In 2022 it was 5%. In 2024, 8%. In 2025, 10%. In 2026, 16%. The rate has tripled in four years, and for the member taking money out of the company through dividends, the health contribution, in tiers, is added on top. What matters is not just how much, but when: the date of the resolution, not the date of payment.
From 1 January 2026, the tax on dividend income paid to individuals is 16%, under Article 97(7) of the Tax Code, as amended by Legea nr. 141/2025. It is withheld at source by the company and applies to dividends distributed from that date, with the rate determined by the date of the distribution resolution, not the date of payment.
The individual member separately owes CASS, the 10% health insurance contribution, if net dividends, cumulated with the other income categories set out by law, exceed 6 minimum gross wages a year, calculated on the tier reached: 6, 12, or 24 minimum wages. The tax is the company’s job; CASS is the member’s job, through the Declarația unică (Form 212), Romania’s single annual return for income tax and social contributions owed by individuals.
The applicable rate is set by the date on which the dividends are distributed, that is, the date of the resolution of the general meeting or the sole member, not the date on which the money actually reaches the member’s account. Dividends allocated by resolution up to 31 December 2025 remain at the 2025 rate of 10%, even if paid in 2026.
For dividends distributed but not paid by 31 December of the year in which the distribution was resolved, the tax is due regardless, by 25 January of the following year. The rule closes off the route of indefinitely delaying payment in order to delay the tax.
For interim dividends distributed in 2025 on the basis of interim financial statements, the transitional rule in Legea nr. 141/2025 keeps the 10% rate, with no recalculation to 16% after the true-up against the annual financial statements.
The 16% rate applies regardless of the year in which the profit was made. Profit from 2019, distributed by resolution in 2026, is taxed at 16%. Reserves accumulated over the years and left undistributed have thus become more expensive to take out of the company than at any point in the last decade.
Net annual dividend income, cumulated with the other categories, under 24,300 lei in 2026: no CASS is due. The member is not insured on this basis; he may opt into insurance voluntarily.
Between 24,300 and 48,600 lei: CASS of 10% on a base of 6 minimum wages, that is, 2,430 lei a year, regardless of the exact income within the tier.
Between 48,600 and 97,200 lei: CASS on a base of 12 minimum wages, that is, 4,860 lei a year.
Over 97,200 lei: CASS on a base of 24 minimum wages, that is, 9,720 lei a year, the maximum ceiling. Unlike independent activities, where the maximum ceiling has been raised, for dividends the tiers remain at 6, 12, and 24.
The ceiling includes net dividends, after withholding the 16% tax, cumulated with income from investments, from the use of property (cedarea folosinței bunurilor), from intellectual property rights, from agricultural activities, and from other sources, under the categories set out at Article 155(c) to (h) of the Tax Code. Income from independent activities does not enter this cumulation: it has its own, separate calculation base, and a person who has both a PFA (persoană fizică autorizată), the authorised sole-trader form, and dividends owes CASS separately for each. A member with rental income and an investment portfolio reaches the upper tier faster than the dividends alone would suggest. The detailed calculation of the cumulation across categories is addressed separately.
The Companies Law permits the distribution of interim dividends, quarterly, up to the limit of the net accounting profit made in the quarter, on the basis of interim financial statements approved by the general meeting. It is the route by which the member does not have to wait until the following spring for the profit of the current year.
The true-up comes after the annual financial statements are approved. If the net annual profit is lower than the amount distributed on an interim basis, the difference must be returned to the company by the members within 60 days of the date the annual financial statements are approved, under Article 67(2²) of Legea nr. 31/1990, and beyond that deadline the members owe default interest. A good year in the first three quarters and a weak one in the fourth produces exactly this situation, with the money already spent.
For tax purposes, interim dividends are taxed on payment, at the rate in force on the date of distribution, and the later return of the difference does not automatically recover the tax withheld, which makes an accurate estimate of the annual profit a matter of money, not of accounting.
The resolution of the general meeting or the sole member, with the amount distributed and the payment deadline, which cannot exceed six months from the approval of the annual financial statements. Beyond the deadline, the company owes statutory interest.
The 16% tax is withheld on payment and remitted by the 25th of the following month, through Declarația 100. For dividends distributed and unpaid at 31 December, by 25 January.
