According to OUG no. 156/2024, published in Official Gazette no. 1334 of December 31, 2024, the tax on dividend income was increased from 8% to 10%, starting with dividends distributed after January 1, 2025. Thus, for dividends distributed in 2024, the tax rate remains at 8%, even if the actual payment occurs in 2025.
This change is provided for in OUG 156/2024 (art. LXIV paragraphs 1, 9, 15 and art. LXV), which introduces several tax measures. The 10% increase applies only to dividends distributed after January 1, 2025, irrespective of the time of payment. In contrast, dividends distributed before this date but not yet paid (or paid even in 2024) remain taxed at 8%.
According to the Tax Code, dividends distributed to individuals or legal entities in 2024, if not paid by December 31, 2024, must be taxed, declared and paid by January 27, 2025. Thus, for interim dividends distributed in 2024, the tax rate remains unchanged at 8%.
The Tax Code stipulates that the obligation to calculate and withhold tax on dividend income is incumbent on the legal entities that make the payment. The deadline for paying the tax is the 25th day of the month following payment. If the distributed dividends are not paid by the end of the year of distribution, the corresponding tax must be paid by January 25 of the following year.
Importantly, OUG 156/2024 establishes that interim dividends distributed in 2024 are not subject to recalculation at the beginning of 2025 regularization, and the tax rate applicable to them remains 8%. The same rule also applies to dividends distributed by a legal entity to another legal entity, according to Article 43 of the Tax Code.
Thus, a Romanian legal entity that pays dividends to another legal entity is obliged to withhold, declare and remit the tax on dividends until the 25th of the month following the payment. In the case of dividends distributed but not paid by the end of the year of distribution, the corresponding tax must be paid by January 25 of the following year.