Romania Crypto Tax 2026

If you take one thing from this guide, take the rate: for 2026 it is 16%, not 10%. Romania spent years as one of the cheaper EU jurisdictions for crypto at a flat 10%, and that number is now everywhere in older articles, tool defaults, and adviser notes. It is wrong for 2026. The rate rose to 16% from 1 January 2026, and quietly carrying the old figure into a return is the most common — and most expensive — mistake a Romanian holder can make this year. This guide covers the new rate, the CASS health contribution that can sit on top, and the narrow de minimis for small gains.

The short version

• From 1 January 2026, a flat 16% personal income tax applies to crypto gains.
• The rate rose from the previous 10% (the increase was approved in late 2025), so the old 10% should not be used for 2026.
• A CASS health contribution can apply above minimum-wage-linked income thresholds, capped and separate from the 16%.
• A small per-transaction de minimis has historically existed; confirm the current thresholds.
• DAC8 reporting starts for 2026; with a flat rate and only a narrow de minimis, the cross-check against declared gains is straightforward.

The rate change: 10% → 16%

Romania historically applied a 10% flat rate to crypto gains, which made it one of the lower-tax EU jurisdictions. That changed: the rate was raised to 16%, effective 1 January 2026 (the increase was approved through the late-2025 legislative/constitutional process). The practical consequences:

• 2026 disposals: 16%. Earlier years' 10% no longer applies going forward.
• Outdated content is a trap. Many crypto-tax pages still state "Romania 10%." For 2026 that is wrong. Any tool, article, or adviser note citing 10% for 2026 should be treated as stale.
• Romania remains a flat-rate regime (no progressive scale on this income), just at a higher flat number than before.

This is exactly the kind of recently-changed figure where relying on memory or older sources produces a material error — the verified 2026 figure is 16%.

The CASS health-contribution layer

Beyond the 16% income tax, a health insurance contribution (CASS) can apply. Its key features:

• It is threshold-based: triggered where total relevant income exceeds statutory thresholds tied to the national minimum wage.
• It is generally capped, and separate from the 16% income tax.
• The thresholds move with the minimum wage, so the precise figures change year to year.

The practical guidance: do not model Romanian crypto tax as a flat 16% only. Above the income thresholds, CASS adds to the effective burden. Confirm the current thresholds and cap with a Romanian adviser for the filing year rather than assuming.

The de minimis

Romanian rules have historically included a small per-transaction de minimis (gains below a low threshold per transaction may not be taxed, subject to the annual total staying under a limit). The exact current thresholds should be confirmed for 2026, but the headline is unchanged: above the de minimis, the 16% flat rate applies. Do not treat the de minimis as a broad exemption — it is narrow.

DAC8 and Romania

From 1 January 2026, CASPs report Romanian residents' crypto activity, exchanged to ANAF by 30 September 2027 for FY 2026 (see DAC8 transposition by country). With a flat 16% and only a narrow de minimis, the cross-check is clean: declared gains should reconcile with CASP-reported disposals. Under-declaration — including continuing to file at the old 10% — is materially more detectable against the reported data (see DAC8 impact on individuals).

Practical workflow for Romanian residents

1. Use 16%, not 10%, for all 2026 disposals.
2. Reconstruct per-disposal history with RON values.
3. Apply the de minimis (narrow; confirm current thresholds) then 16% above it.
4. Compute CASS if total relevant income exceeds the minimum-wage-linked thresholds (capped, separate).
5. Reconcile against DAC8-reported data.

Context for the 10% → 16% Rate Change

The rate increase from 10% to 16% was part of Romania's broader fiscal consolidation measures approved through a legislative process in late 2025. The increase applies to personal income tax generally — Romania's flat personal income tax rate moved from 10% to 16% — and crypto gains follow the general personal income tax rate. The crypto-specific consequence:

• All 2026 disposals are taxed at 16%, regardless of when the underlying asset was acquired.
• 2025 disposals (filed in the 2026 tax return due in spring 2026) were at 10% — the rate applicable for the year of disposal.
• The distinction between 2025 and 2026 disposals is therefore significant for any holder who had gains straddling the year-end.

