How Much Does It *Really* Cost to Set Up a Company in Bulgaria in 2027?

Published on October 17, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

A Bulgarian company is one of the cheapest, most tax-light and quickest ways to get a real foothold inside the European Union: a 10% corporate income tax, minimum capital of about €1, a Trade Register that files in business days, and — since the euro adoption — state fees and invoices in euros. On paper, it is hard to beat.

The reason so many founders end up confused or disappointed is not the tax rate. It is the cost. The online answers range all the way from €28 to over €2,000, and both extremes are telling the truth — about different products. Bare state fees are around €28–56. A full A-to-Z local setup, with documents translated and validated, bank-account support and an accountant, realistically starts around €1,500 and climbs with each option you choose: your capital structure, bank, VAT status, registered office, staff, and whether you buy an existing company or build a holding.

Listen to this guide

This guide gives you the real 2027 numbers, a three-level cost grid, and a seven-point check-list to verify any provider before you pay. If you read only one summary, read the “In Summary” at the end.

Good to know: Bulgaria applies one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the EU (10%). Since the euro adoption, the Registry Agency expresses its state fees in EUR, and the official minimum capital stays symbolic (around €1).

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Why choose Bulgaria in 2027?

For a foreign founder, Bulgaria answers a specific question. But before you commit, it is worth reading how Bulgaria compares with Estonia, Cyprus and Ireland. The country answers this specific question: how do I get an EU-registered company, with a genuinely light tax bill and low operating costs, in weeks rather than months?

The three structural advantages:

• Taxes. Corporate income tax 10%; personal income tax 10%; dividend tax 5% (a 2026 budget proposal to raise it to 10% has not been enacted). There is no withholding-heavy complexity at the level of many neighbours.
• EU and eurozone access. Bulgaria is in the EU, has adopted the euro, and its companies trade freely across the single market. For a remote founder, that removes the “is the country really inside the EU?” question entirely.
• Operating costs. Payroll and rents are well below Western European levels, which matters in year one when every euro of burn counts.

None of this is “passive money for nothing”. The regime is light because the country is small and its domestic market limited. The savings are real, but they depend on the company actually being set up and run correctly — which brings us to cost.

Advantages and disadvantages of a Bulgarian company

Advantages

• 10% corporate income tax and 10% personal income tax — low and stable for years.
• EU membership + eurozone: single-market access, no currency mismatch since adoption.
• ~€1 minimum capital and quick registration (Trade Register files in 3–5 business days).
• Low payroll, low rents, low admin burden compared to Western Europe.

Disadvantages

• Language and legal barrier. Official documents must be in Bulgarian; a mistranslated or unvalidated document can block a filing or create a legal problem later.
• Banking for non-residents can be slow and comes with compliance costs (historically €350–€1,000+ for the validation process).
• Small domestic market. Most founders work pan-EU or remote — the local market alone is limited.
• Substance expectations. If you run the company entirely from your country of residence, you must keep governance, contracts and records coherent, or risk the structure being seen as managed from there.

What’s new for 2027 (the freshness you can’t skip)

Three things make any 2025-era article on this topic outdated:

1. Euro adoption. Bulgaria joined the eurozone; the Registry Agency’s fees are now published and charged in EUR (the tariff was re-denominated). Any old guide quoting lev-only figures is stale.
2. Dividend tax in flux. The dividend tax remains 5% as of this update. A 2026 budget proposal to raise it to 10% is under discussion but has not been enacted — we do not present it as law. If a change is voted before you read this, re-check the rate.
3. Thresholds need re-dating. The VAT registration threshold is €51,130 (BGN 100,000) of domestic turnover per calendar year since 1 January 2026; confirm the 2027 figure before acting. The standard VAT rate is 20%. The annual corporate income tax return is due before 30 June.

Getting these right is the difference between an article that is a trusted 2027 resource and one that quietly repeats last year’s data.

The cost of setting up a company in Bulgaria (2027): three levels

Here is the decision grid most guides skip. Your total is the sum of three distinct levels, not one number in a headline:

Level	What it covers	2027 range
1. Bare administration	Online filing with the Trade Register, state fees, statutory formalities	~€28–€56 (state fees)
2. Full A-to-Z local setup	A lawyer/firm that drafts, translates, notarises, files, opens the bank account and sets up accounting	~€1,500+ baseline; commonly €1,500–€2,000
3. Owner’s options	Existing-company takeover, holding structure, bank account, VAT, registered office, staff, substance	depends entirely on the project

The €28–€56 and even the €100–€300 “formation packages” you find on search are, almost always, Level 1 only: the state fee, plus sometimes a basic filing service. They do not include Bulgarian-validated documents, the bank opening, an accountant, or ongoing support.

