You work in construction in Stockholm, in care, in industry or seasonally, picking wild berries. Some have settled in Sweden with their families and have a personnummer; others come for a few months and pay the special income tax for non-residents. For ANAF, Romania’s national tax administration, what matters is where you are resident, and the Swedish data reaches Bucharest in any event.
Under Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code, salary received for work actually performed in Sweden and paid by a Swedish employer is not taxable in Romania and is not declared here.
The exemption has two conditions: the work is physically performed in Sweden, and the payer is a non-resident employer. It applies whether you paid the ordinary income tax in Sweden or the special income tax for non-residents (SINK). If you were paid by a Romanian company or worked part of the year from Romania, the rule changes.
ANAF starts from the data received automatically from Sweden and from your domicile in Romania. The result may be a notice or a decision for income tax and, sometimes, for CAS and CASS, the state pension and health insurance contributions. A decision against which an administrative appeal (contestație) is lodged in time, with evidence, does not become final.
It is a common misconception that the Romanian tax authorities do not know what a Romanian earns abroad. Between the Member States of the Union, tax administrations automatically exchange, year after year, information on salaries, directors’ fees, life insurance and immovable property, under Directive 2011/16/EU (DAC1). The Swedish tax administration (Skatteverket) thus sends 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 Sweden, the system generates a notice.
You will find most of them in your account on skatteverket.se, with BankID, or receive them from your employer. Keep them for each year.
The annual statement sent by the employer to Skatteverket, showing the salary and the tax withheld. It is the main evidence of the salary.
The monthly payslips. They show the employer, the period worked and the tax withheld.
The annual tax assessment decision issued by Skatteverket after the income tax return. It confirms the tax determined in Sweden.
For those who worked for less than six months: the decision on the special income tax for non-residents. It shows the tax paid, and also that Sweden treated you as a non-resident.
The Swedish certificate of tax residence, issued by Skatteverket on request. The document that carries the most weight when ANAF disputes your residence.
The annual statement of pension entitlements, from Pensionsmyndigheten. It answers claims for CAS in Romania for the same years.
Sweden treats as tax resident a person who lives in Sweden or has a continuous stay there, as a rule of at least six months. Anyone who comes for shorter periods pays the SINK tax and is treated as a non-resident. Romania treats you as resident if you keep your domicile or the centre of your vital interests here (Article 7(28) of the Tax Code).
For a seasonal worker, residence almost always remains in Romania, which does not make the Swedish salary taxable here, provided the conditions of the exemption are met. For someone settled in Sweden, with their family there, what matters is the certificate of tax residence and, if both states treat you as resident, the double tax treaty between Romania and Sweden, applicable since 1978. See also dual residence.
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 applies the social security legislation of the state in which the work is performed. For the Swedish salary, contributions are paid in Sweden, largely by the employer, and no CAS or CASS is due in Romania on the same salary.
The fact that the Swedish payslip shows few pension deductions does not mean that you are not insured: employer contributions do not always appear on the payslip. The evidence is the statement from Pensionsmyndigheten. Workers posted by Romanian companies, with the A1 document, remain insured in Romania.
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 include income tax and social contributions, calculated as if the income had been earned in Romania, without taking into account, of its own accord, the tax and contributions paid in Sweden. 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 Sweden may be treated as unjustified income, taxable at 70%, if their source is not proved.
I work with Romanians in Sweden without their having to come to Romania. The legal assistance contract is signed remotely. Under a lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), I represent you before ANAF and, if necessary, before the Romanian courts.
We talk by telephone, on WhatsApp or by video conference, in real time, in Romanian or in English. You download the Swedish documents from your Skatteverket account or from Pensionsmyndigheten; I tell you exactly which ones are needed for each year.
I carry out the analysis as a lawyer, tax adviser and forensic tax expert, so the legal argument and the figures are checked together before any reply is sent to ANAF.
No. Salary paid by a Swedish employer for work in Sweden is neither declared nor taxed in Romania (Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code). Keep the kontrolluppgift and the payslips for each year.
If the salary was paid by a Swedish employer for work in Sweden, no. Your residence most likely remains in Romania, but the exemption applies precisely to Romanian residents. Keep the SINK decision and the payslips.
Do not ignore it and do not pay before it has been analysed. The decision can be appealed within a limited period, using the Swedish documents. Send me the decision and I will tell you on what grounds it can be appealed.
Not for the same salary: contributions are due in Sweden, under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. If ANAF nevertheless issues a decision, it can be appealed using the statement from Pensionsmyndigheten.
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 Danish employer for work performed in Denmark is not taxed in Romania, but ANAF can issue decisions covering the last 5 years. Årsopgørelse, eIndkomst, ATP and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSalary paid by an Irish employer for work performed in Ireland is not taxed in Romania, but ANAF can issue decisions covering the last 5 years. Employment Detail Summary, PRSI, the 183-day test 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 analysisSend me the document on WhatsApp or by e-mail. An initial analysis shows whether the decision can be appealed and which Swedish documents are needed.