ANAF notice on Romania's special tax on high-value homes and cars: what happens after Order 1444/2026
By Dr. Bogdan Năstase
The short answer
Own a Romanian home with a taxable value above RON 2,500,000, or a Romanian-registered car bought for over RON 375,000 (five years from handover), and missed form 216? ANAF may send a notice: file within 20 days or, if you dispute liability, attend a hearing within 7. Otherwise ANAF assesses ex officio; filing within 60 days cancels the decision.
The diagram and the steps below are a working English translation of the Romanian texts of law cited next to each element. The Romanian text prevails. In the diagram, CF stands for the Fiscal Code, CPF for the Fiscal Procedure Code, and "Proc." for the procedure approved by ANAF Order 1444/2026 (Annex 1).
The process, step by step
Check whether the tax applies. Homes in Romania owned by individuals, with a taxable value above RON 2,500,000; cars registered in Romania, owned by individuals or companies, with an acquisition value above RON 375,000 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^1 para. 1).
File form 216 and pay on time. The rate applies to the amount above the threshold: 0.3% for 2024 and 2025, 0.9% from 2026 (art. 500^2). Homes: by 30 September of the current year; cars: by 31 December (art. 500^3 paras. 2 and 3).
If you did not file, expect a notice. Within 15 days after the deadline ANAF lists the non-filers (Order 1444/2026, procedure, points 7 and 16). It then sends each a notice by post, through the Virtual Private Space (SPV) if you are enrolled or, if delivery fails, by public notice (procedure, point 8; Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 47).
Answer within 20 or 7 days. File form 216 within 20 days of receipt or, if you consider that you owe nothing, attend a hearing within 7 days (Order 1444/2026, Annex 2). If you do neither, a second hearing date follows; missing it counts as a hearing held (procedure, point 8 paras. 4 and 5; Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 9 para. 3 letter b).
ANAF estimates and decides. Once the 20 days in the notice have passed, ANAF updates its list (procedure, point 9 para. 1); the law sets a minimum of 15 days from the notice (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 107 para. 1). ANAF then takes the local tax office's value minus RON 2,500,000, split by ownership quota, or equally if the quota is unknown, or the car's acquisition value minus RON 375,000, applies that year's rate and issues form 261 (procedure, points 13, 21 and 23).
File within 60 days or challenge within 45. Filing within 60 days of communication cancels the decision on the filing date, by form 262 (art. 107 para. 5; procedure, point 24); later, the assessed amounts stay (point 26). A challenge is due within 45 days (art. 270 para. 1).
Pay. By the 5th of the next month if the decision was communicated between the 1st and the 15th, or by the 20th if between the 16th and the 31st (art. 156 para. 1).
Options compared: advantages, disadvantages, risks
Option | Advantages | Disadvantages | Risks |
File form 216 within 20 days of the notice | The ex officio procedure stops (procedure, point 9 paras. 1 and 3) | Interest 0.02% and penalty 0.01% per day from the original due date (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 174, art. 176) | Late filing can be fined: RON 500 to RON 1,000 for individuals and companies other than medium and large taxpayers, RON 1,000 to RON 5,000 for medium and large taxpayers (art. 336 para. 1 letter b, para. 2 letter d) |
Hearing within 7 days, if you consider you owe nothing | If ANAF finds no obligation for the year, the procedure stops (procedure, point 9 para. 4) | You must attend within 7 days of receipt, and the procedure stops only if the hearing shows that you have no obligation (Order 1444/2026, Annex 2; procedure, point 9 para. 4) | If ANAF disagrees, it assesses on its own data (procedure, points 13, 21, 23) |
Do nothing | None provided by law | The base comes from the local tax office's value or, for cars, your last form 216 and ANAF's records (procedure, points 13, 20, 21) | Two missed hearing dates count as a hearing held (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 9 para. 3 letter b); penalty 0.08% per day on amounts set by decision, reduced by 75% if paid on time (art. 181 paras. 1, 2) |
After the decision: file within 60 days | The decision is cancelled on the filing date (art. 107 para. 5; procedure, point 24) | Interest and late-payment penalty from the original due date (art. 174, art. 176) | Filed after 60 days, the assessed amounts stay (procedure, point 26) |
After the decision: challenge it | Administrative review of the decision (art. 270) | Only within 45 days of communication (art. 270 para. 1) | A late challenge is lost (art. 270 para. 1); a missing hearing can be raised with the challenge (art. 9 para. 4) |
Key takeaways
The special tax applies to homes only for individuals, and to cars for both individuals and companies (Fiscal Code, art. 500^1 para. 1).
