1. e-INVOICE 2026

The amendments introduced by GEO 89/2025 address the dysfunctions reported by taxpayers regarding the functionality of the e-Invoice system and extend the scope of fiscal monitoring, targeting reporting deadlines, relationships with external partners, and the status of individuals carrying out economic activities.

1. The concept of “Working Days” is reinstated, so that as of 1 January 2026, the deadline for transmitting invoices to the system reverts to 5 working days, abandoning the rigid threshold of 5 calendar days, which generated major difficulties during holiday periods or long weekends. This rule applies uniformly to both B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) relationships. The day on which the invoice is issued is not taken into account, the deadline effectively starting from the first hour of the following day. As a result, the pressure on accounting departments is reduced, providing additional time for the verification and validation of data before uploading it to the SPV.

2. Extension of obligations in relations with non-residents:

Starting in 2026, taxable persons established in Romania will be required to transmit invoices via the e-Invoice system also for supplies or services provided to non-resident companies that hold a Romanian VAT code.

Suppliers must operate on two levels: they will report the digital invoice in the ANAF system, but will continue to transmit the document to the client through traditional means (e-mail, paper format), in accordance with the general invoicing rules. There are, however, exceptions to this digital reporting: fiscal receipts (simplified invoices) and intra-Community supplies where the beneficiary provides a VAT code from another EU Member State.

3. Integration of individuals identified by CNP, who will be required to register mandatorily in the e-Invoice Register if they act as suppliers or service providers but are not organised as legal entities with a VAT number (CUI), instead using the CNP for fiscal identification. Due to previous technical limitations, these taxpayers could not fully access the e-Invoice system.

Registration in the e-Invoice Register must be requested before commencing any economic activity, for new entrants. Those already active must complete the registration procedures by 15 January 2026, through Form 082. This measure ensures that all economic actors, regardless of their form of organisation, are integrated into the digital ecosystem, allowing both the issuance and receipt of invoices in an interoperable format.

2. THE E-VAT SYSTEM 2026

Starting 1 January 2026, the provisions requiring companies to submit an online response to the “e-VAT Compliance Notice” within 20 days are repealed. With the removal of this obligation, the associated severe sanctions are also eliminated:

• Fines ranging between RON 1,000 and RON 10,000 for failure to respond will no longer be applied.
• The absence of a response or the partial provision of information will no longer, in itself, be considered a tax risk indicator capable of triggering automatic audits or blocking VAT refunds.

The e-VAT architecture remains active. Taxpayers will continue to receive, via the Virtual Private Space (SPV):

Arhitectura e-TVA rămâne activă. Contribuabilii vor primi în continuare prin Spațiul Privat Virtual (SPV):

• Pre-filled VAT return (D300): Transmitted by the 5th day of the month following the filing deadline, serving as a mirror of the data the State already holds through e-Invoice, e-Transport, and other systems.
• Compliance notice: This will continue to be issued if “significant differences” arise (above the 20% threshold and at least RON 5,000), but with a purely informative role for the taxpayer, helping them identify potential errors in their own accounting records.

 The VAT return (Form 300) completed by the taxpayer remains the sole legal act of declaration, the pre-filled version issued by ANAF not having the legal status of a tax receivable title.

For companies applying the VAT on cash accounting system, the application of e-VAT is postponed until 30 September 2026.

Since sanctions are being abolished, e-VAT becomes useful for companies, which can use the data transmitted by ANAF to detect omissions or duplications in invoicing, without the fear of an audit and without the burden of justificatory reporting.

3. THE MICROENTERPRISE TAX RETURNS TO A SINGLE RATE OF 1%

According to GEO 89/2025 amending Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, the tax regime applicable to microenterprises returns, as of 2026, to a single rate of 1%, as was the case in 2023.

The 3% rate has been eliminated, which had previously applied depending on the level of revenues or the activities carried out.

With the removal of the 3% rate, references in the Fiscal Code to the EUR 60,000 sub-threshold and to the list of activities taxed at 3% are also eliminated.

Companies that do not meet the conditions of the microenterprise regime must apply the corporate income tax regime, the tax rate of which is 16%.

As of 1 January 2026, the ceiling applicable to the microenterprise regime is reduced from EUR 250,000 to EUR 100,000, in accordance with GEO 156/2024.

The conditions previously imposed on microenterprises are no longer justified, given the drastic reduction in their number in recent years.

The other provisions of the microenterprise regime remain applicable.

4. TAXATION OF INCOME FROM OTHER SOURCES AS OF 2026

According to GEO 89/2025, starting in January, certain benefits granted to shareholders and associates of companies, which are classified as income from other sources, are taxed at 16%, instead of 10%.

Likewise, the dividend tax rate also increases as of January, from 10% to 16%.