That is not a criticism of anyone. It is a warning about comparing two different products: a self-service filing vs a managed setup. If your plan is a simple single-member EOOD you fully understand, Level 1 may be enough. If you want it to work — correct documents, a bank account that opens, filings on time — you are buying Level 2.

Official state fees in 2027 (table)

Item	Amount	Source
Minimum statutory capital (EOOD/OOD)	BGN 2 / ~€1	Ministry of Economy EN handbook
Paid-in requirement if capital > minimum	≥ 70% at registration	Ministry of Economy EN handbook
AD/EAD registration, filed on site	BGN 360	Ministry of Economy EN handbook
AD/EAD with banking or insurance activity	BGN 1,300	Ministry of Economy EN handbook
Registry online vs on-site filing fee	~€28 / ~€56	Registry Agency tariff

These are the confirmed official magnitudes. Because fees change, re-confirm them on the Registry Agency tariff at publication — but the difference between the state fee and a real setup is the point, not the exact cent.

What the cheap packages don’t tell you (neutrally)

A €28–€100 “formation” gets you the registration. The traps it leaves you with are mapped in the pitfalls that derail a Bulgarian company. It does not necessarily get you:

• Legally valid Bulgarian-language documents. One untranslated, mistranslated or un-validated document can block a filing — or invalidate it later.
• A bank account that actually opens. For a non-resident, opening an account is time-consuming and subject to compliance costs (historically €350–€1,000+). A registration without a working bank account is a company that can’t operate.
• An accountant and the annual filings. These are running obligations, not a one-off.
• A registered office when you have no Bulgarian address (typically €1,500–€2,400/year).
• Support that lasts. A structure must stay compliant at year one, two and five.

“Cheap” is a valid choice if you know exactly what you are buying and can handle the administration yourself. The risk is buying “cheap” thinking you are buying “managed”.

Three real budgets (2027 scenarios)

Scenario	What you get	Realistic range
DIY, fully remote	You file online, prepare the documents, deal with the bank yourself	from ~€28–€100 (state fee + tools) — high risk if documents, language or bank are mishandled
Full-service local setup	Lawyer + accountant + setup + translation/validation + bank support + first months of compliance	~€1,500–€2,000
Takeover or holding	Buying an existing company, or creating a holding for multiple owners/investors	higher — depends on due diligence and structuring

A worked example: solo founder, year one

A realistic full-service path for a solo founder with a modest EOOD:

Item	Year-1 estimate
Full-service setup (lawyer + accountant + docs + bank support)	~€1,500–€2,000
Registered office (if no premises)	€1,500–€2,400
Accounting (monthly + annual filing)	monthly fee (get an itemised quote)
Bank account (maintenance + one-off compliance)	~€10–€20/month + deposit + €350–1,000 foreigner compliance
Corporate income tax on profit	10%
Dividend tax when distributing	5%

That is why the “it costs €56 to register” ads and reality are both true — and why “€1,500+” is the honest planning number for most people who want a working company.

The recurring costs you’ll actually pay in year 1–2

Itemised line by line in the full Bulgarian company cost breakdown.

Cost	Range (2027)
Accounting / annual filings	monthly + annual — itemised quote
Bank account (non-resident)	~€10–€20/month + deposit (often ~€100) ; foreigner compliance €350–1,000+
Registered office	~€1,500–€2,400/year if no premises
Annual corporate income tax return	deadline before 30 June
Corporate income tax (on profit)	10%
Dividend tax (when distributing)	5% (a 2026 budget proposal to raise it to 10% has not been enacted)

The one-off setup is the headline; the recurring costs are the real budget and the place most surprises live. Get every recurring line quoted in writing before you commit.

How to verify a provider before you pay (check-list)

Before committing, ask for — and verify — at least these:

1. A named licensed lawyer and a registered accounting firm. Anyone can call themselves a “company formation provider”; fewer are named lawyers with a licence you can check.
2. A written, itemised fee quote: state fees vs professional fees vs amendments, and what happens if a document must be re-filed. Watch for hidden “per document” extras.
3. The exact legal form they recommend and why (EOOD vs OOD vs AD), matched to your case — not a one-size template.
4. A real process for opening the bank account as a non-resident: named banks, expected timeline, compliance costs in writing. This is the step that fails most.
5. References you can call — not testimonials on their own site. Ask for a current client in a similar situation.
6. Who signs and who is liable if something fails, and what the contract says about liability, not just fees.
7. Whether documents are translated and validated in Bulgarian and kept retrievable, and who owns them.

A serious provider answers all seven in writing. If any answer is vague, treat it as a red flag. This is a decision about your money and your legal entity — a few extra days of checking cost far less than re-doing a failed setup.

