- After the supplyThe earlier advance or invoice is regularised to 21%Fiscal Code art. 291(6)
The same rule applies to reverse-charged supplies (norms pt. 39(2)). Fiscal Code, 2026 text.
| Situation | Rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Any supply | the rate in force at the taxable event, the supply date | art. 291(4) |
| Invoice issued before the supply | VAT becomes chargeable on the invoice date | art. 282(2)(a) |
| Advance collected before the supply | VAT becomes chargeable on the date the advance is collected | art. 282(2)(b) |
| The rate changes between the invoice or advance and the supply | regularised to the rate in force on the supply date (a 19% advance for a supply on or after 1 August 2025 is corrected to 21%) | art. 291(6) |
| Reverse-charged supplies (domestic list, services bought from abroad) | the same regularisation | norms pt. 39(2) to art. 291 |
| Import of goods | the rate for a domestic supply of the same goods | art. 291(7) |
Which rate applies across a change: art. 282(2) and 291(4) to (7) of the Fiscal Code and pt. 39(2) of its methodological norms, 2026 text.
Applying the rule to one contract, with its own invoices, advances and delivery dates, is work for the company's tax consultant.
Does every Romanian company charge VAT?
No. A company with annual turnover not above 395,000 lei is an exempt small enterprise under art. 310(1) of the Fiscal Code, unless it opts into the normal regime. An exempt small enterprise may not show VAT on its invoices (art. 310(10)). The ceiling rose from 300,000 lei on 1 September 2025, under OG 22/2025, as ANAF's Cluj-Napoca directorate announced.
A company that starts mid-year has the full ceiling (art. 310(5)). A company that crosses the ceiling must request VAT registration at the latest on the day it crosses (art. 310(6)).
A company below the ceiling may opt into the normal regime at any time (art. 310(3)). At formation, it can request VAT together with the trade register filing, as one of the steps and documents of a Romanian incorporation. Registration then runs from the date of entry in the trade register (art. 316(11)(a)). ANAF registers first and analyses fiscal risk afterwards (art. 316(9)). The law sets the conditions. The company and its tax consultant choose between the routes.
| Situation | VAT on the invoice | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Annual turnover not above 395,000 lei, no option for the normal regime | none: the exempt small enterprise may not show VAT; a mid-year start has the full ceiling; on crossing it, registration is requested by that day | art. 310(1), (5), (6), (10) |
| Below the ceiling, opted in | normal regime: 21% or 11%; the option is open at any time | art. 310(3) |
| VAT requested with the formation filing | registered from the trade register date; ANAF's risk analysis comes afterwards | art. 316(11)(a), (9) |
| Export of goods outside the EU | none: exempt with the right of deduction | art. 294(1)(a) |
| Intra-EU supply of goods to a business with a VAT number in another member state | none: exempt | art. 294(2)(a) |
| B2B service to a business established abroad | taxed where the customer is established | art. 278(2) |
| B2B service bought from a supplier not established in Romania | the Romanian customer owes the VAT (reverse charge) | art. 307(2) |
| Domestic supply on the art. 331(2) list between two VAT-registered parties | reverse charge: the customer accounts for the VAT | art. 331 |
| Medical, education, social, financial, insurance and certain property supplies | none: exempt without the right of deduction | art. 292 |
| Distance sales and B2C e-services to other EU states | Romanian VAT while the EU-wide total, excluding VAT, has not passed EUR 10,000 (46,337 lei) in the current calendar year and did not pass it in the previous one; once passed, the customer state's rules apply from that moment | art. 2781(1)(c), (2), (5) |
| Everything else | 21%, or 11% if on the art. 291(2) list | art. 291(1), (2) |
When a Romanian company charges 21%, 11%, no VAT on the supply, or no VAT at all in 2026. Conditions only: which applies to a given business is decided with its tax consultant.
Setting up a company with or without VAT from day one? We file the VAT request with the formation, or later at ANAF, under your power of attorney. Request a VAT registration plan
Which rate applies to customers in other EU countries and outside the EU?
