Bulgaria · Tax regime
Bulgarian 10% Flat Tax Regime
The 10% flat personal income tax and 5% dividend tax both stand as of July 2026, having survived the 2026 budget fight. But Bulgaria has the eurozone's largest deficit and no finally-adopted budget — the dividend hike is dormant, not dead.
The lowest headline combination in the EU: 10% flat income tax, 5% dividends, 0% capital gains on EU/EEA-listed securities, no wealth tax, no inheritance tax in the direct line, and capped social security. Now inside both Schengen and the eurozone. For a family that will genuinely relocate, this is the strongest pure-tax proposition in this file.
Qualifying routes
10% on all personal income with limited exceptions; unchanged since 2008
5% — the lowest in the EU
0% on shares, CIS units and government securities traded on a regulated market in Bulgaria, the EU or the EEA
The facts
- Total landed cost
- n/a — a regime, not a purchase
- Physical presence
- 183 days, or centre of vital interests, or permanent address in Bulgaria
- Family
- individuals taxed separately
- Permanent residency
- n/a
- Citizenship
- n/a
- Language test
- n/a
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Bulgarian tax residency
- THE 0% CGT IS EU/EEA-ONLY. Directly-held US-listed stock is taxed at 10%, not zero. A US-heavy portfolio does not get the headline benefit without restructuring into EU/EEA-listed vehicles.
- The 2026 budget fight is live and unresolved. A draft budget proposing to double dividend tax from 5% to 10% was withdrawn on 27 November 2025 after roughly 20,000 people protested in Sofia; the coalition formally dropped the hike. A new package passed first reading on 15 July 2026 with a record 5.7% of GDP deficit — the highest in the eurozone — and contains no dividend or flat-tax change. But with a deficit that size and no finally-adopted budget, the dividend hike is dormant rather than dead. Re-check before year-end.
- Bulgaria opted for the AGGRESSIVE ATAD CFC variant: all CFC profits are attributed, not just passive income, unless a substantive-economic-activity defence is made out. This is more hostile than most EU implementations.
- Euro adoption on 1 January 2026 means prices, contracts and thresholds are now euro-denominated; the lev ceased to be legal tender on 1 February 2026.
- Bulgaria is a full CRS participant. This is a low-rate jurisdiction, not an opaque one.