Are wedding gifts taxed in Romania? What ANAF says and what to keep

No. In Romania, wedding gifts are not taxed and need not be declared to ANAF, the tax authority. The Fiscal Code treats donations as non-taxable income, and ANAF confirmed in 2024 and 2025 that wedding and baptism gifts are identified sources. The 70% tax only hits money whose origin cannot be shown, so keep proof.

If you are marrying a Romanian, or flying home from abroad for your own wedding, this is worth knowing early. At a Romanian wedding most guests give money in an envelope rather than a present, and the godparents (nașii) usually give the largest sum, so a couple can end the night with a significant amount in cash. Below is what the law actually says, what ANAF has said, what happens when you take the envelopes to the bank, and which papers to keep. We read the legal texts in their current consolidated form on legislatie.just.ro on 25 October 2026. We are not tax advisers: this guide explains the rules but does not replace personal advice. For large sums or anything unusual (a home bought with the gift money, money from parents, income abroad), speak to a Romanian tax adviser or lawyer.

The short version

Romania's Fiscal Code lists taxable income in Article 61 (salaries, rent, dividends, self-employment and so on) and non-taxable income in Article 62. Letter p) of Article 62 says that "sums or goods... received by way of inheritance or donation" are not taxable. Legally, a wedding gift is a donation from your guests to you.

The difference between the first and last rows is not the amount, it is the proof. The same money is tax-free if you can show it came from your wedding, and can be treated as unidentified income if you cannot.

What ANAF has said about wedding gifts

The question comes back every year, usually with a social media rumour, and ANAF has given the same answer each time:

• June 2024. Shortly after the 70% rate took effect, ANAF stated that funds from wedding and baptism gifts are not taxable income and do not have to be declared, and that the 70% rate does not apply to identified sources (ANAF's statement, reported by Fiscalitatea).
• March 2025. A further statement said money given between relatives counts as a donation or "dar manual" (a hand-to-hand gift) and is not taxable, and that sums received at "weddings/baptisms", which carry no declaration obligation, are also non-taxable (ANAF statement no. 281, 12 March 2025, in Romanian).
• June 2025. ANAF again denied that gift money would be taxed, describing it as "occasional and personal" (Playtech, in Romanian).
• September 2025. ANAF's president, Adrian Nica, said the agency "does not intend to check the newlyweds, does not intend to check the wedding gift". What it does pursue, he explained, is that whoever is paid to host the wedding (his example was wedding venues) declares that income (Euronews, via Agerpres, in Romanian).

As of 25 October 2026 we found no change to the Fiscal Code affecting this. If your wedding is in 2027, check the tax news in the months before: Romanian tax law changes often.

Where the 70% tax comes from

Since 1 July 2024, Article 117 of the Fiscal Code, amended by Law 296/2023, taxes at 70% "any income established by the tax authorities... whose source has not been identified", plus interest and penalties.

ANAF establishes such income through a personal tax situation check (verificarea situației fiscale personale), set out in Articles 138-146 of the Fiscal Procedure Code. In outline:

1. 1Risk analysis. ANAF estimates a person's income from accounts, purchases and spending and compares it with what was declared. The gap counts if it exceeds 10% of declared income and is at least 50,000 lei (about 9,400 euros). Since 2026, up to 10% of people checked can also be picked at random.
2. 2Notice. Before selection, the person flagged receives a notice and can correct their returns.
3. 3Formal check. If a check opens, you have up to 60 days (extendable once by 30) to provide supporting documents and a statement of assets and income.
4. 4Indirect methods. ANAF rebuilds money in and money out for the period. Whatever came in and cannot be explained becomes taxable.

The burden of proof is yours: the taxpayer "has the task of proving the acts and facts" behind their declarations (Article 73 of the Fiscal Procedure Code). ANAF's right to assess tax generally expires after 5 years, counted from 1 July of the following year (Article 110). For a 2027 wedding, that runs from 1 July 2028 to 2033.

How common are these checks? According to Capital, in the year and a half to mid-2026 ANAF issued 467 assessments after such checks, with over 426 million lei (about 80 million euros) in extra tax. The 50,000-lei threshold shows the target: large gaps between money coming in and declared income. A large gift paid into your account could in theory cross it, and that rare case is exactly what the gift list and bank statement are for.

A real case: "no longer has any papers from the wedding"

ANAF publishes its decisions on tax appeals, anonymised. In one from May 2020 (the decision, in Romanian), a taxpayer under a personal check explained his cash deposits partly as money received at his civil wedding, church wedding and a baptism. The inspectors asked him "repeatedly" for documents proving the sums, "also in relation to the expenses incurred for such events". He replied that he "no longer has any papers from the wedding or baptism", and his appeal was rejected.