By the last day of February of the following year, the informative return with the beneficiaries and the amounts. It is the document from which the tax authority learns of each member’s dividends, before that member files anything.
By 25 May of the following year, the Declarația unică for CASS, if the cumulated income exceeds the first tier. The tax is not declared again, having already been withheld; the contribution is.
Net accounting profit, after corporate income tax or the micro-company revenue tax, after the legal reserve, and after covering prior losses. Distributing beyond the distributable profit is prohibited and exposes the director.
It is chosen deliberately, because it fixes the rate. A resolution in December and one in January can have different consequences, and in 2026 the difference from 2025 is six percentage points.
The net dividend is cumulated with the member’s other income from the categories at Article 155(c) to (h), excluding income from independent activities, which has a separate base, and the tier is identified. Sometimes, splitting a distribution over two years changes the tier.
If distributed on an interim basis, on approved interim financial statements, with a realistic estimate of the annual profit, so that the true-up does not require repayments.
No more than six months from the approval of the annual financial statements. The tax is remitted by the 25th of the month following payment, and for what remains unpaid at 31 December, by 25 January.
Declarația 100 for the tax, Declarația 205 for the beneficiaries, by the end of February. These are the documents the tax authority cross-checks against the member’s Declarația unică.
By 25 May of the following year, for CASS, if the first tier is exceeded. Non-payment of the contribution is not hard to detect: Declarația 205 already states how much you received.
The rate follows the date of the resolution. A resolution from December 2025, paid in January 2026, remains at 10%.
The tax, yes. CASS is the member’s responsibility, through the Declarația unică, if the first tier is exceeded, cumulated with the other income.
Without a resolution, the money withdrawn is a loan to the member, with its own regime, or, depending on the circumstances, something more serious. The classification is not chosen retroactively; it is addressed in the analysis on embezzlement (delapidare), disguised dividends, and loans to members.
Dividends distributed and unpaid at 31 December generate the tax by 25 January regardless. Delaying payment does not delay the tax; it brings it forward.
The 10% rate. The rate is set by the date of distribution, that is, the date of the resolution of the general meeting, not the date of payment. Dividends allocated by 31 December 2025 remain at the 2025 rate even if paid in 2026, with the tax due by 25 January 2026 for those unpaid at 31 December.
The company, by withholding at source. It calculates the tax, withholds it, and remits it by the 25th of the month following payment, through Declarația 100, and by the end of February of the following year it declares the beneficiaries and the amounts through Declarația 205. The member receives the net amount and has nothing to do for this part.
It depends on your total income. If net dividends, cumulated with the other income from investments, rentals, intellectual property rights, agricultural activities, and other sources, exceed 6 minimum gross wages a year, 10% CASS is owed on the tier reached: 6, 12, or 24 minimum wages. For 2026, at a minimum wage of 4,050 lei, the tiers are 24,300, 48,600, and 97,200 lei, and CASS is 2,430, 4,860, or 9,720 lei. It is declared by the member, through the Declarația unică, by 25 May of the following year.
Yes, interim dividends, quarterly, on the basis of approved interim financial statements, under the conditions of the Companies Law. After the annual financial statements are approved, the true-up takes place: if the annual profit is lower than what was distributed on an interim basis, the difference is returned by the members within 60 days of the approval of the annual financial statements, under Article 67(2²) of Legea nr. 31/1990.
Distributed dividends are paid within the deadline set by the general meeting, but no later than six months from the approval of the annual financial statements; beyond that deadline, the company owes statutory interest. And the tax on dividends distributed but not paid by 31 December is due regardless, by 25 January of the following year.
Not in the sense of the law, and that is where the problems start. Sums withdrawn without basis are a loan to the member, with its own interest and obligations, or, depending on the circumstances, may be reclassified as disguised dividends or may lead to criminal consequences. The difference between these three classifications is addressed separately.
Informative material, updated on 18 September 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be assessed on their own facts.
If your company has received a notification or has an inspection under way, the related analyses are grouped under tax inspection. For the assistance provided to companies, see corporate taxation.
An initial discussion puts figures to the applicable rate based on the date of the resolution, the CASS tier on the member’s cumulated income, and the company’s calendar, and, for sums already withdrawn without basis, what classification they may receive and how they can be regularised.