Tax on income from other sources is calculated by withholding at source, at the time the income is granted by the income payers, by applying a 16% rate (as opposed to the previous 10%) to the gross income, in the following cases:

• goods and/or services received by a participant in a legal entity, granted/provided by the legal entity for the participant’s personal benefit;
• amounts paid to a participant in a legal entity, for the participant’s personal benefit, in exchange for goods or services acquired from them, exceeding the market price for such goods or services.

5. “THE PILLAR TAX” IS ELIMINATED AS OF 2027

Through GEO 89/2025 (Article I, point 52), the Romanian Government has established a clear timeline for the elimination of one of the most controversial fiscal measures of recent years: the tax on special constructions, more precisely the “pillar tax”, so that 2026 will be the last financial year in which companies will be required to pay this contribution. Throughout 2026, the current taxation rules remain in force, and companies will continue to have reporting and payment obligations.

Taxable persons remain legal entities (Romanian and foreign) that own, in their assets, constructions classified under Group 1 of the Catalogue on the classification and normal useful lives of fixed assets. These generally include infrastructure not subject to local building tax, such as oil wells, drilling platforms, energy transmission networks, communication towers, or irrigation canals.

The applicable tax rates remain differentiated:

-The 0.5% rate: Applies to the net value of constructions held in the taxpayer’s assets as of 31 December of the previous year, 2025

-The 0.25% rate: Applies to constructions belonging to the public or private domain of the state / local administrative-territorial units, which are under the administration, concession, or use of the taxpayer, and for which no local building tax is due.

The timetable to be observed is similar to that of 2025, namely:

- 25 May 2026: Deadline for submitting the annual special constructions tax return.

- 30 June 2026: Deadline for payment of the first instalment (50% of the amount due).

- 31 October 2026: Deadline for payment of the second instalment (the remaining 50%).

6. UPDATING THE NOMENCLATURE OF INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES

The transition to the new CAEN codes officially began on 1 January 2025; however, an 18-month grace period was established during which both versions of the classification are recognised simultaneously. Throughout this interval, professionals may carry out their activities without interruption, with the update of the scope of activity at the Trade Register being carried out gradually, as they request other registrations or changes of status. Previously issued certificates remain fully valid, giving entrepreneurs the necessary peace of mind to focus on business rather than bureaucracy.

The new nomenclature reflects the disappearance of occupations that have become anachronistic and the emergence of dynamic sectors. Activities such as the trade in audio-video cassettes or CDs have been eliminated, making room for modern businesses such as mobile food units (food trucks), spa centres, and new forms of trade in digital audio-video media. The regulation aims to correct the gaps between market reality and statistical codes, providing a coherent fiscal framework for activities which, although popular in recent years, did not have an exact correspondence in the former regulations.

The year 2025 functioned as a hybrid transition year. Although CAEN Rev. 3 codes are already in use, the income earned during this year will continue to be taxed based on the rules established under the former classification (Rev. 2), with the change taking effect starting with income related to the year 2026, from which point the new nomenclature and its corresponding mappings become the mandatory standard for all taxpayers opting for this taxation regime.

7. THE FIRST DAY OF MEDICAL LEAVE WILL BE BORNE BY THE INSURED PERSON

Through Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 91/2025 on the establishment of certain measures within the healthcare system, a temporary measure (for almost two years) was adopted whereby the number of days of medical leave for which the allowance is covered from the budget of the National Single Health Insurance Fund (FNUASS) is reduced by one day, for certificates issued between 1 February 2026 and 31 December 2027. The measure is designed not to affect insured persons in terms of contribution period and insured status; however, the first day of medical leave will be borne by the insured person.

„For medical leave certificates issued during the period 1 February 2026 – 31 December 2027, the social health insurance allowances provided under GEO no. 158/2005 on medical leave and social health insurance allowances, as subsequently amended and supplemented, are calculated and paid by reducing them by one day,” GEO no. 91/2025 provides.

These reduction periods will not affect the contribution period or the insured status. In the communication issued after the Government meeting at which the measure was adopted, it was explained that the first day of medical leave will be borne by the employee/insured person.

Upon publication in the Official Gazette, the ordinance was supplemented as follows: the employer bears the allowance for days 2–6 of medical leave, “in the case of allowances for temporary incapacity for work, with the exception of allowances related to medical leave certificates granted to insured persons for whom the isolation measure was instituted, according to Law no. 136/2020”;

FNUASS covers the allowance starting

• from the day following those borne by the employer and until the date of cessation of the insured person’s temporary incapacity for work or their retirement, in the cases mentioned above;
• the 2nd day in the case of allowances that are fully covered, according to the law, from the FNUASS budget.

The temporary reduction of the total amount covered by FNUASS will require additional regulations for its concrete implementation, which must be adopted within 30 days from the publication of the ordinance.

8. PROCEDURE REGARDING THE PRE-FILLING OF FORM D212

Starting with the year 2026, the procedure regarding the pre-filling of the Single Tax Return (Form 212) is officially implemented, in the form of the “e-Single Declaration”, a mechanism intended to simplify bureaucracy for individuals who earned income during the year 2025.