The rate is 0.9% from 2026 and was 0.3% for 2024 and 2025, always on the amount above RON 2,500,000 or RON 375,000 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^2).
Order 1444/2026 applies to the tax due from 2024 onwards (art. 3), so a notice can cover earlier years.
A notice gives 20 days to file or 7 days to attend a hearing; a decision can still be cancelled by filing within 60 days (Order 1444/2026, Annex 2; Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 107 para. 5).
If a letter cannot be delivered, ANAF can notify through its website, with the act considered communicated 15 days after posting (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 47 paras. 4 to 7).
Which homes and cars are covered?
Homes whose taxable value, as calculated by the local tax office, exceeds RON 2,500,000, and cars bought for more than RON 375,000. For a home, the value is the one calculated under art. 457 of the Fiscal Code, from the built area and a value per square metre, not the market price (art. 457 para. 2). The local tax office notifies the owner by 30 May of the year for which the tax is due and sends the data to ANAF (art. 500^1 para. 1 letter a, para. 2). For a car registered in Romania, the tax runs for five years from the year of handover (art. 500^1 para. 1 letter b).
Asset | Who pays | Threshold | Rate | File and pay by |
Residential building in Romania | Individuals owning it on 31 December of the previous year | Taxable value above RON 2,500,000 | 0.3% for 2024 and 2025; 0.9% from 2026, on the excess | 30 September of the current year |
Car registered in Romania | Individuals and companies | Acquisition value above RON 375,000 | 0.3% for 2024 and 2025; 0.9% from 2026, on the excess | 31 December of the current year |
Fiscal Code, art. 500^1, art. 500^2 (0.3% as introduced by Law 296/2023; 0.9% from 1 January 2026, Law 239/2025, art. XII point 51), art. 500^3 paras. 2 and 3.
Does it apply to foreign owners and expats?
Yes. The Fiscal Code refers to individuals owning homes in Romania and to cars registered in Romania, without limiting the tax to residents (art. 500^1 para. 1). Order 1444/2026 sets the competent tax office for owners without a fiscal domicile in Romania: the office for the representative's domicile if one was appointed, otherwise the office where the home is located (procedure, point 3 para. 1 letters b and c).
A taxpayer without a fiscal domicile in Romania who must file returns appoints a representative with a fiscal domicile in Romania, unless resident in the EU or the EEA, resident in a state party to an international instrument with Romania on tax cooperation and recovery of tax claims, or communicating with ANAF electronically (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 18 paras. 4 and 5).
How will the notice reach you if you live abroad?
By registered post, electronically or, failing that, by public notice. Paper acts go by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt to your fiscal domicile or to your representative (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 47 paras. 1 and 3). If that fails, ANAF posts an announcement at the tax office and on its website for at least 60 days, and the act is considered communicated 15 days after posting (art. 47 paras. 4 to 7). If you are enrolled in the Virtual Private Space, notices and decisions go there (procedure, points 8 and 25). The deadlines run from receipt or communication, so a public notice can start them without you seeing it, a practical risk for owners living abroad.
What does the decision cost compared with filing?
Paying late costs interest of 0.02% and a late-payment penalty of 0.01% per day, from the original due date until payment (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 174 paras. 1 and 5, art. 176 paras. 1 and 2). On amounts that ANAF sets by a tax decision, a non-declaration penalty of 0.08% per day applies instead of the 0.01% late-payment penalty (art. 176 para. 4, art. 181 para. 1). The non-declaration penalty is reduced by 75% if the amounts are paid by the art. 156 deadline or rescheduled (art. 181 para. 2), and interest still runs (art. 181 para. 4).
Illustration: a home with a taxable value of RON 3,000,000 has an excess of RON 500,000; at 0.9%, the tax for 2026 is RON 4,500 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^2 letter a). For 2024 and 2025 the rate was 0.3%, applied to the taxable value communicated by the local tax office for each of those years, which can differ from the 2026 value; on the same excess of RON 500,000 it would give RON 1,500 a year (Law 296/2023, art. III point 65).
