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Bulgaria tax guide 2026

Bulgarian tax for companies: 10%, 5%, and what reaches you

Updated 10 November 20262026 budget and euro includedAbout 9 minutes to read
The short answer

A Bulgarian company pays 10% on its profit, and dividends carry 5%. The 2026 proposal to raise that to 10% was dropped.

Paid to an EU or EEA company, a dividend leaves with nothing withheld. How it is taxed after that depends on where you live. Opening the company's account, which in Bulgaria starts before registration, is covered in our Bulgarian company bank account guide.

What reaches me? Paying others abroad
Flat 10% 85.5% of each euro of profit that reaches you as a dividend 10% company tax, then 5% withheld. Paid to an EU holding company, the 5% falls away.

Bulgaria's 10% company tax is settled, and so is the 5% on dividends: the 2026 proposal to double it was dropped. The question is what reaches you where you live, and what the company withholds when it pays others abroad. Here's both, with the first two years of filings in euro, from the Corporate Income Tax Act and the Personal Income Taxes Act as amended in 2026.

Key takeaways

  • Company tax is 10% on worldwide profit, due with the return by 30 June.
  • Dividends to people and non-EU companies carry 5%; the proposed 10% was dropped.
  • Dividends to an EU or EEA company are exempt.
  • Interest and royalties paid abroad carry 10%, with EU exemptions.
  • A new company makes no advance payments in its first year or the next.
  • Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026.
Chapter 1

Bulgarian corporate tax: what the 10% is charged on

EUR 100,000 profitEOOD
Company tax at 10%EUR 10,000
Dividend tax at 5%EUR 4,500
To an EU holding company insteadEUR 0
Reaches youEUR 85,500
Your own country may tax the dividend too. Where you live: pick it
10%On accounting profit adjusted for tax, from anywhere in the world, under the corporation tax rules
30 JuneReturn and tax for the year before, filed electronically with the National Revenue Agency
ResidentBecause it was formed in Bulgaria, wherever you run it from
No 2026 changeThe rate stays 10% in the 2026 budget
1
Key takeaway

10% on worldwide profit, settled once a year by 30 June.

Chapter 2

Bulgarian dividend tax: what reaches you

government / agent / service
EUR

The 10% comes from article 20 of the Corporate Income Tax Act, and the 5% from article 194 for companies and article 46(3) for people. A dividend to an EU or EEA company leaves untaxed, in line with the Parent-Subsidiary Directive. Your own country decides how what arrives is taxed.

2
Key takeaway

Where the dividend goes decides the second tax.

Chapter 3

Bulgarian withholding tax on payments abroad

$
The company pays
To
3
Key takeaway

10% on interest and royalties abroad, with EU exemptions.

Chapter 4

Bulgarian company deadlines for a new company

Articles 83 and 92 of the Corporate Income Tax Act set the advance payment exemption and the return. No return or activity report is needed in a year with no activity. Missing the activity report costs EUR 255.65 to EUR 1,022.58, as the National Revenue Agency sets out.

4
Key takeaway

No advance payments in the first two years.

Chapter 5

Bulgarian VAT registration threshold

20%Standard rate under the VAT Act
EUR 51,130Of calendar year sales in Bulgaria before registration is compulsory
Day oneRegistration for B2B services sold to other EU countries, or bought from abroad
5
Key takeaway

20% VAT, EUR 51,130 threshold, and EU services from day one.

Chapter 6

Paying yourself as manager of a Bulgarian company

A manager's pay is a cost to the company, so it saves 10% company tax, but it carries 10% income tax and compulsory social security on pay up to EUR 2,300 a month. A manager living abroad may be covered by home social security instead, with an A1 certificate inside the EU under Regulation 883/2004.

6
Key takeaway

A manager's pay carries 10% income tax and social security.

Chapter 7

Is Bulgaria a tax haven?

  1. October 2023FATF grey listAdded over anti money laundering gaps.
  2. 1 January 2026Euro adoptedAt 1.95583 lev to the euro; thresholds now in euro.
  3. October 2026Off the grey listAn EU member, on no tax list.
7
Key takeaway

Euro since January 2026, off the FATF grey list in October 2026.

Chapter 8

Bulgarian tax questions, answered

?!
What is the corporate tax rate in Bulgaria in 2026?
10%, unchanged in the 2026 budget, on the worldwide profit of a Bulgarian company, as the Ministry of Finance sets out.
Is the Bulgarian dividend tax 5% or 10%?
5%. A rise to 10% was proposed for 2026 and dropped. Dividends to EU or EEA companies are exempt.
When is the Bulgarian corporate tax return due?
By 30 June of the next year, with the tax. Not 31 March, as some pages say. Every yearly fee, date and penalty: Bulgaria annual fees and filings.
Does a new Bulgarian company pay advance tax?
No advance payments in the year it is formed or the year after.
What withholding tax applies to royalties from Bulgaria?
10% under the withholding tax rules, unless an EU company has held 25% for two years, as the Interest and Royalties Directive allows, or a treaty lowers it.
What is the VAT threshold in Bulgaria?
EUR 51,130 of sales in a calendar year, but B2B services to other EU countries need registration from the first sale.
Do you handle the Bulgarian filings?
Yes. Our Bulgarian company includes the books, the return and the yearly accounts.

Changelog

  • 10 November 2026: first published.
  • 13 November 2026: official sources linked in the text.
Your Bulgaria company

A Bulgarian company with the books and filings handled.

EUR 1,690 for the first year, then EUR 1,390, accountant included.

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