Bulgaria · Tax regime
Bulgarian 10% Flat Tax Regime
The 10% flat personal income tax and 5% dividend tax both still 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.
This is the lowest headline combination in the EU. A 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. Bulgaria now sits 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. This is a regime, not a purchase.
- Route type
- Tax regime, not a visa
- Physical presence
- 183 days, or centre of vital interests, or a permanent address in Bulgaria
- Family
- Individuals taxed separately
- Permanent residency
- Not applicable
- Citizenship
- Not applicable
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Bulgarian tax residency
- The 0% CGT rate applies to EU/EEA holdings only. Directly held US-listed stock is taxed at 10%, not zero. If your portfolio is US-heavy, you will not get the headline benefit unless you restructure 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 A draft budget proposing to double dividend tax from 5% to 10% was withdrawn on 27 November 2025 after roughly 20,000 people protested in Sofia.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 it contains no dividend or flat-tax change. But with a deficit that size and no finally-adopted budget, the dividend hike is dormant, not dead. Re-check before year-end.
- Bulgaria chose the aggressive version of the ATAD CFC rules. All CFC profits are attributed, not just passive income, unless you can make out a substantive-economic-activity defence. This is more hostile than most EU implementations.
- Euro adoption on 1 January 2026 means prices, contracts and thresholds are now denominated in euros. 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.