Acquiring Real Estate

Direct purchase of real estate

Buildings can be acquired/owned freely by resident individuals and companies. Land can be acquired and owned only by Romanians and EU residents/citizens (under specific conditions).

Resident Individuals

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Value-added tax: The transaction can be outside the VAT scope, VAT-exempt, or taxable. The purchaser pays VAT and can obtain a credit for it only if they engage in an economic activity and are registered for VAT purposes. For the purchaser, there are no other tax implications, except the (local) municipality tax, which is due starting in the year following the transaction year.

Non-resident individuals

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Value-added tax: The transaction can be outside the VAT scope, VAT-exempt, or taxable. The purchaser pays VAT and can obtain a credit for it only if they engage in an economic activity and are registered for VAT purposes. For the purchaser, there are no other tax implications, except the (local) municipality tax, which is due starting in the year following the transaction year.

Resident companies

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Value-added tax: The transaction can be outside the VAT scope, VAT-exempt, or taxable for the seller. For the purchaser there are no other tax implications with the exemption of the municipality tax, which is due starting with the year next to the transaction year.

Non-resident companies

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Value-added tax: The transaction can be outside the VAT scope, VAT-exempt, or taxable for the seller. For the purchaser, there are no other tax implications with the exemption of the municipality tax, which is due starting in the year following the transaction year. The non-resident acquiring company must be registered in Romania for the payment of the municipality tax. 

Indirect purchase of real estate 

Resident individuals

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Personal income tax: The tax rate is 10% applied to the capital gain obtained by the individual who sells the shares.

Dividend withholding tax: Shareholders in a Romanian company are subject to a 16% dividend withholding tax when dividends are distributed.

Non-resident individuals

Non-resident individuals are treated in the same manner as resident individuals, but where a DTT is in place between Romania and the country of residence of the non-resident individual, the more favourable provisions of the treaty prevail over domestic legislation.

Resident companies

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Corporate income tax: The value of the sold real-estate asset is included in the total taxable revenues of the company, and the related profit is included in the total taxable profit of the company. In Romania, a flat 16% CIT rate is in place.

Non-resident companies

Transfer Taxes: There are no transfer taxes in Romania.

Corporate income tax: Non-resident companies are subject to the same 16% flat rate. Where there is a DTT in place between Romania and the country of residence of the non-resident individual, the more favourable provisions of the treaty prevail over the domestic legislation.