You work in construction in Brussels or Antwerp, in cleaning, in transport or in logistics. Some are employed directly by Belgian companies, others are posted by Romanian companies, and others work as self-employed. For each of these situations, ANAF, Romania’s national tax administration, may receive different data, and the risk of a tax assessment decision (decizie de impunere) in Romania is different.
Salary received for work actually performed in Belgium and paid by a Belgian employer is not taxable in Romania and is not declared here (Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code).
For workers posted by Romanian companies, the payer is Romanian, so the exemption does not apply in the same form, and the tax is allocated under the treaty. For those working in Belgium as self-employed, the income is income from independent activities. If you remain a Romanian tax resident, it is declared in Romania, and the treaty determines how the Belgian tax is taken into account.
ANAF starts from the data received automatically from Belgium and from your domicile in Romania. A notice or a tax assessment decision does not become final if it is appealed in time, and the administrative appeal (contestație) is built on the Belgian documents appropriate to your situation.
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 Belgian tax administration (SPF Finances) 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 Belgium, the system generates a notice.
Some you receive from your employer; others you find in MyMinfin, the online tax account, or request from the commune where you live. Keep them for each year.
The annual pay statement issued by the employer, showing the income paid and the amounts withheld at source. It is the main evidence for employees.
The annual tax assessment decision issued by the Belgian administration following the income tax return. It shows the tax assessed in Belgium.
The certificate of Belgian tax residence, issued on request by SPF Finances. It is the document that carries the most weight when ANAF examines residence.
Proof of registration in the population register of the Belgian commune. In Belgium, this registration creates a presumption of residence.
For posted workers and for self-employed persons working temporarily in Belgium: the Limosa declaration and the A1 document show which social security system you are insured under.
The periods of work and insurance in Belgium. It answers claims in Romania for CAS, the state pension contribution, or CASS, the health insurance contribution, for the same years.
Belgium treats as tax resident a person who has their domicile or the seat of their fortune in Belgium, and registration in the population register of a Belgian commune creates a presumption to that effect. Romania treats you as resident if you keep your domicile or your centre of vital interests here (Article 7(28) of the Tax Code).
Where both states treat you as resident, the double tax treaty between Romania and Belgium, applicable since 1999, decides the matter through its tie-breaker criteria: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality. Anyone who works in Belgium for short periods and returns to their family in Romania is, as a rule, resident here. See also dual residence.
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 applies, as a rule, the social security legislation of the state in which the work is performed. Employees of Belgian companies pay contributions in Belgium, and for the same salary no CAS or CASS is due in Romania.
Workers posted by Romanian companies, with an A1 document, remain insured in Romania. For the self-employed, what matters is where the activity is carried out and what the A1 document shows. Where the A1 is missing or has expired, contribution claims may arise in both states, and they are resolved through the coordination procedure between the institutions.
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 and contributions paid in Belgium. 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 Belgium may be treated as unjustified income, taxable at 70%, if their source is not proved.
I work with Romanians in Belgium without them having to travel to Romania. 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, in real time, in Romanian, French or English. You download the Belgian documents from MyMinfin or request them from your employer or from the commune; I will tell you exactly what is needed for each year.
I carry out the analysis as a lawyer, tax adviser and forensic tax expert, including for mixed situations in which, in the same year, you were both posted and locally employed.
No. Salary paid by a Belgian employer for work in Belgium is neither declared nor taxed in Romania (Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code). Keep the Fiche 281.10 for each year.
If you are a Romanian tax resident, as a rule yes: self-employed income from Belgium is declared in Romania, and the treaty determines how the Belgian tax is taken into account. If your residence has moved to Belgium, the obligation falls away.
Whether you have an A1 document valid for the entire period, and how the tax on your salary was allocated between the two states under the treaty. These are the points ANAF checks first.
Do not ignore it, and do not pay before an analysis. The decision must be appealed within a limited period, with the Belgian documents appropriate to your situation. Send me the decision and I will tell you on what grounds it can be appealed.
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 French employer for work performed in France is not taxed in Romania, but ANAF can issue decisions covering the last 5 years. The French documents that matter and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSalary paid by a Dutch employer or a temporary employment agency for work performed in the Netherlands is not taxed in Romania. Jaaropgaaf, aanslag, BRP or RNI and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSalary 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 analysisSend me the document on WhatsApp or by e-mail. An initial analysis shows whether the decision can be appealed and which Belgian documents are needed.