Why Choose Bulgaria for Company Formation?
Bulgaria offers the European Union’s lowest combined entry cost for a credible onshore entity. An EOOD forms in one to three business days for a EUR 28 state fee and a EUR 1 minimum capital, then operates under a flat 10% corporate tax, the joint-lowest standard rate in the bloc.[12] For founders who want EU standing without EU pricing, it is a strong default.
EU Membership and Market Access
Bulgaria has been an EU member state since 2007, joined the Schengen area on , and adopted the euro on at the irrevocable fixed rate of 1.95583 leva to the euro. A Bulgarian company is an EU company: it can hold a MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation or a payment licence that passports across all 30 European Economic Area states. This is the structural advantage offshore formation cannot match. An offshore company can be cheaper to maintain, but it grants no EU market access at all. The pathway from formation to a licensed, passportable entity runs through the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC),[7] and is set out in the MiCA CASP authorisation guide.
The Lowest Cost Base in the EU
The headline differentiator is price. The state registration fee is EUR 28 when filed electronically, the minimum share capital for the standard EOOD is EUR 1, and there is no annual government licence fee for an ordinary company.[3] Unlike Estonia, where the state fee is roughly EUR 265, or the financial-centre jurisdictions where formation runs into four figures, Bulgaria’s government cost floor is close to negligible. The real Year 1 spend sits in accounting and banking, detailed in the Costs section below.
A Flat 10% Tax Model
Bulgaria applies a flat 10% rate to both corporate profit and personal income, unchanged since 2007. For a trading or operating company that retains and reinvests, this is a simple, low, predictable burden. The honest figure for a company that distributes profit is closer to 15% once the 5% dividend withholding is added, still among the lowest combined burdens in the EU.[21] The full model, including the VAT treatment of crypto services and the Pillar Two threshold, is in the Taxation section below.
Entity Types Under Bulgarian Law
The Commerce Act (Търговски закон, 1991, as amended) defines several commercial vehicles.[2] For crypto, fintech, and high-risk businesses the working choice is almost always the private limited company, the EOOD where there is a single owner or the OOD where there are two or more. The joint-stock company (акционерно дружество, AD) is the alternative, used where investors require freely transferable shares or where a specific licence sponsor prefers it. The common mistake is defaulting to an AD because it sounds more substantial; for an unlicensed holding or operating company the EOOD does everything an AD does at a fraction of the capital and governance overhead.
Definition: EOOD / OOD (дружество с ограничена отговорност): Bulgarian Private Limited Company
The EOOD / OOD is the Bulgarian private limited liability company. It is governed by the Commerce Act, requires a minimum share capital of EUR 1, and needs at least one manager (a natural person, with no residency requirement). It is eligible to hold a MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation, an electronic money institution or payment institution licence, and most other Bulgarian financial authorisations. The single-member form is the EOOD; the multi-member form is the OOD.
| Entity | Min. Capital | Directors / Managers | Online Registration | Used For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EOOD / OOD (private limited) | EUR 1 | 1+ manager (natural person) | Yes | Standard vehicle for crypto, fintech, high-risk; eligible for CASP, EMI, PI |
| EAD / AD (joint-stock) | EUR 25,000 (25% paid in) | Board (one-tier 3+ directors, or two-tier) | Yes | Investor entry, freely transferable shares, some licence sponsors prefer it |
| DPK (variable-capital company) | No fixed minimum | 1+ manager | Yes | Startup and venture vehicle introduced in 2024; capital not entered in the register |
| ET (sole trader) | None | Owner | Yes | Unlimited personal liability; not suitable for non-residents |
| Branch of a foreign company | None | Manager | Yes | Extension of an existing foreign company; not a separate legal person |
Formation Process
A Bulgarian company is registered by filing an application with the Commercial Register, operated by the Registry Agency.[1] The registry typically issues its decision within one to three business days of a complete electronic filing. The slow part of a remote setup is not the registry, it is the notarisation and apostille of the founder’s documents abroad, which extends the realistic end-to-end timeline to two to three weeks.
