Dividend tax in Bulgaria: 5% rate, payout and filing

Dividend tax in Bulgaria is a 5% final tax on the gross amount of a dividend to an individual, as set in the decision of the owner or the general meeting (Art. 38, para. 2 and Art. 46, para. 3 of the Personal Income Tax Act, ЗДДФЛ). The company withholds the tax, pays it to the National Revenue Agency (НАП, the NRA) and files an Art. 55 declaration by the end of the month following the quarter of the decision. A dividend to an individual also goes into the annual Art. 73 report. For individuals resident in another EU member state, from 2026 the payer instead reports it with the declaration for the fourth quarter.

Dividend tax in Bulgaria: the rate in 2026

The dividend tax rate in Bulgaria in 2026 is 5% for individuals, resident and non-resident, and for a sole trader (Art. 38, para. 1 and Art. 46, para. 3 of ЗДДФЛ). The base is the gross amount set in the dividend distribution decision (Art. 38, para. 2), not the net amount the recipient sees on the bank account.

Legal entities fall under the Corporate Income Tax Act (ЗКПО). Withholding tax on dividends is also 5% (Art. 200, para. 1 of ЗКПО), but it applies only to some recipients (Art. 194). The draft amendments to ЗДДФЛ and ЗКПО published for public consultation on 23 September 2026, planned to take effect on 1 January 2027, do not change the 5% rate (Art. 46, para. 3 of ЗДДФЛ and Art. 200, para. 1 of ЗКПО). They are drafts and have not been adopted; the other proposals are covered in the post on Bulgarian tax changes for 2027.

The company's profit has already borne 10% corporate tax (Art. 20 of ЗКПО), so the combined burden is 14.5%, not 15%, when taxable profit equals accounting profit:

Who withholds the tax for each type of recipient

The treatment depends on the recipient: individuals are taxed at 5% under ЗДДФЛ, while legal entities bear withholding tax if they are foreign and outside the EU and EEA, or Bulgarian but not traders. A company in the EU or EEA owes the tax only on a hidden profit distribution.

When a Bulgarian company receives a dividend from another Bulgarian company or from a company in the EU or EEA, that income is as a rule not recognised for tax purposes (Art. 27, para. 1, item 1 of ЗКПО). The exceptions are in Art. 27, para. 2, such as hidden profit distribution. When a double tax treaty applies to a foreign recipient, the grounds are certified under Arts. 135-142 of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code (ДОПК). Under the simplified procedure before the payer, the payer also files a declaration under Art. 142, para. 5 of ДОПК by 31 March of the following year.

How to pay a dividend from an EOOD or OOD

A dividend from an EOOD (single-member limited liability company) or OOD (limited liability company) is paid once the annual financial statements (ГФО) are adopted and a profit distribution decision is taken. The order is:

1. The sole owner of the EOOD or the general meeting of the OOD adopts the annual financial statements for the year (Art. 137, para. 1, item 3 and Art. 147, para. 2 of the Commerce Act, ТЗ).
2. The same or a separate decision sets the gross amount to distribute, which year's profit it comes from and who receives how much.
3. The company calculates 5% tax on the gross amount for each individual recipient.
4. The net amount is transferred to the shareholder and the tax is paid to the NRA by the end of the month following the quarter of the decision.
5. By the same date the company files the Art. 55, para. 1 declaration of ЗДДФЛ, electronically (Art. 56, paras. 1 and 2).
6. By 28 February of the following year a dividend to an individual resident in Bulgaria or outside the EU goes into the Art. 73 report (Art. 73, paras. 3 and 4). For an individual resident in another EU member state, the information is filed with the Art. 55 declaration for the fourth quarter instead of the Art. 73 report (Art. 73a, paras. 1 and 4).
7. The annual financial statements are published in the Commercial Register by 30 September of the following year (Art. 38, para. 1, item 1 of the Accountancy Act, ЗСч).

