Moldova's 2027 tax policy: what changes for employees, companies and HoReCa

On 8 September 2026, Moldova’s Government approved the tax and customs policy package for 2027. If you run a company, pay salaries or take dividends, some of the numbers you work with today change next year.

In short: employees will pay less tax, because the personal exemption rises to 40,020 lei a year. Dividends will be taxed at 8% instead of 6%, VAT for hotels, restaurants and cafés goes from 8% to 12%, and excise duties rise every year until 2029. Parcels from abroad under €150 come under VAT earlier, from 1 October 2026.

Below, each change is explained on its own, with worked examples and what to do before the end of the year.

Note: this is a draft approved by the Government, not a law in force. The text may change before final adoption. We will update this article when the final version is out.

The numbers you need to know

Employees: up to 1,238 lei more a year

The personal exemption rises from 29,700 to 40,020 lei a year. The major personal exemption, currently 34,620 lei, also goes to 40,020 lei.

In money terms: an extra 10,320 lei of tax-free income at the 12% rate means up to 1,238 lei less tax a year. That is about 103 lei a month more in take-home pay. Gross pay stays the same, so the employer pays nothing extra.

For the company, this means one job that has to be done on time: January 2027 salaries must be calculated with the new exemptions. If the payroll software isn’t updated, the first payslips come out wrong and have to be redone, together with the IPC21 returns.

Two smaller changes for individuals:

• you will be able to choose as your main residence either a domicile of at least 3 years or your only home;
• income tax arrears under 100 lei will no longer stop you from directing 2% of your tax to an organisation.

Dividends and capital gains: higher tax

Dividends paid from profit earned from 2027 onwards are taxed at 8%, not 6%. On 100,000 lei of dividends, the tax goes from 6,000 to 8,000 lei.

The wording matters: the new rate is tied to the year the profit was earned. If your company has undistributed profit from earlier years, talk to your accountant about when and how to pay it out. We only make that call once the final text of the law is known.

Capital gains are still taxed at 12%, but on the full amount. Until now, only half the gain was taxed. If you sell a stake in a company at a 200,000 lei gain, the tax doubles, from 12,000 to 24,000 lei.

Who does the calculation changes too. The duty to calculate and declare the capital gain moves from the paying company to the person receiving the money. The Ministry’s reason: at the moment of withholding, the company didn’t know the real gain.

Cash donations from companies to individuals will be taxed at 12% instead of 6%.

Companies: reinvested profit stays untaxed until 2029

This is the good news for businesses. The zero rate on undistributed profit is extended until 2029, and the eligibility threshold doubles, from 100 to 200 million lei. More companies qualify, and you get three years of predictable rules.

Next to the more expensive dividends, the message is clear: the state wants money to stay in the company. If you have investments planned for 2027–2029, reinvesting profit becomes even more attractive than paying it out.

Other income tax changes for companies and entrepreneurs:

• farm households will pay 12%, the same as sole proprietorships;
• financial and insurance activities get an 18% rate, for 2027 only;
• savings and loan associations, trade unions, employers’ organisations and private schools lose their exemption and move to the standard 12% rate;
• the special regime for incentive capital is repealed from 2027.

The 4% regime: watch out if you do consulting

The draft cuts from 60% to 25% the share of income that can come from business and management consulting. Above that threshold, a company can no longer use the special 4%-of-turnover regime.

An example: a company with 1,000,000 lei in revenue, of which 300,000 lei comes from consulting, or 30%. Today it is under the 60% limit and pays 4%. Under the new rule it passes 25% and loses the regime.

If that sounds like you, the numbers need redoing before 2027. You need to know what the general regime will cost, whether anything in your business structure should change, and how that affects your contracts.

VAT: restaurants pay more, agriculture gets a new rate

What changes in VAT:

• HoReCa moves from 8% to 12%. It stays below the standard rate, but the difference is noticeable.
• Eggs and poultry meat move to the reduced 8% rate. Bread, milk, some fresh vegetables and fruit grown in Moldova, and basic necessities stay at 8%.
• A new 12% rate applies to livestock, crop and horticultural products and some fresh fruit.
• Household natural gas will carry 8% VAT from 1 April 2027, for up to 150 m³ a month per home. Electricity stays exempt up to 100 kWh.
• VAT exemptions that conflict with state aid rules will be removed.

What this looks like for a restaurant: on a 500 lei bill including VAT, the restaurant keeps 462.96 lei net of VAT today. At 12%, to keep the same amount, the bill has to rise to 518.52 lei, about 3.7% more. If the price stays at 500 lei, the restaurant loses 16.53 lei on every bill.

For HoReCa, the switch means new menu prices, reconfigured cash registers and correct invoices from day one. A wrong VAT rate shows up immediately in an audit.

Parcels under €150: from 1 October 2026

This is the only measure proposed to start this year. Goods bought online from abroad, worth up to €150 per parcel, move to a special VAT regime. On top of that comes a handling fee of 12 lei per parcel.