Run your company from abroad without the tax risk (direction / substance)

You can be a non-resident owner-manager of a Bulgarian company, and the regime is genuinely light. But a common and expensive trap is this: a founder incorporates in Bulgaria and then continues to make every decision, sign every contract and keep every record from their country of residence. In that situation, the tax administration of the residence country can argue the company is effectively managed there — and tax it accordingly, undoing the whole point.

And if your real goal is to live there, remember that a company does not grant a residence permit: see company creation versus residence in Bulgaria. The practical rule is coherence, not showmanship:

• Keep governance real: decisions, minutes and corporate records done where the company is managed.
• Keep the contracts, banks and client base consistent with the company’s story.
• Keep documents and filings current — a dormant-but-messy company is a liability, not an asset.

We cover this in detail in our guide on direction effective and substance — it is the single most common way a “cheap Bulgarian company” stops being cheap.

EOOD, OOD or AD — which one fits?

	EOOD	OOD	AD/EAD
Owners	Single shareholder	Several shareholders	Public / one-person joint-stock
Typical use	Solo founder, holding	Multi-founder startup	Companies that may raise capital
Minimum capital	~€1 symbolic	~€1 symbolic	higher; bank/insurance specific

For most solo founders, an EOOD is the natural first step: one shareholder, simple management. An OOD is the multi-owner version. An AD matters if you expect to raise capital later. The right choice depends on who is involved and your financing plans — see our which legal form guide for the full comparison.

Administrative steps to set up a company in Bulgaria

The practical sequence (2–4 weeks in total; the registration itself 3–5 business days). For the full list of what to verify before you file, see the 20-point checklist before opening a Bulgarian company:

1. Choose the legal form (EOOD / OOD / AD) and check the registered name is available.
2. Reserve the company name with the Registry Agency — quick, and prevents surprises.
3. Prepare the incorporation documents in Bulgarian, notarised/validated as applicable. This is exactly where Level 1 and Level 2 diverge: a template you don’t understand vs documents a professional validates.
4. Open a bank account and deposit capital above the minimum (≥70% paid-in if capital > minimum). For a non-resident, plan extra time and compliance costs.
5. Register with the Trade Register (Commercial Register) — online or on site.
6. Obtain a VAT number once your turnover exceeds the threshold (or voluntarily, if useful).

Banks for businesses in Bulgaria

Local banks (incl. those with international presence) serve corporate accounts; for non-residents expect compliance checks, possibly higher minimums, and fees that a 2027 quote will make concrete. The bank step is where most “3-day setups” stretch to 3 weeks. See our dedicated guide on opening a corporate bank account in Bulgaria.

Promising sectors worth a closer look

The sectors that keep attracting founders to Bulgaria — for online and cross-border models, see running a 100% online activity from Bulgaria:

• IT and outsourcing — skilled technical talent, moderate salaries.
• Tourism, e-commerce and online services — low setup cost, pan-EU reach.
• Agri-food and agriculture — production and logistics niches.
• Renewable energy and e-mobility — EU funding and rising demand.
• Automotive and manufacturing and health/biotech — supply-chain and R&D niches.

None of these is “guaranteed” — whether one fits you depends on your market and where your customers are. The sector pages in this cluster go deeper on each.

FAQ

Do I need to reside in Bulgaria to own a Bulgarian company?

No. Foreigners can own and manage a Bulgarian company without Bulgarian residence. But “managing from abroad” raises substance questions covered in the direction section.

How much is the minimum capital?

Statutorily ~€1 (BGN 2). If you set more, at least 70% must be paid in at registration.

How long does registration take?

The Trade Register generally files in 3–5 business days; the full process (documents, bank, VAT) typically 2–4 weeks.

What are the real taxes?

Corporate income tax 10%, personal income tax 10%, dividend tax 5% (a 2026 proposal to raise it to 10% has not been enacted), standard VAT 20%.

How much should I budget for a full setup?

Realistically ~€1,500–€2,000 for a full-service setup plus running costs (accountant, bank, registered office). The bare state registration alone is ~€28–€56 — but that is a different product.

Can I do it fully online?

Filing can be done online with a qualified electronic signature. The risk sits in the documents and the bank opening — which is why the “full-service” budget exists.

How do I check a provider?

Use the seven-point check-list: named lawyer, itemised quote, form rationale, bank process, references, liability, document handling.

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Don’t guess what your Bulgarian company will really cost. The ads say €56; the real, working setup starts around €1,500 — and a single mistake in the documents, the bank or the compliance can turn a “cheap” company into the most expensive one you never wanted. Get a real expert for your company formation in Bulgaria: a vetted local partner and an independent check, so you know the exact price before you commit — not after.

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Sources: Ministry of Economy of Bulgaria — Business Handbook · Registry Agency of Bulgaria — fees · NRA — taxes