Abstract: 2025 brings significant tax changes that may impact companies in Romania. From the reduction of the microenterprise threshold to EUR 250,000, the anticipated increase in the dividend tax from 10%, to expanded digitalization requirements (SAF-T, e-Invoice, e-VAT), it is crucial for a taxpayer to act strategically.

 

Here’s what a company can do to reduce its tax burden and stay compliant:

• Check eligibility for the microenterprise regime: With the threshold reduced to 250,000 EUR (and 100,000 EUR from 2026), a company should assess whether the advantageous tax regime (1% or 3%) is still suitable or if a switch to profit tax is necessary.
• Optimize dividends: The dividend tax is expected to rise from 10%. A company may consider reinvesting profits to defer tax obligations.
• Adjust salaries: Tax exemptions for IT, construction, and agriculture sectors have been eliminated. A taxpayer can use non-taxable benefits, such as meal vouchers, to reduce costs.
• Embrace digitalization: SAF-T, e-Invoice, and e-VAT are now mandatory. A company must invest in software and train its team to ensure compliance without penalties.
• Manage intra-group international operations: For intra-group cross-border operations, a taxpayer must update transfer pricing documentation to avoid double taxation and comply with tax treaties.

 

Why it matters? Without a well-defined tax strategy, a company faces risks of increased costs and fines. With proactive planning, a taxpayer can streamline finances and maintain a competitive edge.

Abstract: Anul 2025 aduce schimbari fiscale majore care pot afecta societatile din Romania. De la reducerea pragului pentru microintreprinderi la 250,000 EUR, cresterea impozitului pe dividende de la 10%, pana la obligatiile extinse de digitalizare (SAF-T, e-Factura, e-TVA), este esential ca un contribuabil sa actioneze strategic.

 

Ce poate face o societate pentru a reduce povara fiscala si a ramane conforma:

• Verificarea eligibilitatii pentru microintreprinderi: Cu pragul redus la 250,000 EUR (si 100,000 EUR din 2026), o societate ar trebui sa evalueze daca regimul fiscal avantajos (1% sau 3%) mai este potrivit sau daca trebuie sa treaca la impozitul pe profit.
• Optimizarea dividendelor: Se anticipeaza sa creasca impozitul pe dividende de la 10%. Astfel, o societate poate reconsidera reinvestirea profitului pentru a amana taxele.
• Ajustarea salariilor: Facilitatile fiscale pentru IT, constructii si agricultura au fost eliminate. Un contribuabil poate folosi beneficii neimpozabile, precum tichete de masa, pentru a reduce costurile.
• Imbratisarea digitalizarii: SAF-T, e-Factura si e-TVA sunt acum obligatorii. O societate trebuie sa investeasca in softuri si sa isi instruiasca echipa pentru conformitate fara penalitati.
• Gestionarea operatiunilor internationale intra-grup: Pentru operatiuni transfrontaliere intra-grup, un contribuabil trebuie sa-si actualizeze documentatia de preturi de transfer pentru a evita dubla impunere si a respecta tratatele fiscale.

 

De ce conteaza? Fara o strategie fiscala bine pusa la punct, riscurile de costuri suplimentare si amenzi cresc pentru o societate. Cu planificare proactiva, un contribuabil poate eficientiza finantele si pastra avantajul competitiv.

Tax Regulations

Recent amendments to the Romanian Fiscal Code, specifically to Article 31 regulating the tax losses are applicable starting with 2024 (or the modified fiscal year beginning in 2024, as applicable).

Under these changes, annual tax losses as declared through the corporate income tax return can be offset against taxable profits earned in the subsequent 5 consecutive years, up to a limit of 70% of the taxable profit.

 

Impact of the tax update for the companies

This new amendment may have a significant impact on companies with tax losses considering that prior tax regulations, applicable before 2024, allowed companies to carry forward their tax losses in full, over a longer period, specifically 7 consecutive years.

The text of the law also specifies that the recovery of losses must be carried out in the order in which they were recorded, at each corporate income tax payment deadline.

This legislative change reflects a trend toward tightening the conditions for carrying forward tax losses, aiming to accelerate their recovery over a shorter period compared to the previous timeframe.