What You Need to Prepare
| Document / Item | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passport copy of each founder and manager | Notarised, and apostilled if executed abroad | Sworn Bulgarian translation required |
| Power of attorney (remote formation) | Notarised and apostilled, authorising a local representative to file | Wet-ink and notarised; cannot be signed digitally from abroad |
| Company name | Pre-checked for availability on the registry portal | Cyrillic, with optional Latin transliteration |
| Registered address in Bulgaria | Lease or virtual-office agreement | Mandatory; a virtual office is accepted |
| Manager’s specimen signature | Notarised declaration | Plus declarations under Commerce Act Art. 141(8) |
| Founding act (EOOD) or articles (OOD / AD) | Drafted to the intended activity | OOD partnership agreement needs notarised signatures |
| Share capital | Amount decided, deposit method confirmed | EUR 1 for an EOOD; deposited to a capital accumulation account |
| State fee payment | EUR 28 electronic, EUR 56 paper | Paid on filing |
Preparation
Check the company name on the Registry Agency portal, secure a Bulgarian registered address (a virtual office is accepted), decide the activity codes, and fix the shareholder structure. Selecting an activity that maps to a regulated service does not by itself trigger a licence, but it signals intent to banks, so choose deliberately.
Documents and Notarisation
Draft the founding act, the manager’s notarised specimen signature, and the statutory declarations. For a remote setup, the founder signs a notarised and apostilled power of attorney abroad and couriers it to the local representative. This courier and apostille step is the single biggest driver of the remote timeline.
Capital Accumulation Account
Open a capital accumulation account (набирателна сметка) at a Bulgarian bank, deposit the share capital, and obtain the bank certificate. For an EOOD this is a formality at EUR 1, but a non-resident founder should expect bank know-your-customer checks even at this stage.
Registry Filing and Decision
File application form A4 electronically with a qualified electronic signature. The registry issues its decision, usually within one to three business days, and allocates the Unified Identification Code, which simultaneously registers the company with the tax authority, the social-security institute, and the statistics institute.
Post-Registration
Convert the accumulation account to an operating account, register for VAT where required, register as an employer if hiring, and begin the operating-banking conversation. This is where the formation page connects to the banking challenge, treat it as a parallel workstream, not a step that starts after registration.
Requirements
Bulgaria’s formation requirements are light by EU standards. There is no local-director requirement, no minimum number of employees to register, and 100% foreign ownership is permitted without restriction. The two elements that need attention for a non-resident are the notarised and apostilled documents and, where there is no Bulgarian-resident director, the appointment of a resident anti-money-laundering contact person.
| Requirement | Standard EOOD | For CASP / EMI Licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Min. Directors | 1 manager (natural person) | 1+, with fit-and-proper assessment |
| Corporate Directors | Not permitted (manager is a natural person) | Not permitted |
| Foreign Ownership | 100% | 100%, subject to UBO and source-of-funds review |
| Min. Share Capital | EUR 1 | EUR 50,000–150,000 (CASP) or ~EUR 358,000 (EMI) |
| Registered Address | Mandatory; virtual office accepted | Mandatory; substance expectations rise |
| Contact Person / Agent | Resident AML contact person if no resident director | Resident compliance function expected |
| UBO Disclosure | Yes, in the Commercial Register | Yes, with enhanced scrutiny |
| Nominee Directors | Not a recognised structure | Not permitted |
| Annual Report | Mandatory, including dormant companies | Mandatory |
Registered Address and AML Contact Person
Every Bulgarian company needs a registered address in Bulgaria. A virtual-office or registered-address service satisfies this and costs roughly EUR 50–300 per year. Where no manager is resident in Bulgaria, the company must appoint a Bulgarian-resident contact person for anti-money-laundering purposes under the Measures Against Money Laundering Act. This is a light requirement compared with the registered-agent gatekeeper model used in offshore jurisdictions, but it is mandatory and is one of the items non-resident founders most often miss.
UBO Disclosure
Beneficial owners are disclosed in the Commercial Register under the Measures Against Money Laundering Act. Changes to beneficial ownership must be filed within seven days. Where the beneficial owners are already entered as the company’s shareholders or sole owner, the separate UBO declaration is not duplicated, by virtue of the Art. 63(6) exemption. Penalties for failing to declare run from BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000 for a legal entity and recur monthly until the filing is made. Nominee structures are not a recognised feature of Bulgarian company law.