Some summaries describe a 15-day deadline to pay. The 15 days are the minimum interval between the notice and an ex officio assessment (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 107 para. 1); payment follows art. 156 para. 1.
Who is affected?
Individuals, Romanian or foreign, resident or not, owning a residential building in Romania with a taxable value above RON 2,500,000 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^1 para. 1 letter a). The tax on homes applies only to individuals (letter a), so homes owned by companies are outside it.
Individuals and companies, including Romanian companies with foreign shareholders, owning a car registered in Romania bought for more than RON 375,000. A company's car is the company's obligation, with the tax office where it is registered (art. 500^1 para. 1 letter b; Order 1444/2026, procedure, point 3 para. 2).
What to do next
List every home and car you own in Romania for each year from 2024, with the local tax office's value, or the acquisition value and handover year.
If form 216 is missing for a year whose deadline has passed, file it now with the competent tax office and pay the tax, interest and penalties. For cars, the 2026 return and payment are due by 31 December 2026 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^3 paras. 2 and 3).
If you live abroad, check whether you need a representative in Romania or can communicate with ANAF electronically (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 18 paras. 4 and 5).
If you received a notice or a decision, note the date of receipt and the 7, 20, 45 and 60-day deadlines.
If you are a shareholder of a Romanian company, see also what you can check yourself for free about a Romanian company and how to answer ANAF letters on VAT risk.
Frequently asked questions
Who must pay Romania's special tax on high-value property?
Individuals owning a residential building in Romania with a taxable value above RON 2,500,000, and individuals and companies owning a car registered in Romania with an acquisition value above RON 375,000 (Fiscal Code, art. 500^1 para. 1).
What is the rate in 2026?
0.9% of the amount above the threshold, from 1 January 2026; for 2024 and 2025 the rate was 0.3% (Fiscal Code, art. 500^2).
How long do I have after an ANAF notice?
The notice asks you to file within 20 days of receipt, or to attend a hearing within 7 days if you consider that you owe nothing (Order 1444/2026, Annex 2).
Can I still file form 216 after an ex officio assessment decision?
Yes. Filing form 216 within 60 days of the decision's communication cancels the decision on the filing date (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 107 para. 5; Order 1444/2026, procedure, point 24).
Can ANAF assess years before 2026?
Yes. Order 1444/2026 applies to the special tax due from 2024 onwards (art. 3), at the rate in force for each year (procedure, point 23 para. 1).
Does a foreign owner need a representative in Romania?
Not if resident in the EU or the EEA, in a state party to a tax cooperation and recovery instrument with Romania, or communicating with ANAF electronically; otherwise yes (Fiscal Procedure Code, art. 18 paras. 4 and 5).
Sources
Fiscal Code (Law no. 227/2015), art. 453 letter f, art. 457 para. 2, art. 500^1, art. 500^2 and art. 500^3, consolidated form on the Legislative Portal of the Ministry of Justice, amendments integrated up to 25 October 2026, on legislatie.just.ro
Law no. 296/2023, art. III point 65 (Title X^1 of the Fiscal Code, initial 0.3% rate) and art. VII para. 1, on legislatie.just.ro
Fiscal Procedure Code (Law no. 207/2015), art. 9, art. 18, art. 47, art. 106, art. 107, art. 156, art. 174, art. 176, art. 181, art. 270 and art. 336, consolidated form on the Legislative Portal, on legislatie.just.ro
Order of the President of ANAF no. 1444/2026 approving the procedure for the ex officio assessment of the special tax on high-value immovable and movable property and the model and content of certain forms, Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 918 of 2 November 2026, art. 1 to 3, Annex 1 (the procedure) and Annexes 2, 3 and 7, on legislatie.just.ro; procedure on legislatie.just.ro
Order of the President of ANAF no. 917/2026 amending Annex 1 to ANAF Order no. 3738/2024 and replacing form 216, used from 2026, with the 0.9% rate, Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 646 of 5 August 2026, art. I and II, on static.anaf.ro
Last updated: 3 November 2026. This article is for information only and does not replace an analysis of your specific situation. Drafted with AI assistance; references were verified against the primary sources.
Questions about an ANAF notice on the special tax? Primary contact: Bogdan Năstase · Managing Partner, International Lead