What the profit distribution decision contains

The profit distribution decision states the gross dividend, the year of the profit, the recipients and the amount for each of them. In an OOD the partners receive a share of the profit in proportion to their shares, unless the articles of association provide otherwise (Art. 133, para. 1 of ТЗ).

• 01In an OOD the decision is taken by a majority of more than half of the capital, unless the articles of association provide otherwise (Art. 137, para. 3 of ТЗ).
• 02In an EOOD the sole owner draws up minutes in the same form as for general meeting decisions (Art. 147, para. 2 of ТЗ).
• 03The decision does not need notarial certification: Art. 137, para. 4 of ТЗ requires it for other decisions, such as admitting a partner or changing the capital.
• 04The tax is set on the gross amount in the decision (Art. 38, para. 2 of ЗДДФЛ), so write the gross amount in the decision, not the net.
• 05For joint-stock companies, Art. 247a of ТЗ adds a condition: after the dividend, net assets under the audited and adopted annual financial statements may not fall below the capital, the reserve fund and the mandatory funds.

Can a Bulgarian company pay an interim dividend

The Commerce Act does not regulate an interim (advance) dividend for an OOD or EOOD: the general meeting, or the sole owner, adopts the annual accounts and distributes the profit (Art. 137, para. 1, item 3 of ТЗ). Art. 247a of ТЗ, which governs dividends in a joint-stock company, also ties them to the audited and adopted annual financial statements for the year.

Money paid to the owner without a distribution decision and without another legal basis risks being treated as a hidden profit distribution (§ 1, item 5, letter (a) of the additional provisions of ЗКПО). The amount is then taxed at 5% as a dividend (Art. 38, para. 3 of ЗДДФЛ), and if it was booked as an expense, that expense is not deductible (Art. 26, item 11 of ЗКПО). If you are considering an advance distribution during the year, agree the conditions with your accountant.

When Bulgarian dividend tax is due

Dividend tax is due by the end of the month following the quarter in which the distribution decision was taken (Art. 65, para. 2 of ЗДДФЛ; Art. 202, para. 1 of ЗКПО for legal entities). The payout date does not change the deadline: the tax is due even if the dividend has not been transferred yet. When the last day is a non-working day, the deadline moves to the next working day (Art. 22, para. 7 of ДОПК).

The Art. 55 declaration and the Art. 73 report

A dividend to an individual resident in Bulgaria or outside the EU is declared twice: in the quarterly Art. 55, para. 1 declaration for the tax and in the annual Art. 73, para. 1 report for the income and the tax withheld. For an individual resident in another EU member state, the annual information is filed with the Art. 55 declaration for the fourth quarter instead of the Art. 73 report (Art. 73a, paras. 1 and 4). The NRA uses one form, the „Декларация по чл. 55, ал. 1 от ЗДДФЛ и чл. 201, ал. 1 от ЗКПО за дължими данъци“ (declaration of taxes due under both articles), so dividends to individuals and to legal entities go into one document.

• 01The paying company files the Art. 55 declaration electronically only (Art. 56, para. 2 of ЗДДФЛ), by the tax payment deadline (Art. 56, para. 1).
• 02The Art. 73 report covers income subject to final tax paid to resident and non-resident individuals (Art. 73, para. 1, item 2), except income reported under Art. 73a, including dividends to individuals resident in another EU member state (Art. 73a, para. 4). A dividend goes into the report for the year the decision was taken, not the year it was paid (Art. 73, para. 3).
• 03The report is filed electronically by 28 February of the following year (Art. 73, paras. 4 and 5). For decisions taken in 2026 the deadline is 1 March 2027, because 28 February 2027 is a Sunday.
• 04Failing to withhold or pay the tax on time carries a fine of up to €511.29 (BGN 1,000 in the text of the law), and up to €1,022.58 for a repeat offence (Art. 81 of ЗДДФЛ).
• 05A missing, late or inaccurate Art. 73 report or Art. 73a reporting carries up to €127.82 (BGN 250 in the text of the law) per individual (Art. 82 of ЗДДФЛ).

