Tax allowances

Tax allowances (Tax Code art. 33–35) lower the taxable base: the standard or increased personal allowance, the supplementary spouse allowance and the dependants allowance. The standard personal allowance applies only below an annual income cap. The amounts shown are those in force for 2026.

What tax allowances do

Tax allowances (scutiri fiscale, Codul Fiscal art. 33–35) reduce the taxable base — the income the 12 % rate is applied to — not the tax itself. They are applied as monthly amounts (the annual figure ÷ 12) and are subtracted after the 9 % AOAM premium, before income tax is worked out. Because they are fixed amounts rather than percentages, they shield a larger share of a small salary than a large one, which is what makes them the most important variable for lower and middle earners. The income-tax page shows where they sit in the overall chain.

The personal allowance — standard and increased

Every resident employee is entitled to a personal allowance (scutirea personală). It comes in two levels:

Standard personal allowance (art. 33 al. 1) — 2 475 lei a month (29 700 lei a year) — the level that applies to most employees.
Increased personal allowance (art. 33 al. 2) — 2 885 lei a month (34 620 lei a year) — for defined categories such as Chernobyl liquidators, combat veterans and people with a severe or accentuated disability.

The spouse and dependant allowances

On top of the personal allowance, two supplementary allowances can apply:

Spouse allowance (art. 34 al. 2) — 1 815 lei a month (21 780 lei a year), available only where the spouse belongs to one of the increased-allowance categories above and does not use their own personal allowance. The ordinary spouse allowance (art. 34 al. 1) was repealed with effect from 1 January 2021, so this supplementary case is the only spouse allowance that survives.
Dependant allowance (art. 35) — 825 lei a month (9 900 lei a year) for each dependant, rising to 1 815 lei a month (21 780 lei a year) for a dependant with a disability. A person counts as a dependant only if their own annual income does not exceed 12 400 lei.

The annual income cap on the personal allowance

The standard and increased personal allowances are not unconditional. They apply only while your annual taxable income stays under 360 000 lei — annualised, a cliff at 30 000 lei a month.

At or above 360 000 lei a year (30 000 lei a month), the personal allowance drops to zero— not a reduced amount, but nothing. It is a hard edge rather than a taper, so crossing it noticeably raises the taxable base. On the current reading, this cap zeroes only the personal allowance; the spouse and dependant allowances are gated on the spouse’s and dependant’s own income, so they are not removed by the taxpayer’s cap — a point flagged as unconfirmed.

Amounts in force, without our sign-off

The amounts above are the ones in force: the personal allowances were not revised for 2026, and the spouse and dependant amounts are the ones currently applicable. A very recent change may not have reached this page yet, and they have not been through this site’s own review and sign-off. For an amount you are about to rely on, check the cited source or ask your employer or the State Tax Service.

The full content for this page is still in preparation. The calculator’s result is an estimate and is not an official document.