Bulgaria
Bulgaria: 6 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Bulgaria
The 6 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
Forming and closing a ООД
The headline facts; the steps, requirements and their sources are on its own page.
- Formation fee
- BGN 55
- Closing route
- Liquidation: cease activity; notify NRA and NOI; announce liquidation; invitation to creditors; deletion from the Commercial Register
What it is known for
Where Bulgaria is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Munitions, ammunition and projectilesBombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof; cartridges and other ammunition and projectiles and parts thereof, including shot and cartridge wadsUS$2.4 bn · 13.7% of world exports of 112 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Bulgaria. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
AirwallexAirwallex business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
PayseraPaysera business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
- RevolutRevolut Business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
StripeStripe account (payments)list read 8 Oct 2026
Checked, not listing Bulgaria: Brex, bunq Business, Mercury, Qonto.
Publish no country list: N26 Business, Payoneer, PayPal Business, Wise Business. They may still serve it; ask them.
Payments and payroll
Services for taking payments, paying people and moving money, as each states where a business based in Bulgaria may open an account.
- StripeOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
WiseOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
DeelOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026- RevolutOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
AdyenOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
For individuals only here: PayPal.
Not available here: Square.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Bulgaria: where to register, file and check.
Business registerАгенция по вписванията — Търговски регистър и регистър на ЮЛНЦregistryagency.bg
Tax treaties in forceminfin.bgminfin.bg
Business registerCommercial Register and Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities – Registry Agencyportal.registryagency.bg
- Tax authorityNational Revenue Agency (NRA)nra.bg
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Bulgaria belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 2007
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 2007, Euro area member since 2026, Schengen area member since 2024 and more about Bulgaria's participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Euro area
- Monetary union · since 1 January 2026
Covers a common currency.
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Bulgaria joined the European Union on 1 January 2007 and adopted the euro on 1 January 2026.
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 1 January 2025
Covers movement of people.
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Bulgaria and Romania being the last countries to join on 1 January 2025.
- European Economic Area
- Single market
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 10%Official OECD Corporate Tax Statistics (combined CIT) as of 2025
- Distributions
- Profit taxed when earned at 10% (art. 20 ZKPO); distribution taxed again at 5% for individuals
- Audit
- 2 of: assets BGN 4,000,000; net sales BGN 8,000,000; 50 average staff (law text in leva; euro conversion applies)Official Ministry of Justice (justice.government.bg, legal information system)
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балансова стойност на активите - 4 000 000 лв.
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Annual financial statements filed in the Commercial Register by 30 September of the following yearOfficial Ministry of Justice (justice.government.bg, legal information system)
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чрез заявяване за вписване и представяне за обявяване в търговския регистър, в срок до 30 септември на следващата година
- Annual registry fee
- BGN 40 at the counter; BGN 20 filed electronically (art. 16б(2)); no recurring renewal fee foundOfficial Registry Agency (Агенция по вписванията)
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По заявление за обявяване на актове в търговския регистър и регистъра на юридическите лица с нестопанска цел се събира такса в размер 40 лв.
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Bulgaria, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 20%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2026-07-01
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Bulgaria, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 30 June · each year
the annual corporate income tax return (art. 92(1) CITA) is filed in the period 1 March - 30 June of the following calendar year. A corrected declaration may be filed once until 30 September of the same year.
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Годишната данъчна декларация по чл. 92, ал. 1 от ЗКПО се подава в срок от 1 март до 30 юни на следващата календарна година
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 30 June · each year
the corporate income tax due is paid until 30 June of the following calendar year.
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Дължимият корпоративен данък се внася в срок до 30 юни на следващата календарна година
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Day 15 of the following month · each quarter
quarterly instalments for Q1 and Q2 are due by the 15th day of the month following the quarter; the Q3 instalment is due by 1 December; no instalment falls for Q4. Where net sales revenue exceeds 3,000,000 BGN (1,533,875.64 EUR) the instalments are monthly: Jan-Mar by 15 April, April-November by the 15th of the current month, December by 1 December. The type and size of instalments are declared under art. 87a CITA between 1 March and 15 April.
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Тримесечни авансови вноски – за първо и второ тримесечие - до 15-о число на месеца, следващ тримесечието, а за трето тримесечие – до 1 декември. За четвърто тримесечие не се прави авансова вноска.