Reducing the carry forward period from 7 years to 5 years can be interpreted as a measure to accelerate companies’ return to profitability or as a catalysator for optimizing and organizing economic activities more efficiently, reducing reliance on long-term accumulated tax losses.

The introduction of the 70% limit on annual taxable profit adds an additional layer of restriction. In practice, even if a company achieves substantial profits in a given year, it will not be able to fully utilize its prior tax losses to reduce the tax due, but only up to 70% of that profit. This could particularly impact companies with significant losses accumulated by 2024, forcing them to more carefully plan their cash flows and medium-term tax strategies.

On the other hand, maintaining the 7-year regime for losses recorded prior to 2024 ensures a gradual transition between the two systems. However, this creates additional complexity for taxpayers, requiring them to maintain separate records for losses subject to the previous tax regime and those under the current one, applying different tax rules depending on the year the losses were recorded.

 

Impact on companies’ financial planning

The taxpayers will need to adapt quickly to these rules, optimizing their strategies to minimize tax losses and maximize profitability in a shorter time frame. Over time, the real impact of these changes will depend on how companies manage to organize themselves, manage their activity as efficiently as possible, and navigate this new legislative framework.

2025 comes with a new tax compliance requirement for small taxpayers in Romania, namely the obligation to prepare and submit the 406-SAF-T return (Standard Audit File for Tax) to the tax authorities. The role of this return is to transmit the company’s accounting data electronically to ANAF (National Fiscal Administration Authority).

In other words, the return covers a wide spectrum of information that must be presented, such as: the general ledger, the analytical trial balance, the balances of customers and suppliers, the list of sales invoices, with detail at the invoice line level, the list purchase invoices, with detail at invoice line level, payments, collections and compensations, list of cost/profit centers used, stocks, company assets, etc.

At this moment, it is the most complex reporting statement in Romania.

From the submission deadline perspective, SAF-T reporting can be done monthly for the taxpayers submitting the VAT return monthly or quarterly for taxpayers who submit the VAT return quarterly, the submission deadline being the last calendar day of the month following the reporting period. At the same time, the return 406 SAF-T Fixed Assets is submitted annually, until the deadline for the submission of annual financial statements, and the return 406 SAF-T Stocks is submitted at the request of the tax authorities.

Taxpayers benefit from a grace period of 6 months for the first reporting in the case of monthly reports and respectively 3 months in the case that taxpayers have the obligation of quarterly transmission.

In case of failure to submit SAF-T returns within the legal term, the penalties are between RON 1,000 and RON 5,000 and between RON 500 and RON 1,500, in case of submission of incorrect or incomplete returns.

Non-resident taxpayers who are registered for VAT purposes in Romania, will submit a simplified SAF-T return that will only consider purchases and sales made through the Romanian VAT code.

SAF-T reporting is mandatory for large taxpayers since 2022, and for the others since 2023 (medium taxpayers, banks, non-banking financial institutions, insurance companies or other financial institutions).

The purpose of this return is to support the fiscal inspections that will be carried out based on the information transmitted electronically. At the same time, it is expected that this new reporting will contribute to the reduction of the VAT deficit and to a better collection of taxes.

From the taxpayer’s perspective, it is expected that the VAT refund will be made faster.

Taking into account the experience of large and medium taxpayers since 2022 and 2023, a real challenge for them was the adjustment of the IT systems, generated mainly by the complexity of the information requested on the one hand and the short time in which they had to be prepared for this return, on the other hand.

If we refer to the way in which small companies must be prepared in 2025 to carry out the new reporting, we emphasize the need to adapt internal data systems (accounting, financial, etc.) that involve certain costs or the purchase of a technical solution / dedicated software that can issue this return and which also involves costs, the existence of the staff who will carry out the implementation in the internal systems of the new requirements, and last but not least the performance of an analysis of the data and in most cases their calibration in order to ensure their correctness.

In conclusion, companies should allocate dedicated amounts in their budgets for the costs related to this project and decide which are the viable solutions for their companies (purchase of technical solution versus internal implementation).

Starting January 1, 2025, companies in Romania will need to align with a new version of the CAEN Classification (Classification of Activities in the National Economy), in accordance with National Institute of Statistics (INS) Order no. 377/2024. This update requires companies to carefully review the CAEN codes they currently use, with possible modifications needed in the Trade Register to reflect the new regulations.

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