News from Bulgaria, page 9

Anyone holding property through a Bulgarian company should know Article 204 (1) point 4 of the Corporate Income Tax Act: it taxes in-kind expenses on owned, rented or otherwise available assets that are made available for private use by a managing director, an employee or a person providing personal labour. The rate under Article 216 (2) is three per cent, while corporate income tax under Article 20 is ten per cent. Under Article 206 (2) this expense tax is final; the expense and the tax are recognised in the year they are booked and create no timing difference. It is declared under Article 217 (1) with the annual corporate tax return and paid under Article 217 (2) by 30 June of the following year. The practical order is: fix the share of private use in writing before the first invoice, have electricity, water and internet invoiced to the company name with its identification number, document the mileage log or the floor area split, and set aside the reserve for 30 June month by month.

On 9 September the European Commission tabled its Affordable Housing Act. It has two parts: a regulation creating a common framework for assessing and justifying housing-related measures, with requirements on proportionality, transparency and review, and a recommendation supporting an expansion of supply. It targets areas where demand significantly exceeds supply, and the Commission counts islands and tourist destinations among them alongside cities and metropolitan areas. The draft now enters the ordinary legislative procedure.

The EU act tabled on 9 September allows restrictions on short-term rentals under four conditions only. The activity must demonstrably reduce the long-term housing stock, the adverse effect on affordability and availability must have persisted for at least three years, less restrictive alternatives must have proved ineffective, and the requirements of the EU Short-Term Rental Regulation must be applied. Authorities identify areas under housing stress using a standardised methodology and show that any restriction is targeted, necessary and proportionate. Eurobarometer data cited in the proposal puts the share of city dwellers who see housing as an immediate and urgent problem at more than 50 per cent.

On 9 September the Bulgarian cabinet approved a budget of 170 million euros in compensation for energy-intensive electricity users. The scheme runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, covers up to 50 per cent of the cost of electricity consumed, and applies only where the underlying price is at least 50 euros per megawatt hour. Half of the aid must be reinvested in emission-reduction measures. The legal basis is Decree No 237 and the 2022 EU state aid guidelines for climate and energy; funding comes from the Electricity System Security Fund.

Assessment: This is no direct relief for private owners, but it is a signal for Burgas as a location: the region industrial employers keep a predictable electricity cost base until mid-2027. Where employment holds, demand for year-round lettings holds too, and that is what carries the yield outside the season. The risk I see is that the 50 euro per megawatt hour floor leaves the scheme idle in calm market phases.

The national average for diesel stood at 1.87 euros a litre on 9 September, one cent above the previous day, with individual filling stations in the capital asking 1.92 euros. Petrol was unchanged at 1.61 euros on average and autogas at 0.67 euros a litre. Premium diesel averages 2.08 euros and reaches 2.14 euros at some stations, while premium petrol at 1.83 euros sits below ordinary diesel. For comparison, on 9 January petrol averaged 1.23 euros and diesel 1.25 euros, so the rise since then is 38 and 62 cents respectively. The figures come from the Fuelo price platform.

TUI Nordic is bringing forward the start of its flight programme from Stockholm to Burgas and will operate an additional direct flight from Stockholm Arlanda on 10 May 2027. Burgas Airport announced the plan. The date falls before the main part of the Eurovision 2027 song contest programme, so Swedish travellers can stay in the country for the whole week. For the southern coast the earlier start means an extra way in from early May rather than only in high season.

On 9 September the Municipality of Nesebar announced that Order No 2940 of 3 September 2026 approved the amendment of the detailed development plan for regulated plot V-956 in block 56 of Obzor, cadastral identifier 53045.501.400. The zone changes from purely residential to mixed multifunctional use, and the designation from housing construction to car servicing, vehicle testing, shops and housing. The parameters move with it: permitted height falls from 14.00 to 12.00 metres over one to four storeys, the minimum green area from 40 to 30 per cent and the floor area ratio from 2.00 to 1.5, while built density stays at 50 per cent. The plan can be inspected at the spatial planning department in the Obzor town hall, 2 Ivan Vazov Street, room 8.

On 9 September the Municipality of Sozopol published a draft detailed development plan for the plot with identifier 67800.53.23 in the Mapi locality. It provides for a change of designation and the creation of two new regulated plots, numbered VI-53.267 and VIII-53.268, both for resort use and supporting activities. Protection zone B under the Black Sea Coast Act applies together with development zone Ok/12: height up to 10.00 metres, built density up to 30 per cent, floor area ratio up to 1.0 and a minimum of 50 per cent green space, half of which must be tree cover. A new cul-de-sac with a turning area of 12 by 8.87 metres is planned in addition. Objections may be lodged within 14 days of publication; the notice stays posted until 23 September 2026.

On Sunday 13 September 2026 the stage season on Sveta Anastasia island closes with a concert by the Cuban Spirit Project. The boat leaves Magazia 1 at 18:00 that evening, earlier than on the other dates of the season. Tickets are available through the Burgas municipal tourism portal and at the tourist information centre by the Clock. The island lies some six kilometres off Burgas and is reached from the landing stage in the port.

On 9 September the National Statistical Institute published the monthly fiscal data for July 2026. In the central government sub-sector, revenue of 3,850.52 million euros stands against expenditure of 3,513.57 million euros. The social security funds sub-sector collected 1,736.46 million euros and spent 1,759.92 million euros, so here spending exceeds income. The series follows European accounting methodology and forms the numerical basis for the autumn negotiations on contribution bases, tax rates and fees.

Assessment: For owners the telling line in this release is the social security one. A sub-sector that pays out more than it collects in July puts pressure on contribution bases and rates, and that reaches everyone who runs a company here or declares rental income. I follow the series month by month because it runs weeks ahead of the draft budget.

