For investors
Investing on Bulgaria's southern coast
By Svetlana Junge · updated
A factual orientation for investors: usage types, seasonality, management and tax structure — without yield promises. Svetlana provides the concrete assessment in person.
Usage types
Own use, holiday use with seasonal letting, or longer-term letting — each option places different demands on location, property type and management.
Seasonality
The southern coast thrives mainly in summer (peak roughly May to September), with quieter shoulder and winter months. This shapes occupancy and the running of holiday properties.
On-site management
Whether self-managed or via a local manager: handover, cleaning, keys, maintenance and guest or tenant support can be organised through Svetlana's network.
Taxes & structure
Rental income is taxable; acquiring land may require a Bulgarian company (especially for non-EU citizens). Details in the residence guide; binding advice with a tax adviser and notary.
European Broadcasting Union, announcement of 13 August 2026
Eurovision 2027 in Burgas
On 13 August 2026 the European Broadcasting Union and Bulgarian National Television confirmed Burgas as host city of the 71st Eurovision Song Contest. Four cities applied; Plovdiv and Varna went out first, Sofia last.
Three shows in May 2027
Semi-finals on Tuesday 11 and Thursday 13 May, the grand final on Saturday 15 May, plus six preview shows between 10 and 15 May.
Arena Burgas
The venue is the city's multi-purpose arena, opened in 2023, some ten kilometres from Burgas airport.
Why Burgas
The broadcasting union cites venue capacity, accommodation, transport and international connectivity, and the city's commitment as the deciding criteria.
132 million viewers
That is what the 2026 contest reached across 35 measured television markets. In May 2027 this coastline is on screen.
What this means for owners: flights, accommodation and transport links are being expanded ahead of May 2027, and that expansion stays afterwards. The demand peak around the shows themselves is one exceptional week. Anyone buying now should base their sums on steady annual rents rather than on it. The lasting part is the visibility of a coast that few people abroad had noticed until now.
EBU ↗A springboard in south-east Europe
Bulgaria sits on the EU's south-eastern edge — with the full advantages of the single market and, at the same time, short routes into the markets beyond it. Based in Burgas, you serve both worlds.
- ·Turkey on the doorstep: the Malko Tarnovo border crossing lies about 80 km south of Burgas — a good hour of pure driving time. From there, the land route leads straight into Asia Minor.
- ·Istanbul with two major airports: Istanbul Airport (IST) in around 4 hours, Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) in around 4.5 to 5 hours of pure driving time — and onward to Asia on hub schedules.
- ·Serbia and North Macedonia — both outside the EU — are reached via the A1 Trakia motorway through Sofia: the Kalotina crossing in about 4.5 hours, Gyueshevo in about 5.5 hours of pure driving time.
- ·The Danube forms Bulgaria's northern border: an inland waterway that reaches Central Europe and the North Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.
- ·Ferry to Georgia: a weekly ro-ro and passenger line runs from the port of Burgas to Batumi (operator PB Management) — the bridge to the Caucasus and towards Central Asia. pbm.bg ↗
- ·Ferry to Istanbul: Turkish operator İDO has announced the Burgas–Istanbul catamaran line (around 5 hours) and officially opened it in June 2025; the start of scheduled service is still pending. BTA ↗
Driving times: pure car travel time excluding border clearance, based on OpenStreetMap routing (as of 2026). Ferry connections: operator information and the BTA news agency.
Tax locations compared
100,000 euros of profit, six locations, one question: how much reaches the shareholder? The table shows net inflow rather than headline rates, after tax at both levels and after the running cost of a structure.
| Location | Tax | Costs | Net inflow | Net inflow % | Tax, cumulative | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates*** | 1.063 € | 3.500 € | 95.437 € | 95,4 % | 1,06 % | 5 |
| Malta* | 5.000 € | 10.000 € | 85.000 € | 85,0 % | 5,0 % | 5 |
| Bulgaria | 14.500 € | 2.500 € | 83.000 € | 83,0 % | 14,5 % | 1 |
| Cyprus** | 17.250 € | 4.000 € | 78.750 € | 78,7 % | 17,25 % | 2 |
| Georgia | 19.250 € | 2.500 € | 78.250 € | 78,2 % | 19,25 % | 4 |
| Hungary | 25.385 € | 3.000 € | 71.615 € | 71,6 % | 25,39 % | 2 |
Applies where the shareholder is resident in the country named in the row. Tax is cumulative across company and shareholder level. Complexity 1 to 5 rates legal certainty, currency risk and waiting times.
* The 5 percent in Malta only arrives through a refund. The company pays 35 percent first, the shareholder reclaims 30 points by application, needs a tax number of their own and waits six to nine months. How German tax offices treat this is not settled.
** Cyprus: this includes 15 percent corporate tax and a 2.65 percent contribution to the GESY health system on the distribution. The contribution follows tax residence and does not fall away for non-domiciled persons either.
*** The Emirates levy no income tax; corporate tax is 9 percent above an allowance of 375,000 dirham, and 0 percent in a free zone. The double taxation treaty with Germany expired on 31 December 2021 and was not replaced. Without a treaty, the extended limited tax liability under section 2 AStG applies for ten years with no treaty cap. A residence visa lapses after 180 days of continuous absence.
Hungary: the 9 percent corporate tax applies only while profit stays inside the company. On distribution, 15 percent personal income tax and the 13 percent social contribution tax up to a ceiling of 24 minimum wages are added, together 25.39 percent. The local business tax of up to 2 percent is not included.
Malta and Cyprus are islands with no land connection. Cyprus is not part of the Schengen area: crossing the border involves personal checks in both directions. Georgia lies outside the European Union, with the political risks that come with it.
For scale: the same calculation in Germany produces a total burden of 48.57 percent, of which 30.14 percent falls at company level, using the national average trade tax multiplier of 409 percent. Anyone who stays resident in Germany lands between 30 and just over 37 percent at every one of these locations: residence weighs more than the company seat.
General information, not tax advice.
No yield or capital-growth promises. Svetlana assesses your plan honestly and names both opportunities and risks.
