How vat / sales tax works in Bulgaria
Bulgarian VAT defaults to 20%, with 9% on restaurants, hotels, books, and baby goods and 0% on exports, intra-EU supplies, and qualifying international services.
Traders file monthly returns with purchase and sales ledgers, register past the BGN 100,000 turnover line, and run SAF-T readiness as reporting expands.
Financial, health, education, and property supplies are largely exempt, while EU distance sellers route through OSS and B2B imports reverse-charge.
Tax rates at a glance
- Standard VAT
- 20%
- Reduced VAT
- 9% / 0%
- Hospitality rate
- 9%
- Exports
- 0%
- Registration line
- BGN 100,000
- Filing rhythm
- Monthly
Who benefits most
These profiles tend to benefit most when the rules match their real residence, payroll and business setup.
E-commerce sellersHospitality operatorsManufacturersExpatsCross-border traders
Watch out for
- Euro changeover dual-display and rounding discipline still generate findings, so price lists, tills, and invoices need single-currency coherence.
- Hospitality 9% against alcohol and extras at 20% splits bills that tourism-season staff must encode correctly at volume.
- Ledger-level monthly filing exposes rate and counterparty errors within weeks, which rewards master-data hygiene over year-end cleanup.
- Exempt finance, health, and education work blocks input recovery, repricing mixed contracting against taxable competitors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VAT rate in Bulgaria?
Bulgaria applies 20% standard VAT in 2026, with 9% for hospitality, books, and baby goods and 0% for exports and intra-EU supplies.
When must a Bulgarian business register for VAT?
Past BGN 100,000 of turnover, with monthly returns plus purchase and sales ledgers. Voluntary registration suits input-heavy starters.
How does euro changeover affect VAT?
Pricing, rounding, and invoice displays must follow changeover rules with dual-display discipline during transition windows. Legacy lev-era documents need conversion, not reuse.