Costs and Pricing
Bulgaria is the cheapest mainstream EU jurisdiction to incorporate in. The state fee is EUR 28 electronic, the minimum capital is EUR 1, and there is no annual government licence fee for an ordinary company. The cost that matters is the recurring accounting retainer and, for a non-resident crypto company, the bank’s onboarding charges, not the fees paid to the state. The official fee schedule is published by the Registry Agency.[1]
Government Fees
| Fee Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Register entry (electronic) | EUR 28 | The fast and cheap route |
| Commercial Register entry (paper) | EUR 56 | Double the electronic fee |
| Minimum share capital (EOOD) | EUR 1 | Symbolic; deposited to a capital account |
| Annual government company fee | EUR 0 | Bulgaria has no annual licence fee for an ordinary company |
| Annual financial statement publication | Included in registry filing | Mandatory, including dormant companies |
Total Cost Summary
| Item | All-in cost (EUR) |
|---|---|
| State fee (electronic) | EUR 28 |
| Notarisation, apostille, sworn translation | EUR 150–400 |
| Formation coordination | EUR 800–1,500 |
| Registered / virtual office (Year 1) | EUR 100–300 |
| Bank onboarding (non-refundable KYC) | EUR 100–500 |
| Accounting (Year 1) | EUR 600–1,800 |
| Total Year 1 | EUR 1,500–3,000 |
| Annual Ongoing (Year 2+) | EUR 1,000–2,500 |
Taxation
Bulgaria operates a flat-rate tax model: 10% on corporate profit and 10% on personal income, both unchanged since 2007 and among the lowest standard rates in the European Union. Dividends paid to non-resident or resident individuals carry a 5% withholding, with a 0% rate available to qualifying EU and EEA parent companies. A proposed increase of the dividend rate to 10% was dropped from the 2026 budget in .[21]
| Tax Type | Rate | Notes (as of ) |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 10% flat | Joint-lowest standard rate in the EU |
| Personal income tax | 10% flat | Applies to salary and most income |
| VAT (standard) | 20% | Reduced 9% for defined supplies |
| VAT on crypto services | Exempt (financial service) | Exchange of crypto treated as a VAT-exempt financial service |
| WHT on dividends | 5% | 0% to qualifying EU / EEA parents |
| WHT on interest | 10% | 5% related-party EU under conditions |
| WHT on royalties | 10% | Exemptions under the EU Interest and Royalties Directive |
| Social security (total) | 32.7–33.4% | Split between employer (~19%) and employee (~14%); capped monthly |
| Capital gains | 10% (CIT) | EU / EEA-listed securities exempt |
CRS, CARF and DAC8 Reporting
Bulgaria participates in the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) reaches Bulgaria through the EU’s DAC8 directive: data collection begins from , with the first automatic exchange of crypto-asset information due by .[11] As of , the European Commission sent Bulgaria a formal-notice letter for failing to transpose DAC8 into national law by the deadline, one of twelve member states in the same infringement package, so the precise domestic implementing detail is still settling.[10]
Pillar Two (Global Minimum Tax)
Bulgaria has enacted domestic Pillar Two legislation: a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax and an income-inclusion rule apply from , with the amendments published in the State Gazette in .[18] The 15% global minimum effective rate applies only to multinational and large domestic groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million. For a standalone crypto or fintech company below that threshold, the effective rate remains the headline 10%. The honest reading: the 10% rate is real for the audience this page serves, and the Pillar Two top-up is a large-group concern, not an SME one.
Filing: the tax year is the calendar year; the corporate income tax return is filed and the tax paid between 1 March and 30 June of the following year.[4] Bulgaria maintains a treaty network of more than 70 double-tax treaties.[5]
Experienced founders register for VAT before they cross the EUR 51,130 threshold when their counterparties are EU-based, because a VAT number is what lets them zero-rate intra-EU business-to-business invoices from day one.[17]
Banking
Banking is the hardest part of a Bulgarian setup for a non-resident-owned crypto or high-risk company, and this guide will not pretend otherwise. Local banks apply strict know-your-customer procedures to foreign-owned companies and are largely closed to crypto activity. Opening the capital account for formation is usually manageable; opening a working operating account that tolerates crypto flows is the part that stalls.
