Bulgarian VAT rates
Bulgaria is part of the EU and follows the EU rules on VAT compliance. All suppliers of goods or services who are VAT registered in Bulgaria must charge the appropriate VAT rate, and collect the tax for onward payment to the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NRA) through a monthly VAT submission process.
Important aspects of the VAT act in Bulgaria:
- If a company not established in Bulgaria is providing ‘taxable supplies’ of goods or services in Bulgaria, it may have to obtain a non-resident VAT registration.
- VAT is payable on assets and services in Bulgaria as well as on imports into Bulgaria.
- Exports from Bulgaria are exempt from VAT.
- Income from financial services such as insurance and banking services are exempt from VAT. Legal advice is also exempt from VAT subject to the terms specified in law.
- Every business that had a turnover in excess of BGL 50,000 in the previous 12 months must obligatory register with the tax authorities.
If you are not established in Bulgaria, there are number of cases which might trigger an obligation for you to register for Bulgarian VAT, e.g:
- Importing goods into Bulgaria from outside the European Union.
- Buying and selling goods in Bulgaria.
- Selling goods from Bulgaria which are delivered to customers outside of Bulgaria (business or private customers).
- Acquiring goods in Bulgaria from another EU country (Intra-community acquisitions).
- Holding inventory in Bulgaria for sale, distribution or consignment.
- E-commerce sales of goods to consumers, subject to Distance Selling VAT registration thresholds.
- Organising events in Bulgaria where attendees or delegates must pay admission.
As a Bulgarian VAT-registered entity, you will have to follow certain legal obligations. This includes:
- Issuing invoices with the disclosure details outlined in the Bulgarian VAT Act.
- Maintain sales and purchases ledgers and all the transactions, which are held in the least 10 years.
- Correct invoicing of customers for goods or services in accordance with the Bulgarian VAT rules.
- Processing of credit notes and other corrections.
- Use of approved foreign currency rates.
- Submit monthly VAT information to NRA Bulgaria
The current VAT Rates in Bulgaria are:
| VAT Rate | Rate Type | Applied on |
| 20% | Standard | All goods and services, except hotel accommodation |
| 9% | Reduced | Hotel accommodation and certain touristic services |
| 0% | Zero rated | Intra- Community supplies and international transport |
Which is the moment, when the Bulgarian VAT shall be charged?
In general, for goods where a VAT invoice has not been issued, i.e. most B2C transactions, the tax point is generally the physical supply of the goods or the payment, whichever is earlier. For goods supplies where an invoice is issued, i.e. most B2B transactions, the tax point is generally deemed to be the invoice date regardless of when the actual supply took place. For the supply of services where no VAT invoice is issued i.e. B2C services the tax point is usually considered to be the time when the service is delivered to the customer or the payment, whichever takes place earlier. In the case of longer B2C services the tax point occurs when the service has been completed. For service supply where a VAT invoice is issued i.e. B2B services the tax point occurs on the invoice date regardless of when the supply occurred.
For more information, see our section for services: VAT Compliance