🇧🇬 Bulgaria
Bulgaria offers full EU membership with the lowest flat corporate and personal tax rates in the Union, plus low operating costs.
Who it suits
Who it does not
Living
Sofia and the Black Sea coast offer a low cost of living within the EU, a warm climate and growing expat and tech communities.
Business
A limited liability company (EOOD/OOD) is straightforward to set up and gives access to the EU single market and VAT system.
Tax
Both corporate profits and personal income are taxed at a flat 10% — among the lowest in the EU. Standard VAT is 20%.
Figures are indicative and change over time. We confirm the current rules, rates and requirements for your specific situation before you commit.
How incorporation works
- Name and structureReserve the name at the Commercial Register and settle the managers and the shareholders. An EOOD has a single owner; an OOD has more than one.
- DocumentsPrepare the articles, the appointment of the manager, and the manager’s consent and specimen signature, which is notarised.
- Capital accountOpen the accumulative account and pay in the share capital. Since the euro changeover, capital and accounts are denominated in euro.
- RegistrationFile with the Commercial Register at the Registry Agency. Registration normally takes a few working days.
- Tax registrationRegister with the National Revenue Agency, and for VAT where turnover, distance sales or EU trade require it.
- Beneficial ownershipFile the beneficial owners with the register.
- Operating accountConvert the accumulative account into an operating account, or open elsewhere. Bulgarian banks ask fewer questions than most of the EU — but they do ask.
- Payroll and social securityRegister the manager and any employees. A working manager creates social-security obligations even without a conventional salary.
What we need from you
- Passport copies for every shareholder, manager and beneficial owner
- Recent proof of address for each of them
- A notarised consent and specimen signature from the manager
- Two or three preferred company names, in order
- A description of the business and its markets
- The share split and the intended capital
- The registered address in Bulgaria
- Powers of attorney where we act on your behalf
What you end up with
- An entry in the Commercial Register with the company identification code
- Articles of association
- The manager’s appointment recorded on the register
- Tax registration, and a VAT number where registered
- Registered address
- Statutory books, and a company seal where one is used
- A corporate pack banks and counterparties will accept
Every year after that
- Annual financial statements, filed with the Commercial Register and published
- A corporate income tax return
- Advance corporate tax instalments where turnover requires them
- VAT returns, VIES and Intrastat where applicable
- Monthly payroll and social-security declarations
- Keeping the beneficial-ownership register current
Common questions
What changed when Bulgaria joined the euro?
The currency, not the tax. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 at the fixed conversion rate, and company capital, accounting and reporting are now in euro. The 10% corporate rate, the 10% personal rate and the 20% VAT are unchanged.
Is it really 10%?
Yes, on corporate profit. Dividends to individuals carry a 5% withholding tax; dividends to EU or EEA companies generally carry none. What matters is the whole path from profit to pocket, not the headline rate on its own.
Does the global minimum tax apply to me?
Only if you are part of a group above the large-group revenue threshold. Bulgaria has transposed the EU directive, but a standalone Bulgarian company is not in scope.
Do I need to be in Bulgaria?
Not to own the company. The manager is the practical question: the role carries personal liability and social-security consequences, and a manager who never appears is a weak point with both the bank and the revenue agency.
How fast is registration?
Usually a few working days once the notarised documents and the capital are in place. Notarising and apostilling foreign documents is what normally sets the timetable, not the registry.
Will I get a Bulgarian bank account?
Usually yes, which is one of the quieter advantages here. Banks still want to understand the business and its owners, but Bulgaria is markedly easier than most of the EU for a foreign-owned company.
Set up your company in Bulgaria
Tell us about your business and we will confirm whether Bulgaria is the right fit — and handle the full incorporation.
- A reply within one working day
- The first consultation is 30 minutes
- Confidential, no obligation