For shoppers, parcels get more expensive. For shops in Moldova, competition with foreign platforms gets a little fairer.

Excise duties: rises planned three years ahead

The Government has set the increases for 2027–2029 in advance, so businesses can plan:

• tobacco products: +20% in 2027, then +15% in 2028 and +15% in 2029;
• e-cigarette cartridges and tanks: +15% in 2027, then +10% in 2028 and +10% in 2029;
• nicotine-free e-liquids become subject to excise;
• the cigarette reference-price coefficient rises from 1.46 to 1.57;
• new excise on some carbonated drinks with sugar or sweeteners, energy drinks and recreational fireworks;
• most excisable goods: +10% in 2027;
• diesel: +20%;
• passenger cars with internal combustion engines: +10%;
• fully electric passenger cars get an excise duty based on vehicle weight. The rate of up to 25% for electric and plug-in hybrid cars stays.

If you sell excisable goods, recalculate your margins before 1 January 2027. And if your company runs a diesel fleet, the higher excise will show up in your transport costs too.

Other changes worth knowing

• A 6% vice tax on gambling and lotteries. It applies to money deposited into gaming accounts and to the price of lottery tickets.
• Proportionate fines: violations will be graded by severity, and tax procedures will be more digital.
• Arrears of up to 20 lei per economic classification code will be written off automatically.
• Property tax will apply only to the value above 4 million lei for homes and holiday houses. The rate stays at 0.8%.
• Annual road tax will be due according to the vehicle’s technical inspection date.
• Local taxes will be set by local councils under more predictable and transparent rules.
• At customs, good-faith operators will be protected, including when a problem is caused by the Customs Service’s own IT systems.

What it brings to the budget

The Ministry of Finance expects about 5.1 billion lei in direct extra revenue: 2.7 billion from excise, 1.6 billion from VAT and 820 million from income tax and the vice tax. Most of it, in other words, comes from consumption.

What to do before 31 December 2026

1. Decide what to do with profit. If you have undistributed profit, compare dividends with reinvestment under the new rates.
2. Check the 4% regime if part of your income comes from consulting. The 25% threshold may take you out of it.
3. Prepare your prices if you are in HoReCa or agriculture, along with your cash registers and invoicing.
4. Update your payroll software for the new exemptions once the law is adopted.
5. Recalculate costs if you sell or use excisable goods, including diesel and cars.
6. Keep an eye on the final text. The numbers may change before adoption.

For current filing deadlines, see the 2026 tax calendar for LLCs. If you are wondering which legal form suits the new rules better, read LLC vs. sole trader vs. independent activity.

An accountant who tracks the changes for you

Every tax package brings the same problem. Someone has to read the final text, work out what it means for your company, and update salaries, VAT rates and returns from the exact day the rules apply. If nobody does, you find out about the change at your first audit.

At ExpertCont, that is part of our accounting service:

• we tell you what changes for your company, not for a generic one, as soon as the law is adopted;
• we update salaries, VAT rates and returns from the first month the new rules apply;
• we warn you in advance if dividends, the 4% regime or the new VAT rates affect you;
• you get a dedicated account manager who replies within 4 hours on business days;
• we work in 1C, and if you are coming from another system, we move your data for free.

Accounting packages start at 2,499 lei a month. See prices and the calculator or get in touch for a free consultation on what the 2027 tax policy means for your company.

📞 +373 60 82 55 81 📍 str. Alexandru cel Bun 51/A, et. 5, Chișinău, MD-2012

Frequently asked questions

When does Moldova’s 2027 tax policy take effect?

Most measures are proposed for the 2027 tax year. The exceptions are VAT on parcels under €150, proposed from 1 October 2026, and 8% VAT on household natural gas from 1 April 2027. Everything depends on the law being finally adopted.

How much will take-home pay rise in 2027?

The personal exemption rises by 10,320 lei a year, to 40,020 lei. At the 12% rate, an employee who claims the exemption pays up to 1,238 lei less tax a year, about 103 lei a month. The cost of the salary to the employer stays the same.

What is the dividend tax rate in Moldova in 2027?

Dividends from profit earned from 2027 onwards are taxed at 8%, up from 6%. On 100,000 lei of dividends, the tax rises from 6,000 to 8,000 lei. Distributing profit from earlier years should be assessed against the final text of the law.

Does VAT change for restaurants and cafés?

Yes. The VAT rate for HoReCa rises from 8% to 12%. To keep the same net revenue, a restaurant has to raise prices by about 3.7%. If it keeps prices unchanged, it loses about 16.5 lei on every 500 lei taken.

What happens to the 4% regime for consulting firms?

The share of income from business and management consulting allowed under the regime drops from 60% to 25%. A company above 25% can no longer use the special 4%-of-turnover regime. Consulting businesses should check their income mix before 2027.

Source: Ministry of Finance announcement of 8 September 2026. This article describes measures approved by the Government but not yet finally adopted, and the final text of the law may differ. For your company’s specific situation, talk to an accountant or an authorised tax adviser.