Two lessons. Nobody disputed that Romanians give money at weddings; what failed was an amount that could not be proved. And the proof of gifts is weighed against the wedding itself, meaning the number of guests and what it cost. A gift list out of proportion to the size of the wedding would be hard to defend.

Taking the money to the bank

Depositing the gift money is not new income and is not taxed. What applies is the anti-money-laundering law: banks must report to the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering any cash transaction of at least the lei equivalent of 10,000 euros, "including linked operations" (Article 7 of Law 129/2019). The report is the bank's legal duty, not an accusation.

The same law requires banks to check that transactions fit the customer's profile, "including, where appropriate, the source of funds" (Article 11). In practice, for a large cash deposit the bank may ask where the money came from and request documents, which does not in itself mean you are suspected of anything (Playtech, September 2026, in Romanian). Procedures differ between banks, so ask beforehand.

• Deposit the money soon after the wedding, ideally within the first week. A deposit two days after the wedding links clearly to the event; one a year later, from "cash kept at home", much less so.
• Do not split the sum into small deposits to stay under 10,000 euros. The law adds linked operations together anyway, and splitting looks exactly like what you are trying to avoid.
• Keep the deposit slip or statement with the gift list.
• Carrying gift cash across a border? Anyone entering or leaving the EU with 10,000 euros or more in cash must declare it to customs, and the limit applies to each person individually. There is no EU-level declaration between EU countries (European Commission). Romania's own customs penalties also refer only to entering or leaving the EU, and we found no Romanian duty to declare cash when travelling from another EU country. Some states do have national rules (France, for example, requires a declaration for travel to other EU countries too), so check the rules of the country you are leaving. If you live in the UK or elsewhere outside the EU and plan to fly back with the envelopes, factor this in.

What proof to keep

There is no official form for wedding gifts. What matters is being able to reconstruct, years later, three things: that the wedding took place, how many people came and how much you received.

How long to keep it all? The law sets no period for gift records, but the limitation period above is a sensible guide: at least 6 years after the wedding. If you bank or spend the money only years later (a deposit on a flat, a car), keep the proof for at least 6 years after the year you bank or spend it, because a check of that year may ask where the money came from. If you keep the money as cash at home, proof matters even more, because cash leaves no trail, and in a later check a cash balance "from the wedding" has to be explained, exactly as in the case above.

In Celebrum you can record each guest's gift in lei, with an optional note (useful for sums received in euros or pounds), next to your guest list and RSVPs, and download the full list as a CSV after the wedding. Gift tracking is part of the paid Complet plan. It is not an official document, but it is precisely the list someone might ask you for years later.

Money from parents and other large sums

Weddings often bring money from elsewhere too: parents paying for the venue, grandparents helping with a deposit on a flat. ANAF said in March 2025 that money between relatives is a donation or hand-to-hand gift, and therefore not taxable, or in some cases a loan (statement no. 281/2025, above). Proof matters here as well:

• a bank transfer with a clear reference ("gift for the wedding", "gift towards the flat deposit") speaks for itself;
• a family loan is best documented with a simple written, signed and dated agreement;
• Romania's Civil Code requires donations to be made by notarised deed, the exceptions being indirect or disguised donations and the "dar manual", tangible movable goods handed over directly, worth up to 25,000 lei (Civil Code Article 1011, in Romanian). How that rule applies to large sums of money, in cash or by transfer, is a question for a notary or lawyer.

If either of you is tax resident in another country, its rules on gifts may differ from Romania's. This guide covers Romania only.

Does the Romanian state pay couples to marry?

Not any more, at national level. Law 396/2006 gave couples where both partners were marrying for the first time a one-off payment equal to 200 euros in lei. It was repealed in 2010 by Article 15 of Law 118/2010, part of that year's budget-balancing measures. Anything online saying "the state gives money for getting married" is out of date.

When to see a tax adviser

• you received sums far above your normal income and are keeping them in cash;
• you are buying a home or car with the gift money plus money from parents;
• one of you lives or works in another country;
• you have already received a notice or a check letter from ANAF.

Otherwise the rule is simple: wedding gifts are not declared or taxed, and a good list plus a bank statement keep you covered. If your guests ask what is customary, point them to our guide on how much to give at a Romanian wedding; for the other side of the sums, see how much a wedding costs in Romania.