A discreet tax, with two thresholds and two different deadlines, which tripled from 1 January 2026 without many of those affected finding out. No one withholds it at source. You calculate it, declare it and pay it yourself, and if you do not, the tax authority does it in your place, with late-payment charges (accesorii: interest and penalties).
The special tax on high-value immovable and movable property (impozitul special pe bunurile imobile și mobile de valoare mare), governed by Title XI of the Tax Code, is owed by individuals for residential buildings with a taxable value above 2,500,000 lei, and by individuals and legal persons for motor cars with an acquisition value above 375,000 lei.
The rate is 0.9% from 1 January 2026, raised from 0.3% by Legea nr. 239/2025, and applies only to the amount above the threshold, not to the whole value. The declaration is made using Form 216, updated by Ordinul ANAF nr. 917/2026. The deadline is 30 April for buildings and 31 December for motor cars, in the year for which the tax is owed.
The tax was introduced by Legea nr. 296/2023, applicable from 2024, as a separate title of the Tax Code, Articles 500¹ and the following. It is a tax owed to the state budget, administered by the central tax authority, separate from the local tax on buildings and from the local tax on means of transport.
The distinction matters. The local tax on the building continues to be paid to the local council, on the whole value. The special tax is additional, is paid to ANAF, and concerns only the part above the threshold. The two are neither set off against each other nor mutually exclusive.
The only substantive change since its introduction is the tripling of the rate, by Legea nr. 239/2025, applicable from 1 January 2026. The thresholds have remained unchanged, which means that, as taxable values rise, the number of people affected grows from one year to the next without any legislative intervention.
The base is the difference between the taxable value of the building, as notified by the local tax authority, and the 2,500,000 lei threshold. At 0.9%, a building with a taxable value of 3,000,000 lei generates 4,500 lei a year. Legal persons do not owe the special tax on buildings.
The base is the difference between the individual acquisition value and the 375,000 lei threshold. At 0.9%, a motor car bought for 500,000 lei generates 1,125 lei a year. It also applies to second-hand motor cars, if the purchase price exceeds the threshold.
The tax is owed by whoever holds the asset on 31 December of the preceding year. A disposal during the year does not lead to a recalculation; the liability for the current year remains that of the owner as at that date.
For buildings, what matters is the taxable value set by the local tax authority, not the market value or the purchase price. For motor cars, what matters is the purchase price shown on the invoice or contract, not the current value.
The most common error concerns the deadline, because the two categories of assets have different calendars, even though they are governed by the same title and declared on the same form.
For residential buildings, the declaration is filed and the tax is paid by 30 April inclusive of the current tax year, to the central tax authority in whose jurisdiction the taxpayer's home is located.
For motor cars, the deadline for declaring and paying is 31 December inclusive of the current tax year, for individuals and legal persons alike.
Payment is made to the state budget, into separate accounts for immovable property and for movable property. A payment made into the wrong account does not discharge the liability and is corrected later, at the cost of lost time.
Request or consult the local tax authority's tax assessment decision (decizie de impunere) for the current year. The taxable value shown there is what is compared against the 2,500,000 lei threshold, not a market valuation.
Identify the price shown on the invoice or contract for each motor car registered in Romania, including those bought second-hand. The 375,000 lei threshold is checked separately for each vehicle.
Subtract the threshold from the value and apply 0.9% to the result. A calculation on the whole value is wrong and leads to an overpayment, which is difficult to recover.
Complete the declaration on the special tax on high-value immovable and movable property, in the form approved by Ordinul ANAF nr. 917/2026, with separate sections for buildings and for motor cars.
By 30 April for buildings, by 31 December for motor cars, to the competent central tax authority. The declaration can later be corrected by a corrective return (declarație rectificativă).
Pay into the account dedicated to immovable property or, as the case may be, movable property, using the IBAN codes published by ANAF. The payment deadline coincides with the filing deadline.
The taxable values of buildings are updated, while the threshold stays fixed. A building that did not exceed the threshold last year may exceed it this year. The check should be redone every year, before 30 April.
The tax is not withheld at source and does not come with a tax assessment decision (decizie de impunere) sent to your home. It is self-declared. Precisely for that reason, failing to declare it does not make it go away.
The tax authority has access to the taxable values of buildings, from the local tax records, and to the data on registered motor cars, from the Romanian Vehicle Registration Authority (Registrul Auto Român). On that basis it can assess the tax ex officio, with interest and late-payment penalties running from the statutory deadline.
The practical difference from self-declaration is not just the late-payment charges. It is the loss of control over the calculation: the acquisition value used ex officio may be the one held by RAR, not the one negotiated in the contract, and challenging it afterwards costs more than declaring on time. For anyone who receives a compliance notice (notificare de conformare) on this matter, the right response is to file the declaration, not to stay silent.
The local tax and the special tax are distinct, owed to different budgets, with different bases. One does not replace the other.
What matters is the taxable value notified by the local tax authority, which is updated. It is checked from the tax assessment decision, not estimated.
For motor cars, the tax is also owed by legal persons. The company has its own deadline, 31 December, and its own declaration.
The declaration is annual. The rate changed in 2026, taxable values are updated, and assets acquired in the meantime are brought into the calculation.
The tax applies only to the difference between the taxable value notified by the local tax authority and the 2,500,000 lei threshold. For 3,000,000 lei, the base is 500,000 lei, and at the 0.9% rate that comes to 4,500 lei a year. Until 2025, at 0.3%, it would have been 1,500 lei.
Yes. For motor cars, the tax is owed by both individuals and legal persons, if the individual acquisition value exceeds 375,000 lei. The base is the difference, 125,000 lei, and the tax is 1,125 lei a year at the 0.9% rate.
The liability falls on the owner as at 31 December of the preceding year, and the tax is not recalculated during the year in the event of a disposal. Selling in March does not change the liability for the current year.
No. The tax concerns holding a residential building above the threshold, regardless of use. It has nothing to do with rental income, which is taxed separately.
The tax authority can assess the tax ex officio, on the basis of the data in the local tax records and in the Registrul Auto Român, adding late-payment charges (accesorii: interest and penalties). Not filing the declaration does not hide the asset; it merely leaves it without the protection of your own calculation.
No. The increase under Legea nr. 239/2025 applies from 1 January 2026. For buildings, the first declaration under the new rate is the one due by 30 April 2026; for motor cars, the one due by 31 December 2026.
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 you have an inspection under way or have just received a notification, the related analyses are grouped under tax inspection and the review of individuals. For how such matters are handled, see personal taxation.
An initial discussion establishes whether you owe the special tax, on what base and by what deadline, and what can be done if the tax authority has already assessed it ex officio.