Where the customer is, and whether it is a business, decides the treatment before the rate does. Exports of goods outside the EU are exempt with the right of deduction (art. 294(1)(a)). The invoice carries no VAT, and the Romanian company keeps its right to deduct the VAT on its own purchases. Intra-EU supplies of goods to a business with a VAT number in another member state are exempt as well (art. 294(2)(a)).
Services to a business customer are taxed where that customer has established its business (art. 278(2)). Under that general rule, a Romanian company's service to a business client in another state carries no Romanian VAT.
Sales to consumers work differently. Distance sales of goods and B2C electronic services to consumers in other EU states carry Romanian VAT while the company stays under a sales threshold. The test is the company's total of such sales across the EU, excluding VAT. It must not have passed EUR 10,000 in the current calendar year, and must not have passed it in the previous one. The Code also states this threshold as 46,337 lei (art. 2781(1)(c) and (5)).
Once the threshold is passed, the rules of the customer's state apply from that moment (art. 2781(2)). The procedure that follows is outside this guide.
Which supplies are exempt, and when does the customer pay the VAT?
Exempt with deduction, as in the export case above, is not the same as exempt without deduction. Art. 292 lists the supplies exempt without the right of deduction. It starts with hospital and medical care and goes on to education, social, financial, insurance and certain property supplies. Their invoices carry no VAT, and the supplier cannot deduct the VAT on the costs that serve them.
Under the reverse charge (taxare inversă), the customer accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. Inside Romania it applies to the goods and services listed in art. 331(2), and only when both parties are registered for VAT (art. 331(1)). A Romanian business customer owes the VAT on services bought from a supplier not established in Romania (art. 307(2)). If an invoice from abroad shows no VAT, the Romanian customer accounts for the VAT itself.
What does charging VAT commit a company to?
Once a company is inside VAT, the rate is one obligation among several. The list below states the statute's rules as the company's duties in 2026.
- VAT period: the calendar month, or the quarter if previous-year turnover was not above EUR 100,000 and there were no intra-EU acquisitions of goods (art. 322).
- Return: file the VAT return (decont de taxă, form 300) by the 25th of the month after the period (art. 323(1)).
- Payment: pay the VAT due by the same date (art. 326(1)).
- Invoices: between taxable persons established in Romania, only RO e-Factura invoices count (art. 319(11)).
- Upload: send each invoice to RO e-Factura within 5 working days of issue, from 1 January 2026 (OUG 120/2021 art. 10(7), as amended by OUG 89/2025).
- VAT code: the prefix is RO (art. 318(1)). Its format and checks are in the VAT number guide.
- Late filing: the fine is 500 to 1,000 lei for small companies and 1,000 to 5,000 lei for medium and large ones (art. 336 of the Fiscal Procedure Code).
- No returns: the VAT code is cancelled after 6 consecutive months or 2 consecutive quarters without a return (art. 316(11)(d)).
The deadlines for the company's other returns, forms 390 and D406 among them, are set out in the monthly and annual ANAF returns.
From our practice. Rate questions usually reach us after formation, when the first invoice is due and the company has not yet settled whether it is inside VAT. My part is administrative. I prepare and file the VAT registration and the fiscal registration forms at ANAF under the client's power of attorney. I also submit the returns the client's own accountant has prepared and signed. Preparing a return is accounting work reserved to CECCAR members (OG 65/1994). An opinion on which rate or treatment applies to a specific supply is tax consultancy, reserved to the Chamber of Tax Consultants' register (OG 71/2001).
Cristina Vasilescu, Group structuring and tax lead, FormaRoman Group
Can VAT be refunded in Romania?
A VAT-registered company has a negative balance when its return shows more deductible VAT than VAT collected. A balance of 5,000 lei or less is carried forward to the next return. Above that, the company can claim it back (art. 303(7)). The first refund claim after VAT registration is audited before the refund is paid (art. 169(3)(d) Fiscal Procedure Code).