Dividends to individuals in other EU countries: what State Gazette No. 85 changed

From 1 January 2026, a company that pays a dividend to an individual resident in another EU member state reports that dividend to the NRA once a year, with the Art. 55, para. 1 declaration for the fourth quarter (Art. 73a, para. 1 of ЗДДФЛ). The change was made by the amendment to ДОПК published in State Gazette No. 85 of 15 September 2026 and in force from 1 January 2026.

• 01The typical case is a Bulgarian EOOD or OOD with an individual shareholder who is tax resident in another EU member state.
• 02The first filing is the declaration for the fourth quarter of 2026, due by 1 February 2027 because 31 January is a Sunday. It covers dividends accrued or paid throughout 2026, because the amendment is in force from 1 January 2026.
• 03These dividends are left out of the Art. 73 report (Art. 73a, para. 4 of ЗДДФЛ).
• 04Dividends that a financial institution reports under the automatic exchange of financial account information (Chapter 16, Section IIIa of ДОПК), such as dividends on a custody account, are not reported by the payer.
• 05The 5% tax is still paid and declared every quarter under Art. 65, para. 2 and Art. 55. The new obligation is reporting, not an extra tax.
• 06The NRA sends the data to the state where the recipient is resident (Art. 143z, para. 1, item 8 of ДОПК). The change transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (§ 2b of the additional provisions of ДОПК).

Check with your accountant which recipient details the NRA form asks for when the decision is taken, so you are not chasing them at the end of January.

Example: an EOOD distributes a €30,000 dividend

An EOOD whose sole owner is a Bulgarian resident individual closes 2026 with a net profit of €40,000.00. On 15 March 2027 the owner adopts the 2026 annual financial statements and decides to distribute €30,000.00 as a dividend. The remaining €10,000.00 stays as retained earnings.

If the owner only receives the net amount in June 2027, the tax deadline stays 5 May 2027, because it runs from the decision. The end of April 2027 falls on the Easter and May holidays, so it is safer to pay and file by 29 April.

Common mistakes

• 01Paying before the annual financial statements are adopted and without a decision. The money is not a dividend under a distribution decision and risks being treated as a hidden profit distribution (§ 1, item 5 of the additional provisions of ЗКПО).
• 02Counting the deadline from the payout. The tax and the Art. 55 declaration follow the quarter of the decision (Art. 65, para. 2 of ЗДДФЛ). A decision taken in December 2026 and paid in February 2027 is declared by 1 February 2027.
• 03Skipping the declaration because the dividend has not been paid yet. The obligation arises with the decision, and where an Art. 73 report is required, it is also for the year of the decision (Art. 73, para. 3).
• 04Withholding 5% on a dividend to a Bulgarian commercial company or to an EU company. No tax is due (Art. 194, para. 1 and para. 3, item 3 of ЗКПО), so the recipient receives the full gross amount.
• 05Paying a dividend to a spouse or anyone else who is not a shareholder. The right to the profit belongs to the partner (Art. 123 and Art. 133, para. 1 of ТЗ). Spouses are related persons (§ 1, item 3, letter (a) of the additional provisions of ДОПК), and an amount unrelated to the business paid to a person related to a shareholder falls within the definition of hidden profit distribution (§ 1, item 5, letter (a) of the additional provisions of ЗКПО). The dividend is paid to the owner.
• 06A net amount in the decision. If the decision says "€28,500", the tax is 5% of that figure. Write the gross amount from which the tax is withheld.

In smetni.app

The Accounting module (Business and Enterprise plans) has a Dividends tab for distributions and their related entries. When reconciling a bank statement in the Bank module, an outgoing payment can be recorded as a dividend (the net amount to the recipient) or as dividend tax (5% to the NRA). The Art. 55 declaration and annual information under Art. 73 or 73a are filed with the NRA outside the app. See the Accounting guide, the Bank guide and plans and pricing.