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 April · each year
the annual personal income tax return is filed between 10 January and 30 April of the following calendar year. Persons carrying on business as traders, sole traders and registered farmers taxed on that regime file between 1 March and 30 June; self-insured persons file electronically only.
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годишна данъчна декларация (по чл. 50 от ЗДДФЛ): от 10-ти януари до 30-и април на следващата календарна година
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 30 April · each year
the tax due on the annual basis of a person who is not a trader is paid by 30 April of the year after the income was earned. For traders, sole traders and registered farmers taxed on that regime the same payment falls by 30 June. Paying by 31 March with an electronically filed declaration earns a 5% credit (max 500 BGN).
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Дължимият данък върху общата годишна данъчна основа от физическо лице, което не е търговец по смисъла на Търговския закон се внася до 30 април на годината , следваща годината на придобиване на дохода.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 1 month after the end of the quarter · each quarter
the advance tax is paid by the end of the month following the quarter in which it was withheld - 30 April, 31 July and 31 October, with a final instalment only by 31 January of the following year. No advance tax is due for income of the fourth quarter unless the recipient declares in writing that withholding is wanted, in which case it is paid by 31 January. Advance tax on employment income is monthly withholding by the employer (see payroll_withholding).
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декларация за дължими данъци (по чл. 55 от ЗДДФЛ): за авансов и окончателен данък, 30 април, 31 юли, 31 октомври и само за окончателен данък 31 януари на следващата година.
- VAT return
- Day 14 of the following month · each month
the VAT return, the account registers and the VIES declaration are submitted monthly by the 14th day of the month following the (monthly) tax period. The NRA page read states monthly filing for registered persons and states no quarterly option.
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Справка-декларацията, отчетните регистри (дневник за продажбите и дневник за покупките) и VIES-декларация (когато такава следва да се подава) се подават ежемесечно до 14-то число на месеца, следващ месеца (данъчния период), за който се отнасят.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 25 of the following month · each month
the advance income tax determined, withheld and declared by the employer on employment income is paid monthly by the 25th day of the month following the month in which the tax was withheld, and declared by the same day. Social security contributions follow the same 25th-day deadline (Code of Social Insurance art. 7; Health Insurance Act art. 40).
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Плащане . Ежемесечно от работодателя до 25-о число на месеца, следващ месеца, през който данъкът е удържан.
Running the company
Running a company here
What it takes to keep a company in good standing in Bulgaria: the full guide is on each form’s own page.
Running a Дружество с ограничена отговорност (ООД)
19 obligations for one shareholder who is the sole director, with who may do each, when, and how.
- The director can do
- 17 of its 19 obligations
personally, through the authorities’ own services.
- A professional the law requires
- A notary File the manager's notarised consent with a specimen signature
- A licensed auditor — if A small enterprise is audited when it exceeds at least two of Statutory audit of the annual financial statements
- Not required here
- No separate annual return or confirmation statement · No general business or trade licence to renew · No separate employer insurance policy required · No general data-protection registration fee · The first accounting period cannot exceed 12 months
- Set by each state
- Municipal property and vehicle taxes on company assets
Not yet covered: ЕООД, АД, СД, КД, ЕТ. Each form has its own requirements.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Bulgaria exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Bulgaria’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 6.6% | 4.6% | 6.5% | US$3.4 bn |
| Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof; cartridges and other ammunition and projectiles and parts thereof, including shot and cartridge wads HS 9306 | 0.95% | 2.0% | 4.6% | US$2.4 bn |
| Refined copper and copper alloys, unwrought HS 7403 | 3.2% | 3.8% | 3.6% | US$1.9 bn |
| Unrefined copper; copper anodes for electrolytic refining HS 7402 | 2.6% | 1.9% | 3.1% | US$1.6 bn |
| Wheat and meslin HS 1001 | 3.3% | 3.5% | 2.7% | US$1.4 bn |
| Electrical energy HS 2716 | 4.5% | 2.3% | 2.4% | US$1.2 bn |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2.4% | US$1.2 bn |
| Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons HS 2711 | 5.8% | 2.7% | 1.9% | US$965 m |
| Precious-metal ores and concentrates HS 2616 | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.7% | US$874 m |
| Insulated (including enamelled or anodised) wire, cable (including coaxial cable) and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fibre cables, made up of individually sheathed fibres, whether or not assembled with electric conductors or fitted with connectors HS 8544 | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | US$674 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$52 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.