In practice, the operating-banking layer for a Bulgarian crypto or fintech company is built not with a domestic high-street bank but with EU-regulated electronic money institutions and specialist fintech-friendly payment institutions established in other EEA jurisdictions, the kind that offer multi-currency IBANs and SEPA access and are willing to onboard a documented higher-risk profile.[6] The Bulgarian bank then handles the statutory capital deposit and local payroll and tax flows. Documentation typically requested includes the Commercial Register extract, the articles, manager identification, the UBO declaration, a business plan, source-of-funds evidence, and expected transaction volumes. Realistic onboarding runs from days for a clean capital account to two to four weeks or longer for a non-resident operating account.
Jagelski & Partners’ banking partner network spans 90+ institutions across the EU and beyond, and pre-qualifies a company’s profile against institutional appetite before any application is filed. For a Bulgarian company, banking is the critical step after registration, not an afterthought. See the banking service overview for how the placement process works.
Annual Compliance
Every Bulgarian company carries ongoing obligations, and these apply even to a dormant company with no activity. The core duties are an annual financial statement published in the Commercial Register, an annual corporate income tax return, and ongoing beneficial-ownership maintenance. Non-compliance escalates from fines to eventual ex-officio strike-off from the register.
Annual Financial Statements
Bulgarian companies prepare annual financial statements under Bulgarian national accounting standards, or IFRS for public-interest and larger entities, and publish them in the Commercial Register by 30 June of the following year. This publication obligation applies to dormant companies as well, a point first-time owners routinely miss. A statutory audit becomes mandatory when a company exceeds at least two of three thresholds: assets of BGN 2 million, net turnover of BGN 4 million, or 50 employees. Most newly formed crypto and fintech companies fall well below these and are not audited in early years.
Tax Filing and Beneficial Ownership
The corporate income tax return is filed electronically between 1 March and 30 June. VAT-registered companies file periodic VAT returns. Beneficial-ownership changes must be filed in the Commercial Register within seven days. Where the owners are already on the register as shareholders, the separate UBO declaration is not duplicated.
Penalties and Strike-Off
Late publication of financial statements attracts a penalty on the company of 0.1% to 0.5% of net turnover, with a floor around BGN 200 (about EUR 102), and a separate fine on the responsible individual. Failure to maintain beneficial-ownership data runs from BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000 for a legal entity and recurs monthly. After two consecutive years of unpublished statements and no activity, the registry can delete the company ex officio under the registration law.
Licensing Pathways from a Bulgarian Company
The formation structure should be designed for the licence the company intends to hold. Capital, governance, and substance requirements differ sharply between an unlicensed operating company and a licensed crypto-asset service provider or payment institution. A Bulgarian entity’s central advantage is that, once licensed, it passports across the EEA, the value an offshore company cannot deliver. The full pathway is on the Bulgaria crypto licensing (MiCA CASP) guide.
MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider
Authorised by the Financial Supervision Commission. Own funds of EUR 50,000 to EUR 150,000 by service class, with passporting across 30 EEA states.
EMI and Payment Institution
Licensed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) under the EU payment-services regime. EMI own funds around EUR 358,000; payment-institution capital is tiered by service. EEA passporting applies.
Gambling Licence
Issued by the National Revenue Agency (NRA). National authorisation, not passported. Capital and post-licence investment thresholds apply.
FATF Status & Practical Implications
Bulgaria was added to the Financial Action Task Force list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, the grey list, in , and remained on it as of the plenary, the only EU member state currently listed.[8] The remaining strategic deficiency concerns the investigation and prosecution of money laundering, including high-level corruption and organised crime, rather than the legislative framework itself.
