VAT and invoicing in Bulgaria (2026): rates, euro and invoices

2026 is a special year for Bulgarian businesses: the country switched from the lev to the euro on 1 January, the VAT registration threshold was reset in euro and is now measured per calendar year, and the EU small-enterprise scheme became available. This guide explains what a small business in Bulgaria needs to know about VAT and invoicing today: the rates, registration, monthly returns, what an invoice must contain, how to correct it, fiscal receipts and what is coming on e-invoicing. Rates and dates are as of October 2026.

Bulgarian VAT at a glance

The tax is данък върху добавената стойност (ДДС), governed by the Value Added Tax Act (Закон за данък върху добавената стойност, ЗДДС) and administered by the National Revenue Agency (Национална агенция за приходите, НАП, NRA in English).

The temporary 9% rate for tourist services and sports facilities ended on 30 June 2024. If your price list dates from before 2025, check it.

The euro changeover: what it means for your invoices

The Bulgarian National Bank exchanges lev banknotes and coins free of charge with no deadline.

For invoicing, the key rule is in Art. 114(5) of the VAT Act: you may state amounts in any currency, but the tax base and the VAT must be shown in euro. The VAT registration threshold is now set in euro too. When you convert old lev amounts, for example in contracts or price lists, always use the fixed rate of 1.95583, and ask your accountant how to handle credit notes for invoices originally issued in lev.

Who must register for VAT

• Threshold: a business established in Bulgaria must register when its taxable turnover exceeds EUR 51,130. Since 1 January 2026 the turnover is counted per calendar year (it used to be any 12 consecutive months).
• Deadline: apply to the NRA within 7 days of exceeding the threshold.
• Voluntary registration is possible whatever your turnover.
• EU small enterprises: since 1 January 2026 a small business with total EU turnover of no more than EUR 100,000 can use the optional EU scheme to stay exempt in other EU countries.
• Foreign businesses generally register before their first taxable supply in Bulgaria, unless they use the OSS or the EU small-enterprise scheme; businesses from outside the EU may need an accredited representative.
• Cash accounting: businesses with taxable turnover below EUR 500,000 in 12 months can opt to pay VAT when their customers pay, and deduct VAT when they pay their suppliers.

Once registered, your VAT number carries the prefix BG.

VAT returns, ledgers and payment

Bulgaria has one tax period for everyone: the calendar month.

Everything is filed electronically. Issued documents go into the sales ledger of the month in which they were issued; received invoices go into the purchase ledger, generally within 12 tax periods of their issue.

Invoices: what Bulgarian law requires

Art. 114(1) of the VAT Act lists what a tax invoice (данъчна фактура) must contain:

1. 1the title of the document (“Фактура”)
2. 2a sequential number of up to 10 digits, Arabic numerals only, in one or more series
3. 3the issue date
4. 4the supplier's name, address and identification number (VAT number or tax ID)
5. 5the customer's name, address and identifier (Bulgarian or EU VAT number, or tax ID)
6. 6the quantity and type of goods or the type of service
7. 7the date of the tax event (supply) or of the advance payment
8. 8the unit price without VAT, the tax base and any discounts not included in the price
9. 9the VAT rate, or for a zero rate or exemption, the legal basis
10. 10the VAT amount and the total payable, if it differs from tax base plus VAT

Where the customer accounts for the VAT, the invoice shows no rate or amount but the words “обратно начисляване” (reverse charge) and the legal basis.

When to issue: within 5 days of the tax event or of receiving an advance payment (Art. 113). For intra-EU supplies of goods, by the 15th of the following month. No invoice is required in some cases, such as sales to private individuals who are not registered for VAT.

Small invoices: when the tax base plus VAT is no more than EUR 100, some details, such as the VAT rate, may be left out, except for cross-border, intra-EU and distance sales.

Corrections:

• When the tax base changes or a supply is cancelled, issue a debit note (increase) or credit note (decrease or cancellation) within 5 days, referring to the original invoice (Art. 115).
• An invoice may not be amended or supplemented. An invoice with an error, such as a wrong rate or VAT charged when it should not have been, is cancelled and a new one is issued. If the wrong invoice was already entered in the ledgers, both parties sign a cancellation record stating the reason and the numbers and dates of the old and new documents (Art. 116).

Electronic invoices are allowed with the customer's written or tacit consent and count as issued when you make them available to the customer.

Record keeping: keep invoices and other tax documents in their original form, paper or electronic, for five years after the limitation period for the related tax liability expires (Art. 121), keeping them authentic, intact and legible throughout.

Fiscal receipts and e-invoicing

Fiscal receipts: sales made at a commercial site must be registered with a fiscal receipt from a fiscal device, or a system receipt from an integrated sales management system, whether or not the customer also asks for an invoice (Art. 118). The detailed rules are set in a Ministry of Finance ordinance. Electronic receipts are allowed in certain cases, such as online sales.

E-invoicing: Bulgaria has no mandatory e-invoicing between businesses or to consumers. Public bodies have had to accept structured e-invoices (EN 16931) since 1 November 2019. According to the European Commission, Bulgaria has launched a public consultation on a mandatory clearance model, without a date yet. At EU level, the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package brings e-invoicing and digital reporting for cross-border B2B sales from 1 July 2030.

Worked example in euros

A small design studio in Plovdiv, registered for VAT, invoices a client in September:

In the same month it buys a laptop for EUR 1,000.00 plus EUR 200.00 VAT (20%) and a hotel night for a client meeting for EUR 100.00 plus EUR 9.00 VAT (9%), so its input VAT is EUR 209.00.

• Output VAT: EUR 400.00
• Input VAT: EUR 209.00
• VAT payable by 14 October: EUR 400.00 − EUR 209.00 = EUR 191.00

To find the VAT inside a gross price at 20%, divide by 6: EUR 2,400 ÷ 6 = EUR 400.

Common mistakes

1. 1Showing VAT only in lev on invoices issued in 2026; the tax base and VAT must be in euro.
2. 2Converting lev amounts at a rounded rate instead of 1.95583.
3. 3Still charging 9% on restaurant meals: the rate has been 20% since 1 January 2025.
4. 4Missing the 7-day registration deadline after crossing EUR 51,130, now counted per calendar year.
5. 5Issuing invoices late: 5 days from the tax event, and 5 days for credit and debit notes.
6. 6Editing a sent invoice instead of issuing a note or cancelling it properly.
7. 7Filing the return without the ledgers, or after the 14th.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly keeps invoicing, expenses and VAT records together:

• sequential invoice numbering per series and the VAT rates of your organisation's country on every invoice
• credit notes linked to the original invoice
• invoice PDFs in your client's language, multiple currencies and a card payment link on the invoice
• you see when an invoice was opened, and automatic reminders go out 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date
• recurring invoices, and scanning receipts with the VAT read automatically
• sales and purchase VAT books per rate, including exports, reverse charge and intra-EU purchases, with VAT reports for you and your accountant and Excel and PDF exports
• importing clients, suppliers, products and opening balances from Excel or CSV, and a mobile app

Clientlly does not file VAT returns or ledgers with the NRA and is not a fiscal device or an integrated sales management system; it prepares the figures you and your accountant need. See the invoicing features, the accounting module and our guide to getting paid faster.