Which VAT rate applies in Romania in 2026 — 21% or 11%?
The rates changed on 1 August 2025, and articles written before that date give wrong values. There are now two rates: a 21% standard rate and an 11% reduced rate, plus a transitional 9% for certain housing supplies.
Short answer
- The standard VAT rate in Romania is 21% since 1 August 2025.
- The reduced rate is 11% and replaced the former 9% and 5% rates.
- The 11% rate covers, among others, food, medicines, water, accommodation and restaurant services, books and textbooks.
- A transitional 9% rate still applies to some housing supplies contracted before the new rates took effect.
- The rates were changed by Law 141/2025; any source quoting 19%, 9% and 5% predates it.
What the law says
- Law 141/2025 changed the VAT rates with effect from 1 August 2025.
- The standard rate rose from 19% to 21% and applies to every transaction for which no reduced rate is expressly provided.
- The former 9% and 5% reduced rates were merged into a single 11% rate.
- The applicable rate is set on the date of the chargeable event, not the invoice date.
- Advances received before a rate change follow the adjustment rules in the Fiscal Code.
What falls under each rate
VAT rates applicable in 2026
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 21% — standard | Every supply for which the law provides no reduced rate: professional services, IT, construction, non-food retail, freight transport |
| 11% — reduced | Food and non-alcoholic drinks, medicines, medical devices, drinking and irrigation water, hotel accommodation, restaurant and catering services, books, textbooks, newspapers, admission to cultural and sporting events |
| 9% — transitional | Certain housing supplies already under way when the rates changed, under the conditions in the amending law |
Practical examples
- A restaurant charges 11% on food eaten in but 21% on the beer served with it — alcoholic drinks stay at the standard rate.
- An online electronics shop charges 21% on everything; no such non-food item falls under the reduced rate.
- A publisher charges 11% on printed books and 21% on advertising services in its own magazine.
- A guesthouse charges 11% on accommodation and 21% on renting out the conference room.
Common mistakes
- Using the old 19% and 9% rates because invoice templates were never updated after 1 August 2025.
- Looking for the 5% rate, which no longer exists: the supplies that used it moved to 11%.
- Applying one rate to a whole invoice when the items carry different rates — the invoice must be split by rate.
- Setting the rate by invoice date rather than by chargeable event, on transactions straddling a rate change.
How 4conta helps
In 4conta the rates are attached to the product and service catalogue rather than typed on each invoice: if an item is food or accommodation the correct rate is proposed automatically, and an invoice mixing categories splits itself by rate.
A statutory rate change is applied once, in the catalogue, and the sales ledgers and the VAT return pick up the new values with no manual work.