What the Grey List Means
“Jurisdictions under increased monitoring” is the middle tier of FATF classification, well short of the blacklist, which contains only Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar. It carries no automatic legal penalty. Its practical effect is reputational and operational: banks treat counterparties connected to a grey-listed country as higher risk and ask for more documentation. Bulgaria is not on the EU’s separate list of high-risk third countries,[15] and as an EU member state it is not on the EU’s non-cooperative tax-jurisdiction list either.[14]
Strategic Deficiencies and Remediation Progress
The MONEYVAL fifth-round mutual evaluation of underpinned the listing.[9] Bulgaria has since improved its technical compliance materially, rated compliant or largely compliant on 32 of the 40 FATF recommendations by mid-2025. The outstanding work is effectiveness in prosecuting money laundering, the slowest kind of deficiency to close because it depends on case outcomes, not statutory drafting. As of , the prudent planning assumption is that Bulgaria remains grey-listed through at least the plenary.
Practical Impact on Banking and Due Diligence
Operators planning to serve institutional counterparties will find that the grey-listing triggers enhanced due diligence at the correspondent-banking layer, regardless of the company’s own compliance quality. In day-to-day terms this means more source-of-funds questions, longer onboarding, and a stronger case for building the operating-banking stack with EEA-licensed electronic money institutions that already underwrite higher-risk profiles. It does not prevent a Bulgarian company from trading, holding a licence, or passporting once authorised.
Advantages and Limitations
Bulgaria’s trade-offs are clear and worth stating plainly. The advantages cluster around cost, tax, and EU standing; the limitations cluster around banking friction and the current FATF status. Every limitation below has a workable mitigation.
- Lowest EU entry cost. A EUR 28 state fee, EUR 1 minimum capital, and no annual government company fee.
- Flat 10% corporate tax. Joint-lowest standard rate in the EU, simple and predictable.
- Full EU market access once licensed. A Bulgarian CASP or payment licence passports across 30 EEA states.
- 100% foreign ownership, no local director. No nationality or residency requirement for the manager.
- Fast registry decision. One to three business days once the filing is complete.
- Euro from 2026. No currency conversion friction within the eurozone.
- Difficult crypto banking. Local banks are largely closed to crypto and cautious on foreign-owned companies. Mitigation: build the operating layer with EEA-licensed electronic money institutions and reserve the Bulgarian bank for capital deposit and payroll, coordinated through Jagelski & Partners’ banking network.
- FATF grey-listing. Triggers enhanced due diligence on Bulgaria-connected business as of . Mitigation: prepare source-of-funds and UBO documentation in advance and bank with institutions that already underwrite higher-risk profiles.
- Notarised and apostilled documents for remote formation. Adds two to three weeks. Mitigation: execute the power of attorney and apostille early, in parallel with the name and address steps.
- Mandatory accounting and annual filings, including for dormant companies. A recurring cost and a strike-off risk if missed. Mitigation: retain a local accountant on a monthly basis from incorporation; the retainer is the main ongoing cost anyway.
- DAC8 transposition still settling. Bulgaria received an EU formal notice in . Mitigation: treat crypto-asset reporting obligations as coming into force on the EU timeline regardless of domestic delay, and keep transaction records accordingly.
- Resident AML contact person required where no director is resident. An easy item to overlook. Mitigation: appoint the contact person as part of the formation package, not afterwards.
When Bulgaria Is the Right Choice
Choose Bulgaria if you want a genuine EU entity at the lowest possible cost, a flat 10% tax, and a path to EEA-passported crypto or payment licensing. Consider alternatives if your priority is a fully digital, remote-first setup (Estonia and its e-Residency suit that better), if you want a turnover-based micro-tax for a small operating company (Romania’s 1% regime), or if you want a larger, more central-European corporate base (the Czech Republic).
How Bulgaria Compares
Bulgaria competes most directly with three EU formation peers: Estonia, the digital-first Baltic option; Romania, the closest cost competitor with its 1% micro-enterprise tax; and the Czech Republic, the central-European alternative. All four are EU member states, so all four offer EEA passporting once a company is licensed. Bulgaria’s edge is the combination of the lowest cost base and the 10% flat tax.
