Bulgaria Year-End 2026: What to Close Before 31 December
2026 is the first financial year a Bulgarian company closes in euro, and it ends with one genuinely hard deadline that has nothing to do with tax: by 31 December 2026 the company’s articles must be published in the Commercial Register with the capital expressed in euro. Two other things have fixed windows as well: your VAT turnover counter resets on 1 January under the new calendar-year test, and the last chance to correct this year’s corporate tax advance instalments is mid-November. None of them is difficult. They usually go wrong for the same reason: the owner is abroad, the electronic signature is not ready, and the Christmas holidays leave fewer working days in December than expected.
Current as of 23 September 2026. Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026 at the fixed rate €1 = 1.95583 BGN. The capital deadline follows the Act on the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria; the VAT threshold is Art. 96 of the VAT Act as amended (State Gazette No. 115/30.12.2025); advance instalments are Art. 83–91 of the Corporate Income Tax Act (CITA). General information, not tax or legal advice. Check your own position with an accountant.
The dates that matter
| Date | What |
|---|---|
| 16 November 2026 | last day to change your corporate tax advance instalments (Art. 88 CITA). 15 November is a Sunday |
| 1 December 2026 | Q3 quarterly instalment and the December monthly instalment |
| 31 December 2026 | articles with capital in euro published in the Commercial Register; banks and post offices may stop exchanging leva after this date |
| 1 February 2027 | dividend tax and the Art. 55 return for any distribution decided in Q4 2026 |
| 30 June 2027 | annual corporate tax return for 2026 |
| 30 September 2027 | annual financial statements for 2026 published in the Commercial Register |
1. The euro capital filing: the only hard registry deadline
The Registry Agency already redenominated the capital figure on your company file back in January 2026. What it could not do for you is amend your articles of association. That is on the company, it is due by 31 December 2026, and it is filed as application G1 through the Registry Agency portal.
Two practical notes for foreign owners:
- There is no state fee when the only change is the euro redenomination. This is one of the rare free filings.
- You need a qualified electronic signature (or a lawyer with an express power of attorney). If neither is in place today, that is what will hold you up, not the drafting.
If the share split does not divide cleanly into euro, the mechanics are set out in company capital in euro. Aim to file by the end of November: if the registry officer issues instructions, you want time to answer them.
2. Your VAT turnover counter resets on 1 January
From 1 January 2026 the compulsory registration test changed shape. The threshold is €51,130, and the part people miss is that turnover is now measured over the calendar year, not a rolling 12 months. Cross it and you have 7 days from that day to file with the NRA; registration takes effect from the day after the threshold was exceeded.
So December is a real decision point. If you are running at, say, €47,000 for 2026, a large invoice issued on 20 December can push you over and register you for the last days of the year. The same invoice dated in January starts a fresh counter with a full twelve months of room.
This is only about timing: the invoice must follow the actual supply. But it is worth knowing before you agree a delivery date. The registration rules are in VAT registration in Bulgaria.
3. Fix your advance corporate tax by 16 November
If your company pays advance corporate tax instalments, the forecast you filed in spring is now nine months old. Under Art. 88 CITA you can file a declaration to increase or decrease the instalments; the deadline is 15 November, which in 2026 falls on a Sunday and therefore moves to Monday 16 November. Do not plan around the extra day.
Why it matters: if the tax you eventually owe for 2026 is materially above what you paid in advance, Art. 89 CITA charges interest on the shortfall. Correcting downwards is equally useful, because it frees working capital you would otherwise lend the budget until June 2027.
While you are in the file, check one forward-looking number: your 2025 net sales revenue. It determines your 2027 regime: no instalments up to €153,387.56, quarterly instalments up to €1,533,875.64, monthly above that. The rate itself does not change: Bulgaria’s flat 10% corporate tax is unaffected by the euro changeover.
4. Decide dividends before the quarter closes
Dividend tax is 5%, and the clock runs from the date of the shareholders’ decision, not the date the money moves. A decision taken in Q4 2026 means the tax and the Art. 55 return are due by 1 February 2027.
If a non-resident shareholder intends to claim treaty relief, the certificate of tax residence must cover the year of the distribution and is issued by their own tax authority. Start that request weeks before the decision. Details and the quarterly table are in dividend tax 2026.
5. The close itself: stock-take, leftover leva, comparatives
- Run the stock-take in December while the year-end position is still fresh. It is also when you discover any leva banknotes still in the company cash box. Banks and post offices may charge for exchange since 1 July 2026 and may stop after 31 December; the BNB exchanges leva free, unlimited, indefinitely.
- Comparatives for 2025 are presented redenominated at the fixed rate. Rounding differences must be explained, not smoothed over.
- Reconcile the VAT ledgers against VIES. A mismatch found in January is an accounting task; found in an audit two years later it is an argument.
The publication step that follows is covered in annual financial statements in Bulgaria.
6. Payroll: two changes to carry into 2027
Social security thresholds changed mid-year. From 1 August 2026 the minimum insurable income for the self-insured rose to €620.20 (the same as the minimum wage, which has applied since 1 January), and the maximum monthly insurable income rose to €2,300. If your payroll software was configured in January, confirm it picked up the August cap. A wrong base for five months means filing corrections. Employer cost mechanics are in the cost of employing someone in Bulgaria.
Second, the 2026 State Budget Act (State Gazette No. 69/2026) amended Art. 355 of the Labour Code: from 1 January 2027 length of service accrues in proportion to the statutory working time, so part-time staff accrue it more slowly (four hours a day counts as half a day). If you employ anyone on reduced hours, use the December payroll file to check that recorded working time is accurate.
Three things December cannot compress
A qualified electronic signature for a non-resident, a certificate of tax residence from a foreign tax authority, and any bank KYC refresh all take weeks. If one of them is on your list, September is the month it starts.
Year-end checklist
- File the euro capital articles (G1), aiming for the end of November.
- Check the 2026 VAT turnover against €51,130 and plan December invoicing accordingly.
- File the Art. 88 declaration by 16 November if the forecast has moved.
- Time the dividend decision deliberately, because the quarter of the decision sets the deadline.
- Stock-take, cash count, and exchange any leftover leva.
- Verify payroll picked up the 1 August thresholds.
- Confirm your 2025 net sales revenue so the 2027 advance regime is not a surprise.
We handle the euro capital filing, the year-end close and the 2027 filings as one package for foreign-owned Bulgarian companies. See accounting services and pricing, or tell us where you are on the list from contact.