Businesses and travellers outside the Romanian VAT system have their own routes:
| Claimant | Rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| EU business not registered for VAT in Romania | may reclaim Romanian VAT | art. 302(1)(a) |
| Non-EU business | claim within 9 months of the end of the calendar year, on reciprocity | art. 302(1)(b), norms pt. 74(10) |
| Non-EU traveller | tax-free purchases above EUR 175 including VAT, with the goods leaving the EU before the end of the third month after the month of the sale | art. 294(1)(b) |
Refunds for those outside the Romanian VAT system in 2026: art. 294(1)(b) and 302 of the Fiscal Code and pt. 74(10) of its methodological norms.
What is already scheduled to change in the Fiscal Code?
The 2026 text of the Fiscal Code already carries three dates. They are stated as the law reads in October 2026. The consolidation to Law 170/2026 writes in no other change of rate, and this guide predicts none.
| Item | Date written into the Code | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-accounting VAT (sistemul TVA la încasare) ceiling | 5,000,000 lei from 1 March to 31 December 2026; 5,500,000 lei from 1 January 2027 | art. 282(3)(a), (b) |
| Firewood and wood pellets at 11% | until 31 December 2029 inclusive | art. 291(34) |
| Chemical fertilisers and pesticides at 11% | until 31 December 2031 inclusive | art. 291(33) |
How does Romania's VAT compare with other EU countries?
EU law frames the rates without setting them. Each member state applies one standard rate, the same for goods and services (art. 96 of the VAT Directive, Directive 2006/112/EC). It must be at least 15%, with no maximum, as the European Commission's VAT rates page states. A state may apply at most two reduced rates, neither below 5% (art. 98(1), as amended by Directive (EU) 2022/542). Romania applies one, 11%.
The EU's Your Europe rates table lists Romania at 21 standard and 11 reduced, with no super-reduced or parking rate (last checked on 13 July 2026). The table's standard rates run from 17 in Luxembourg to 27 in Hungary. VAT is not "always 20%" or "always 23%": those are other states' rates. The Commission's TEDB database takes its figures from the member states. For Romania, the reference stays the national text, art. 291 of the Fiscal Code.
| Rule | Value | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate | one per member state, the same for goods and services; no less than 15%, no maximum | VAT Directive art. 96 and 97; European Commission |
| Reduced rates | at most two, not below 5%; Romania applies one, 11% | VAT Directive art. 98(1), as amended by Directive (EU) 2022/542 |
| Romania in the EU table | 21 standard, 11 reduced; the table's standard rates run from 17 (Luxembourg) to 27 (Hungary); last checked 13 July 2026 | Your Europe |
| The Commission's TEDB | data supplied by the member states themselves | European Commission |
The EU frame and Romania: Directive 2006/112/EC (consolidated text of 1 January 2024), the Your Europe rates table and the European Commission's VAT rates page.
Frequently asked questions about VAT rates in Romania
We signed and invoiced a contract at 19% before 1 August 2025, but the work was done afterwards. Which rate applies?
The rate in force on the supply date applies: 21% for work performed on or after 1 August 2025 (art. 291(4) Fiscal Code). The earlier invoice made VAT chargeable on its own date (art. 282(2)(a)). It is regularised to 21% (art. 291(6)), and the same rule applies under reverse charge. The company's tax consultant applies the rule to a specific contract.
Is the 9% VAT rate for new homes still available?
No. Law 141/2025 kept 9% for two cases: one home per individual delivered from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 inclusive under an advance contract signed by 1 August 2025, and buildings sold to town halls until 1 August 2026. Both have closed. Social-policy housing is at 11%, other new homes at 21%. Other buildings are exempt (art. 292(2)(f)).
Our restaurant serves soft drinks and desserts. Is everything at 11%?
Not necessarily. Restaurant and catering services are at 11%. Alcoholic drinks and drinks under NC code 2202 are at 21% (art. 291(2)(n)). The sugar rule of art. 291(2)(b) applies to food sold as goods. It does not apply to a restaurant meal. The restaurant rate carves out only those drinks.
We are a small new SRL. Do we have to charge 21% from the first invoice?
