Get the full CEE tax guide
The full PDF is available below. If you have questions about Romania's tax landscape or need a deeper look at any of the topics covered, our local team is here.
Forvis Mazars Central and Eastern European tax guide 2026
8 May 2026
Explore the 14th edition of the Forvis Mazars Tax Guide, an essential resource for investors, covering 25 jurisdictions across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The guide brings together country-by-country snapshots of each tax system, written by local Forvis Mazars experts, alongside summary tables that let you compare the numbers side by side. Beyond the core Visegrád countries - Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland - this edition also covers Southeast Europe, Germany, Austria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, the Baltic states, and contributions from our Central Asian offices in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
What does employment actually cost in Croatia versus Slovakia? How does Romania's VAT rate stack up against its neighbours? Where does the tax wedge fall hardest on employees? These are the kinds of questions the guide is built to answer.
The guide at a glance
25
jurisdictions covered
14th
consecutive edition, published since 2013
13%
Lowest tax wedge in the region, in Kosovo
27%
Highest standard VAT in the EU, in Hungary
Key findings for Romania
Romania saw some of the most significant tax changes in the region this year. Here is what matters most for businesses operating in or expanding into Romania:
- The standard VAT rate rose to 21% in August 2025, while the previous 5% and 9% reduced rates were consolidated into a single 11% rate.
- E-invoicing is now mandatory for both B2B and B2C transactions, with SAF-T obligations extended to all taxpayers, placing Romania among the most digitally demanding compliance environments in the region.
- A new 10% refundable R&D tax credit was introduced alongside the existing 50% additional deduction.
- Romania transposed the DAC9 Directive in February 2026. Multinationals with consolidated revenues above €750 million are now fully in scope for Pillar II, the global minimum tax.
- The VAT registration threshold was raised to €80,000. The 16% CIT rate and 1% micro-enterprise regime continue to make Romania one of the more accessible entry points in the region for new businesses.
Compare tax systems interactively
Numbers mean more when you can see them next to each other. Our guide walks you through each country in detail and that's where the depth is. However, alongside it, we built an interactive online platform that covers all 25 jurisdictions. You can filter by countries, choose the parameters (payroll, VAT, CIT, transfer pricing and so on), and compare them directly.
Standard VAT rates for CEE EU member states
To give you a sense of what you can find in our interactive tool, below is a comparison of standard VAT rates across CEE EU member states for 2026.
For the full picture across all 25 jurisdictions, explore the platform directly.
For the full picture across all 25 jurisdictions, explore the platform directly.
*The analysis above covers CEE EU member states only. Both our interactive online tool and the PDF version of the guide also cover non-EU countries in the region (Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Kosovo and others).
We invite you to see further details by downloading the guide below.
Want to know more?
Edwin Warmerdam Partner, Head of Tax
Bianca Vlad Partner, Tax
Lucian Dumitru Partner, Tax
