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 are quietly time-boxed 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. All of them fail the same way: the owner is abroad, the electronic signature is not ready, and December turns out to be four working weeks long.
Current as of 3 September 2026. Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026 at the fixed rate €1 = 1.95583 BGN. The capital deadline follows the Euro Introduction Act (ЗВЕРБ); the VAT threshold is art. 96 ЗДДС as amended (State Gazette 115/30.12.2025); advance instalments are art. 83–91 ЗКПО. 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 ЗКПО). 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 Г1 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 your critical path — 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 — this is the part people miss — turnover is now measured over the calendar year, not a rolling 12 months. Cross it and you have 7 days 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.
That is a timing choice, not a scheme — 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 ЗКПО 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 ЗКПО charges interest on the shortfall. Correcting downwards is equally useful — 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, not after
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, not in March. 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 self-employed persons and the minimum wage are €620.20, and the maximum monthly insurable income is €2,300. If your payroll software was configured in January, confirm it picked up the August figures — a wrong base for five months is a correction, not a rounding error. Employer cost mechanics are in the cost of employing someone in Bulgaria.
Second, from 1 January 2027 length of service under the Labour Code is calculated in hours, accruing proportionally for part-time staff. 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 (Г1) — target 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.
- Take the dividend decision knowingly — 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.