The increase also affects the CASS health-contribution interaction: the CASS thresholds are expressed as multiples of the national minimum wage (gross), and the minimum wage itself was increased. The practical CASS exposure for crypto holders in 2026 should be modeled with both the 16% income tax and the current minimum-wage-based thresholds.

Recent Regulatory Changes and ANAF Guidance

ANAF reporting requirements: Romania transposed DAC8 and requires CASPs with Romanian-resident users to report. Romanian-based crypto platforms must register and report to ANAF under the national transposition legislation. The first reporting cycle covers FY 2026.

Crypto-to-crypto taxation: ANAF guidance confirms that crypto-to-crypto exchanges are taxable events. The gain is measured in RON at the disposal date. A swap of BTC for ETH is treated as a disposal of BTC (taxable gain or loss) and acquisition of ETH (cost basis = value at acquisition date). This is consistent with the majority of EU jurisdictions.

No holding-period exemption: Unlike Croatia (2 years), Czech Republic (3 years), or Germany (1 year), Romania has no holding-period exemption. Every disposal is potentially taxable, regardless of how long the asset was held. This aligns Romania with France, Sweden, Estonia, and Austria (for post-2021 assets) in the "no holding exemption" group.

Comparison with Neighboring Jurisdictions

Romania's 16% (post-2026) is higher than Bulgaria (10%) and Hungary (15%), and lower than Poland (19%) and most Western EU rates. Bulgaria has historically been attractive for crypto holders in the region given its low 10% flat rate and EU membership. The Romania-to-Bulgaria comparison is the most common neighbor-jurisdiction discussion for Romanian holders considering relocation.

Poland's specific advantage — crypto-to-crypto trades are not taxable events, only fiat disposals — makes Poland structurally more favorable for active traders than Romania despite the higher headline rate. A Romanian DeFi user who swaps repeatedly between tokens creates multiple taxable events; the equivalent Polish user does not.

Choosing and configuring a tool for Romania

Koinly and Waltio both support Romanian reporting, but the recent rate change makes one check non-negotiable:

• Does the tool apply 16% for 2026 rather than a stale 10%? This is precisely the kind of recently-raised figure where tool logic lags behind the law, and the whole guide turns on getting it right.
• Does it surface the CASS interaction at all? Most income-tax calculators do not compute CASS, so it may need separate treatment alongside the tool's output.

Neither tool decides whether your activity has crossed into business activity, which changes the analysis.

Where Wag3s fits

Wag3s Folio reconstructs per-disposal RON history and applies the current 16% rate rather than the stale 10%, then reconciles the result against DAC8-reported activity. For Romanian entities operating on-chain, Wag3s Ledger provides audit-ready records and multi-chain reconciliation. Folio produces the figures and the audit trail; it supports, rather than replaces, a qualified Romanian consultant fiscal — who should also confirm the current CASS thresholds.

Further reading

• How to Do Crypto Taxes
• Poland Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• Czech Republic Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• Croatia Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• DAC8 Impact on Individuals
• DAC8 Transposition by Country

Sources

• ANAF (Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration) — Broșură privind tratamentul fiscal al veniturilor din transferul de monedă virtuală: the official guidance on how crypto-transfer income is taxed and declared. Note this brochure documents the framework and the earlier 10% rate; the rate increase to 16% for 2026 is the later change described below.
• ANAF — Ghid privind obligațiile de raportare ale furnizorilor de servicii de criptoactive (DAC8/CARF): the Romanian CASP reporting guidance under DAC8/CARF.
• Late-2025 legislative approval raising the personal income tax (and so the crypto gains rate) from 10% to 16%, effective 1 January 2026 — confirm with ANAF or a Romanian consultant fiscal; a secondary summary appears in the Koinly Romania guide.
• Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) — EUR-Lex.