Not if annual turnover stays at or below 395,000 lei and the company does not opt in (art. 310(1)). An exempt small enterprise may not show VAT on its invoices. A mid-year start has the full ceiling. The company may opt in at any time, or request VAT with its formation filing. It must request registration when it crosses the ceiling.
Do we charge Romanian VAT to customers in other EU countries or outside the EU?
Exports of goods outside the EU are exempt with deduction (art. 294(1)(a)). Intra-EU supplies of goods to a VAT-registered business elsewhere are exempt (art. 294(2)(a)). B2B services are taxed where the customer is established (art. 278(2)). B2C distance sales and e-services carry Romanian VAT while the EU-wide total stays within EUR 10,000 in the current and previous year.
A supplier abroad invoices our Romanian company without VAT. Who pays it?
The Romanian business customer owes the VAT on services bought from a supplier not established in Romania. This is the reverse charge (art. 307(2) Fiscal Code): the customer accounts for the VAT itself and does not pay it to the supplier. Inside Romania, the reverse charge applies to the goods and services listed in art. 331(2), and only between two VAT-registered parties.
Will the rate change again, and what happens to our contracts if it does?
The 2026 text writes in no change to either rate. The Code already ends 11% on firewood and pellets after 31 December 2029, and on fertilisers and pesticides after 31 December 2031. It raises the cash-accounting ceiling to 5,500,000 lei from 1 January 2027. Any change follows art. 291(4) and (6): the supply-date rate applies, with regularisation.
What is the VAT rate in Romania in 2026?
The standard rate is 21% and the reduced rate is 11%, under art. 291(1) and (2) of the Fiscal Code. Both apply to new operations from 1 August 2025, under Law 141/2025. The 11% rate covers only the items listed in art. 291(2), such as food, medicines, books, hotels and restaurants. Everything else taxable is at 21%.
When did Romania's VAT go from 19% to 21%, and what happened to the 5% and 9% rates?
On 1 August 2025, under Law 141/2025, published in Official Journal no. 699 of 25 July 2025. The 19% rate had applied since 1 January 2017. The 5% and 9% reduced rates merged into a single 11% rate. Several former 9% items moved up to 21%, among them veterinary medicines, solar panels and cinema tickets.
Is there a sales tax in Romania?
Romania's tax on consumption is value added tax, known as TVA. It is charged at 21% on most supplies and at 11% on the items listed in art. 291(2) of the Fiscal Code. Some supplies are exempt. People who search for a Romanian sales tax mean VAT, and these are its two rates in 2026.
Is VAT always 20% or 23%, and which EU country has the highest and the lowest?
No. Each EU state sets one standard rate of at least 15%, and the rates differ. In the EU's Your Europe table, standard rates run from 17 in Luxembourg, the lowest, to 27 in Hungary, the highest. Romania is at 21. A state may also apply at most two reduced rates, none below 5%. Romania uses one, 11%.
What does the European Commission list for Romania?
The EU's Your Europe table lists Romania at 21 standard and 11 reduced, with no super-reduced or parking rate (last checked on 13 July 2026). The Commission notes that member states supply the TEDB data themselves. For Romania, the reference remains the national text, art. 291 of the Fiscal Code.
Can I get a VAT refund in Romania?
A VAT-registered company can claim a negative balance above 5,000 lei. At or below it, the balance is carried forward (art. 303(7)). Its first claim after registration is audited before payment. An EU business not registered in Romania may reclaim. A non-EU business may reclaim within 9 months of year-end, on reciprocity. A non-EU traveller may reclaim on purchases above EUR 175 including VAT.
What are the VAT return deadlines for 2026?
Form 300 and payment are due by the 25th of the month after the period. The period is the calendar month, or the quarter if previous-year turnover was not above EUR 100,000 and there were no intra-EU acquisitions of goods. Invoices go to RO e-Factura within 5 working days of issue. The company's accountant or tax consultant prepares the return.
What is the VAT number in Romania?
A Romanian VAT code is assigned under art. 316 or art. 317 of the Fiscal Code and carries the prefix RO (art. 318(1)). A company receives it once it is registered for VAT, at formation or later. The VAT number guide on this site covers the format of the number and the ways to check one.