You work as a 24-hour carer, two or four weeks in Austria and then at home, or as an employee in construction, tourism or industry. In both cases, ANAF, Romania’s national tax administration, can receive data from Austria. For those who work in shifts and return to Romania periodically, the question of residence arises differently than for those who have moved permanently.
Salary received for work actually performed in Austria and paid by an Austrian employer is not taxable in Romania and is not declared here (Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code).
Most 24-hour carers, however, are not employees. They work as persons carrying on a self-employed activity, with a Gewerbeschein and insurance with SVS, and their income is income from independent activities. The exemption for salaries does not apply to them. If they remain Romanian tax residents, this income is declared here, and the treaty between Romania and Austria determines how the Austrian tax is taken into account.
This is the source of many ANAF decisions concerning Romanians in Austria: self-employed income not declared in Romania, sometimes with CASS, the health insurance contribution, calculated on top of it. The answer depends on residence and on the Austrian documents, and a decision appealed in time and supported by evidence does not become final.
It is a common misconception that the Romanian tax authorities do not know what a Romanian earns abroad. Between EU Member States, tax administrations automatically exchange information, year after year, on salaries, directors’ fees, life insurance and immovable property, under Directive 2011/16/EU (DAC1). The Austrian tax administration therefore sends to Bucharest data on the income of persons recorded with an address in Romania.
On top of this comes the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS): banks in more than 100 jurisdictions report the accounts of non-residents, with balances, interest, dividends and sale proceeds. In 2022, data on 111 million accounts was exchanged through this mechanism. Digital platforms report sellers’ income (DAC7), and from 2026 data on crypto-assets is also collected (DAC8).
No one has to request this data. It reaches ANAF automatically, and ANAF compares it with its own records. If you are recorded as domiciled in Romania and there is no explanation for the income from Austria, the system generates a notice.
Some you receive from your employer or from the placement agency; others you download from FinanzOnline or request from the insurance fund. Keep them for each year.
The annual pay statement sent by the employer to the tax administration, showing the income and the tax withheld. You can also find it in FinanzOnline. It is the main evidence for employees.
The annual tax assessment decision issued by the Finanzamt, following the income tax return or the annual salary adjustment. It shows the tax assessed in Austria.
The Austrian certificate of tax residence, issued on request by the Finanzamt. It is the document that counts most when ANAF examines residence.
Confirmation of the registration of your address in Austria. It shows since when and where you have lived, but does not by itself determine tax residence.
For carers: the trade licence and the contracts with the family or with the agency. They show the self-employed nature of the activity and the periods worked.
The statement of insurance periods in Austria, from ÖGK or, for the self-employed, from SVS. It answers claims in Romania for CAS, the state pension contribution, or CASS for the same years.
Austria treats as tax resident a person who has a dwelling there or has their habitual abode there, as a rule after more than six months a year. Romania treats you as resident if you keep your domicile or your centre of vital interests here (Article 7(28) of the Tax Code).
For someone who has moved to Austria with their family, the arguments for Austrian residence are strong. For a carer who works in shifts and returns home every month, where her family and her home are, residence in most cases remains in Romania. The Austrian income is then dealt with in Romania, under the 2005 treaty between the two states, applicable from 2007. See also dual residence.
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 applies the social security legislation of the state in which the activity is carried out, to employees and to the self-employed alike. Employees are insured through their employer, with ÖGK, and self-employed carers are insured with SVS. For the same income, CAS or CASS is not also due in Romania.
The risk arises when ANAF calculates CASS on self-employed income declared in Romania without taking the Austrian insurance into account. The evidence is the SVS statement and, where necessary, the A1 document issued by the Austrian institution. Anyone who also works in Romania at the same time needs to check the rules for activity in more than one state.
ANAF’s right to assess taxes is, as a rule, time-barred after 5 years, counted from 1 July of the year following the year for which the tax is due (Article 110 of the Tax Procedure Code). Where the obligation arises from acts that constitute criminal offences, the law provides for a 10-year period.
The decision may cover income tax and social contributions, calculated as if the income had been earned in Romania, without automatically taking into account the tax paid in Austria and the insurance with ÖGK or SVS. What was paid there must be proved.
Interest and late-payment penalties are added for every day from the due date until payment, so the amount grows with each year reviewed.
A decision that is not appealed in time can be enforced, including by garnishment (poprire) of accounts in Romania and by measures against assets held here.
When you buy a house or make large deposits into an account, savings from Austria may be treated as unjustified income, taxable at 70%, if their source is not proved.
I work with Romanians in Austria without them losing working days to travel. The legal assistance agreement is signed remotely. Under a lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), I represent you before ANAF and, where necessary, before the Romanian courts.
We talk by telephone, on WhatsApp or by video call, including in the evening, after working hours. You download the Austrian documents from FinanzOnline or request them from SVS or from the agency. I will tell you exactly which ones are needed in your situation.
I carry out the analysis as a lawyer, tax adviser and forensic tax expert. For self-employed income, the calculation of the tax and the contributions matters as much as the legal argument.
If you remain a Romanian tax resident, as a rule yes: the income from the self-employed activity in Austria is declared here, and the treaty determines how the Austrian tax is taken into account. If your residence has moved to Austria, the obligation falls away. The first question, therefore, is residence.
No. Salary paid by an Austrian employer for work in Austria is neither declared nor taxed in Romania (Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code). Keep your Lohnzettel for each year.
For the same income, under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, contributions are due in Austria. If ANAF nevertheless calculates CASS, the decision is appealed with the SVS statement and the coordination documents.
Do not pay before an analysis, and do not let the deadline for the administrative appeal (contestație) pass. We check residence for each year, the nature of the income and the tax paid in Austria, and then build the appeal on the documents.
Yes. The engagement is signed remotely, I represent you before ANAF and the Romanian courts under a lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), and we communicate by telephone, on WhatsApp or by video call.
Information material, updated on 3 October 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be analysed on their own facts.
The analyses for Romanians who have moved abroad are grouped in the section Romanians living abroad, where you will also find all the countries. The general rule for salary income is explained in Working abroad, and for a specific situation see assistance for Romanians living abroad.
Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, the United States and Canada, the United Arab Emirates and offshore companies.
See all countriesSalary paid by a German employer for work performed in Germany is not taxed in Romania, but ANAF can issue decisions covering the last 5 years. Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, Ansässigkeitsbescheinigung and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSalary paid by an Italian employer for work performed in Italy is not taxed in Romania, but ANAF can issue decisions covering the last 5 years. The Italian documents that matter and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSalary paid by a Belgian employer for work performed in Belgium is not taxed in Romania. Posted workers and the self-employed are subject to different rules. Fiche 281.10, the avertissement-extrait de rôle and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSend me the notice or the decision on WhatsApp or by e-mail. I will tell you what can be challenged and which Austrian documents are needed.