| Factor | Bulgaria | Estonia | Romania | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entity Type | EOOD / OOD | OÜ | SRL | s.r.o. |
| Timeline | 1–3 business days | ~1 business day | 3–10 business days | 5–10 business days |
| State Fee | EUR 28 | ~EUR 265 | ~EUR 40 (RON 200) | ~EUR 240 |
| Min. Capital | EUR 1 | EUR 0.01 | ~EUR 100 (RON 500) | ~EUR 0.04 (CZK 1) |
| Corporate Tax | 10% flat | 0% retained / 22% distributed | 16%, or 1% micro-turnover | 21% |
| EU Passporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FATF Status | Grey-listed | Clear | Clear | Clear |
| Remote Management | Yes (power of attorney) | Yes (e-Residency) | Limited (in-person common) | Limited (in-person common) |
| Crypto Banking | Difficult | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Best For | Lowest-cost EU entity with 10% tax | Digital-first remote management | Small operating company on 1% tax | Central-European corporate base |
Compare every formation jurisdiction side by side →
The pattern is consistent. Bulgaria and Romania are the cost and tax leaders, Estonia leads on speed and remote management through e-Residency, and the Czech Republic is the higher-tax, larger-market option. For a founder whose decision is driven by tax and total cost, Bulgaria and Romania are the shortlist, and Bulgaria wins where a flat, simple 10% beats a conditional 1% turnover regime.
The honest caveat is banking and FATF status. Estonia, Romania, and the Czech Republic are FATF-clear, while Bulgaria is grey-listed as of , which adds due-diligence friction. For most founders that is a manageable trade for the cost and tax position, but it is the reason banking should be planned, not assumed.
Not sure which column is you? Ask Emma. She compares these jurisdictions in seconds, in your language.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Commercial Register usually issues its decision within one to three business days of a complete electronic filing. For a founder present in Bulgaria with a qualified electronic signature, the whole process takes three to seven business days. For a remote formation through a notarised and apostilled power of attorney, allow two to three weeks, as the notarisation and apostille of documents abroad, not the registry itself, drives the timeline. If a bank capital account is on the critical path, allow three to six weeks end to end.
Yes. Bulgaria permits 100% foreign ownership with no nationality or residency requirement, and no local director is required. A non-resident forms a company remotely by granting a notarised and apostilled power of attorney to a local representative, who files the application. The founder does not need to travel for the registration itself, although opening a working operating bank account often requires a beneficial owner to attend in person. Documents executed abroad need a sworn Bulgarian translation.
The standard vehicle is the private limited company, the EOOD for a single owner or the OOD for two or more. It carries a EUR 1 minimum capital, needs one manager, and is eligible to hold a MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation, an electronic money institution licence, or a payment-institution licence. The joint-stock company (AD), with a EUR 25,000 minimum capital, is used mainly where investors need freely transferable shares. For most founders the EOOD is the right default.
No. Bulgaria has no state digital-identity scheme equivalent to Estonia’s e-Residency. Remote formation is achieved through a notarised and apostilled power of attorney to a local representative, not through a remotely issued digital ID. Bulgaria’s qualified electronic signature, which can be used for online filings, is issued in person in Bulgaria. If fully remote, digital-first management is the priority, Estonia is the better-fit jurisdiction; if lowest cost and a flat 10% tax matter more, Bulgaria wins.
The government fee is EUR 28 for an electronic filing, plus a EUR 1 minimum capital. A coordinated remote formation, including notarisation, apostille, sworn translation, a registered address, and first-year accounting, runs to an all-in EUR 1,500–3,000 in Year 1, then roughly EUR 1,000–2,500 per year ongoing. The recurring cost is the monthly accounting retainer, not any fee paid to the state, as Bulgaria has no annual government company fee.
Bulgaria applies a flat 10% corporate income tax, one of the lowest standard rates in the European Union and unchanged since 2007. Personal income tax is also a flat 10%. Dividends carry a 5% withholding, with 0% available to qualifying EU and EEA parent companies, so the combined burden on distributed profit is around 15%. The 15% global minimum tax under Pillar Two applies only to groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million, so a standalone company stays at the 10% rate.
The standard VAT rate is 20%, with a reduced 9% rate for defined supplies. The exchange of cryptocurrency is treated as a VAT-exempt financial service, in line with EU case law, so a pure crypto-exchange service generally does not attract VAT. Other services a crypto business provides may be taxable. Mandatory VAT registration is triggered at a turnover of EUR 51,130 from , and many EU-facing businesses register earlier to zero-rate intra-EU business-to-business invoices.