By 31 March, ANAF is required to make the pre-filled version of the declaration available to taxpayers, thus providing a period of almost two months for data verification before the filing deadline, set for 25 May. This functionality will be accessible primarily through the Virtual Private Space (SPV); however, the authorities have also provided an alternative for persons who are not yet digitalised, who may request the paper-based format directly from the offices of the tax authorities.

The pre-filling mechanism is based on extensive interconnection of databases. ANAF will collect information from multiple sources, such as declarations submitted by employers (D112), records of lease agreements, pension registers, or information regarding associations without legal personality. In practice, the system will attempt to anticipate the income tax and social insurance contributions due, transforming the reporting process from a laborious calculation task into one focused on data validation.

This pre-filled declaration does not constitute an official tax receivable title and does not release the taxpayer from responsibility; rather, it is a starting point, a working tool that must be analysed with caution. Individuals have the obligation to verify whether the figures proposed by ANAF correspond to their fiscal reality and to make the necessary corrections before final submission. Where the personal tax situation has changed or there are incomes not automatically identified by the system, responsibility for correct reporting remains entirely with the taxpayer. ANAF has already defined, through Order no. 2,736/2025, the new form template to be used for reporting starting in 2026.

The Single Tax Return (Form 212) is completed and submitted by individuals who, during the reporting year, have earned—individually or in an associative form—income/losses from Romania and/or abroad and who owe income tax and mandatory social contributions, in accordance with the provisions of the Fiscal Code. The declaration is also submitted by individuals who, during the current year, opt to pay the health social insurance contribution.

The deadline for submitting the Single Tax Return is 25 May inclusive of the year following the year in which the income was earned, for the purpose of declaring the income obtained and establishing/finalising the annual income tax and social contributions. The declaration may also be submitted at any time during the current year in order to declare the health social insurance contribution owed by individuals who opt to pay this contribution.

The declaration may be corrected by taxpayers on their own initiative whenever the current information does not correspond to that contained in the previously submitted declaration, by filing an amending declaration under the conditions provided by the Fiscal Procedure Code.

The declaration is submitted, together with the completed annexes, where applicable, as follows:

a) in paper format, directly at the registry office of the tax authority or by post, with acknowledgement of receipt. The declaration is provided to the taxpayer free of charge. The filing date of the paper declaration is the date of its registration with the tax authority or the date of posting, as applicable;

b) by electronic means of remote transmission, in accordance with the applicable legal provisions (SPV or e-guvernare.ro).

The declaration is completed by income sources and categories, by the taxpayer or by their authorised representative/fiscal curator, appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Fiscal Procedure Code, by correctly, fully, and in good faith entering the information required by the form, corresponding to the taxpayer’s fiscal situation.

Persons who have earned income from multiple sources or categories of income for which there is an obligation to file the Single Tax Return shall complete a separate section for each category and source of income earned (namely, the sections relating to data on income tax on income earned, by sources and categories of income from Romania or from abroad).

9. CHANGES REGARDING THE PRIVATE PENSION PAYMENT MECHANISM

Law no. 2/2025 regulates Pillars II, III, and IV, establishing clear rules for the moment when contributors reach retirement age, as well as strict limitations imposed following the intervention of the Constitutional Court.

The central element of the new legislation is the possibility of accessing part of the funds in the form of an initial lump-sum payment. Thus, any participant in a private pension fund will be able to request the withdrawal of up to 30% of the accumulated assets in each account held. This option is designed as a one-time facility, which may be accessed even before the start of the actual monthly pension payments, providing beneficiaries with immediate liquidity. This rule became universal after the initial version of the draft, which allowed oncology patients to withdraw the full amount of the funds, was declared unconstitutional. In the final form of the law, there are no longer any exceptions, the 30% cap applying to all categories of insured persons.

From a fiscal perspective, choosing to access this 30% package requires a careful analysis of the costs. Amounts withdrawn as a lump-sum payment exceeding the threshold of RON 3,000 are subject to compound taxation, which includes the health social insurance contribution (CASS) of 10% and capital gains tax. This means that approximately 12–13% of the value of the withdrawn assets will be directed to the state budget. By contrast, the strategy of staggered monthly payments appears to be a far more efficient alternative: instalments that do not exceed RON 3,000 are fully exempt from tax and contributions, while allowing the remaining funds to continue generating returns through investment.

The list of authorised entities has been significantly expanded. Thus, in addition to traditional pension administrators, life insurance companies, investment managers, and even authorised entities from the European area or from OECD member states will be able to operate. This openness is accompanied by a strict regime of civil and criminal liability, intended to protect participants’ assets against any damage caused by improper administration.

Beneficiaries still have time for planning and to opt for one of the two alternatives, as the mechanism will become fully operational starting on 5 January 2027.