Deductible business expenses: documentation, statutory limits and justification
Deductibility is not decided at month-end but at the moment an employee files the expense. 4expenses holds the deduction percentage on each category, flags the Romanian Tax Code limits at creation, and sends the expense to accounting already split into its deductible and non-deductible parts.
What gets checked before an expense reaches the accountant
Deduction percentage per category
Every expense category carries the percentage it enters the tax computation with: 100%, 50% or non-deductible. The employee picks a category from a list, never a percentage — the rule lives in one place instead of in everyone's head.
The 50% vehicle rule
For vehicles up to 3,500 kg with at most 9 seats including the driver's, that are NOT used exclusively for the economic activity, directly attributable costs — fuel, repairs, maintenance — are deductible up to 50% (art. 25(3)(l) of the Romanian Tax Code). Some categories remain fully deductible, for instance vehicles used for paid passenger transport, courier services, sales agents or driving schools.
The protocol ceiling, visible early
Entertainment (protocol) expenses are deductible up to 2% of accounting profit plus profit-tax expense plus protocol expense (art. 25(3)(a)). A category can carry its own cap — per item, per day or per month — so consumption is visible early rather than only at the annual close.
Supporting document as a submission condition
Above the threshold set in your policy, a report cannot be submitted for approval without the receipt photo or invoice attached. The document stays bound to the line, not in a separate folder.
The rejection reason stays on record
When a report is rejected or returned for correction, the approver's comment stays on the approval decision together with its author and timestamp — useful in a tax audit, not just in the conversation with the employee.
Split in the accounting export
The export sends the deductible and non-deductible parts to different accounts, together with the cost centre and the VAT rate, so nobody re-does the split by hand in the accounting software.
The general condition is the one in the Romanian Tax Code: an expense is deductible if it is incurred for the purpose of the economic activity and is supported by a proper document. 4expenses does not replace the accountant's judgement — it hands over the complete file for each line: the chosen category, the attached document, the approver, the date and the percentage applied.
Frequently asked questions about deductible expenses
The tax and legal information on this page was verified on 30 July 2026 and is provided for information only — it is not tax advice. Legislation changes and its application depends on your company's specific situation: confirm with your accountant or adviser before acting on it.
See also
See what a month of expenses looks like when it arrives ready for accounting
Configure categories and percentages once; from then on every report arrives with deductibility applied and the document attached.