Romania VAT rate in 2026
The standard rate is 21%12. Law 141/2025 raised it from 1 August 2025 and merged the old 5% and 9% bands into one reduced rate of 11%1.
Contracts signed before August 2025 do not keep the old rate. What counts is when the supply happens, so long-running service agreements need new invoice templates.
What a Romanian VAT number looks like
CUI is your company ID. RO + CUI is your VAT ID. Only the second one appears in VIES.
A Romanian VAT number is the company tax code (CUI) with the prefix RO. The CUI comes with company registration at the Trade Register; the RO prefix only appears once ANAF registers the company for VAT.
That is why a company can exist for months with a CUI and no VAT number. EU customers will check the RO number in VIES before they invoice you without VAT, so a CUI alone is not enough for cross-border B2B sales.
Moving your tax residence and your company
A founder who relocates to Romania often opens a new SRL. Registration at the Trade Register takes 1 day3 for a complete file, and it can be done remotely: Yes3. VAT is a separate filing with ANAF afterwards.
Register early if your clients are VAT-registered businesses in other EU countries. Waiting for the RON 395,00026 threshold makes sense only if you sell mainly to consumers in Romania.
VAT registration also interacts with profit tax. A micro-enterprise pays 1%12 of revenue up to €100,00027; above that, 16%27 CIT applies. See the Romanian tax system.
VAT returns and refunds after registration
Once registered, the company files the VAT return (decont de TVA) with ANAF, monthly or quarterly depending on turnover. Our package ends at registration; returns are bookkeeping work.
A VAT refund comes through the same return: if input VAT exceeds output VAT, you can ask for the difference back. ANAF may run a tax inspection before paying a large refund, so keep contracts and proof of delivery ready.
When this service is not what you need
- Checking another company’s VAT number — use the EU VIES search, no registration needed.
- Tourists asking for a VAT refund on shopping — that goes through the retailer at departure, not ANAF.
- Non-EU companies with no Romanian entity — they usually need a fiscal representative, which our package does not include.