This is the hardest part of a Bulgarian setup. Local banks are largely closed to crypto activity and cautious about foreign-owned companies. A capital accumulation account for depositing share capital at formation is usually obtainable, but a working operating account that tolerates crypto flows often is not, and banks may charge a non-refundable examination fee of EUR 100–500 regardless of outcome. In practice the operating layer is built with EEA-licensed electronic money institutions, while the Bulgarian bank handles the capital deposit and payroll.
Bulgaria was added to the FATF grey list in and remained listed as of , the only EU member state currently on it. The deficiency concerns the prosecution of money laundering, not the legislative framework. Grey-listing imposes no sanctions on Bulgarian companies, but it prompts banks and counterparties to apply enhanced due diligence to Bulgaria-connected business. The practical effect is more documentation and longer onboarding, manageable with proper source-of-funds preparation and the right banking partners.
Yes. The Financial Supervision Commission is Bulgaria’s competent authority for crypto-asset service providers under MiCA, which came into force domestically in . A Bulgarian EOOD can apply for CASP authorisation, with own funds of EUR 50,000 to EUR 150,000 by service class, and once authorised it passports across all 30 EEA states. Firms registered with the tax authority before may operate under the transitional regime only until or a licence decision. Full detail is on the MiCA CASP authorisation guide.
Every Bulgarian company, including a dormant one, must publish annual financial statements in the Commercial Register by 30 June and file a corporate income tax return between 1 March and 30 June. VAT-registered companies file periodic VAT returns, and beneficial-ownership changes must be filed within seven days. A statutory audit is mandatory only above turnover, asset, and headcount thresholds that most new companies do not reach. Late filing attracts penalties, and two consecutive years of unpublished statements with no activity can lead to ex-officio strike-off.
Form your Bulgarian company, banking-ready
Formation, banking, and your licensing path, handled end-to-end with one point of contact. Book a free assessment and we'll map the route.
Not ready to book? Ask Emma first. She answers now, and if it needs a human she takes your details so the consultation starts ahead.
References
Show all references
- Registry Agency, Commercial Register and Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities, portal.registryagency.bg, accessed .
- Republic of Bulgaria, Commerce Act (Търговски закон), e-justice.europa.eu, accessed .
- Point of Single Contact, Company Registration Procedure and State Fees, psc.egov.bg, accessed .
- National Revenue Agency, Taxation and Filing Obligations, nra.bg, accessed .
- Ministry of Finance, Withholding Taxes and Treaty Network, minfin.bg, accessed .
- Bulgarian National Bank, Payment Institutions and Electronic Money Institutions, bnb.bg, accessed .
- Financial Supervision Commission, Crypto-Asset Service Provider Authorisation under MiCA, fsc.bg, accessed .
- Financial Action Task Force, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring: Bulgaria, fatf-gafi.org, accessed .
- MONEYVAL, Fifth-Round Mutual Evaluation and Follow-Up: Bulgaria, coe.int, accessed .
- European Commission, DAC8: Directive on Administrative Cooperation in Taxation, taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu, accessed .
- OECD, Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, oecd.org, accessed .
- PwC, Bulgaria: Corporate Tax Summary, taxsummaries.pwc.com, accessed .
- National Statistical Institute, Business Demography 2023, nsi.bg, accessed .
- Council of the European Union, EU List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions for Tax Purposes, consilium.europa.eu, accessed .
- European Commission, List of High-Risk Third Countries (AML), finance.ec.europa.eu, accessed .
- State Gazette, Crypto-Assets Markets Act, SG 54/2025, dv.parliament.bg, accessed .
- State Gazette, VAT Act Amendments, SG 115/2025, dv.parliament.bg, accessed .
- EY, Bulgaria Enacts Pillar Two Global Minimum Tax Rules, ey.com, accessed .
- European Securities and Markets Authority, Interim MiCA Register, esma.europa.eu, accessed .
- National Revenue Agency, Licensing of Gambling Operators, nra.bg, accessed .
- Deloitte, Bulgaria Highlights: Corporate and Indirect Tax, deloitte.com, accessed .