On 9 September the cabinet approved amendments to the Labour Code that will set the minimum wage by four criteria: its purchasing power, the cost of living, the general level and growth rate of wages, and labour productivity. The proposal for the following year must be tabled by 15 August each year, after negotiations with the nationally representative organisations of employees and employers. Adequacy is reviewed every three years; the target is a minimum wage that reaches both 60 per cent of the median wage and the level of the cost of living. The National Statistical Institute is to develop the methodology for calculating the cost of living.

Amendments to the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code were adopted at second reading on 9 September, transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2226. Providers of crypto-asset services must register and report electronically once a year who trades with them: name, address, date and place of birth, state of tax residence, tax number, and the values and unit numbers of transactions, split into purchases, sales, exchanges, payments for goods and services, and transfers. The deadline is 30 June of the following year, and the exchange with the tax administrations of member states and partner jurisdictions takes place within nine months of the year end. Anyone who fails to supply the required details after two requests and a 60-day period has their transactions restricted by the provider.

The National Bank puts the assets of Bulgaria's pension funds at 17.254 billion euros as at 30 June 2026, 16.8 per cent more than a year earlier. Debt securities account for 9.989 billion euros, shares and equity for 3.209 billion with growth of 37.8 per cent, and investment and money market funds for 2.931 billion with growth of 52.8 per cent. Domestic holdings amount to 5.168 billion euros, up 9.2 per cent, holdings elsewhere in the euro area to 6.336 billion, up 21.1 per cent, and holdings outside it to 3.481 billion, up 27.6 per cent. Pension entitlements of 17.176 billion euros make up 99.5 per cent of liabilities.

The benchmark price for natural gas at the Dutch TTF hub reached 79.11 euros per megawatt hour on 9 September, its highest level since the end of 2022; it later traded at 78.64 euros, 1.22 per cent above the previous session. The price has close to doubled since the start of July. European Union storage stood at 66.9 per cent on 7 September, Bulgarian storage at 64.75 per cent, German at around 54 and Dutch at around 50 per cent. For comparison, in 2022 the price peaked above 300 euros per megawatt hour.

Assessment: On the southern coast natural gas is rarely the heating source; the exchange price works through the electricity price and the running costs of the plant in the complex. Anyone taking over a flat with a gas connection or gas-fired central supply should look at the bills for the past two winters before signing. With a heat pump or split air conditioning it is the electricity tariff that decides, and there it pays to check the meter readings and the connected load.

The municipality of Burgas has completed several education building projects for the 2026/27 school year. In the coastal district of Kraymorie a new building for the “Al. G. Kodzhakafaliyata“school offers eight classrooms, specialist rooms, a STEM centre, a gym, a swimming pool and medical and speech therapy rooms. “Vasil Aprilov“school has gained a new wing with 104 places and a lecture room for 116, and the “Alen Mak“kindergarten in Sarafovo an extension for two groups with 50 places for children aged three to seven. A branch of the “Nadezhda“kindergarten in the Pobeda district adds another 50 places, and the site for a new build in the Vetren district has already been designated.

The municipal council of Karnobat adopted the 2026 budget unanimously on 9 September: more than 34 million euros, rising above 35 million after the expected updates, and some 4.5 million more than in 2025. Local taxes and fees stay unchanged, although the municipality reports food prices up 15 per cent and fuel and electricity up 30 per cent. Some 170,000 euros are earmarked for running costs in the outlying settlements. Nearing completion are the “Golden Lake“park with a December 2026 deadline, the town square, the wastewater treatment plant, the water intakes and the servicing of the new residential areas.

Article 24 (1) of the Aliens Act sets out an exhaustive list of the grounds on which long-term residence is granted, and in every case a visa under Article 15 (1), applied for at the consulate in the country of residence, comes first. Property ownership qualifies only under point 19, and only from an investment of no less than 306,775.13 euros per person, with the sum paid in full by the date of application, credited to an account at a bank licensed in Bulgaria, and any outstanding loan balance not exceeding 25 per cent. The route through one's own company under point 2 requires at least ten full-time jobs for Bulgarian citizens, maintained for the duration of residence, and that requirement applies to each shareholder and each managing director separately. Point 20 lowers the threshold to a capital contribution of 127,822.97 euros together with new fixed assets of the same value and five jobs, but applies only in economically disadvantaged regions; whatever the ground, paragraph 2 additionally requires secured housing, compulsory health insurance and sufficient own means without recourse to the social system.

In gated residential complexes, Article 2 of the Condominium Management Act provides that management of the common parts is governed by a written contract with notarised signatures between the developer and the owners. The developer registers that contract with the Registry Agency on the file of each individual unit, and it is expressly enforceable against later acquirers; an electronic search of that file costs 0.51 euros and requires an account on the agency portal, or the notary obtains it. For obligations towards the owners' association that fell due before the transfer of ownership, Article 30 (1) makes the former owner liable unless something else is agreed at the transfer, which is why this clause belongs in the purchase contract and not in a side conversation. Anyone staying no more than 30 days in the calendar year pays, under Article 51 (1), only the amount set for one person towards management and maintenance costs, but a diverging contract under Article 2 can override that relief, so it is read word for word before any deposit.

Assessment: The annual fee in a coastal complex is not a minor item; it changes the return over the whole holding period and passes to the buyer, because the contract attaches to the unit rather than to the person. Two perspectives help: an owner-occupier who comes for a few weeks benefits from the statutory 30-day rule and loses it if the developer's contract uses floor area as the yardstick, while a landlord should build the fee into the price per square metre before comparing two offers at all. My advice is to obtain the register page before the preliminary contract, not after, because once it is signed the clause on old debts is no longer negotiable.

Anyone importing furniture, fittings or trade goods from a country outside the Union through their own Bulgarian company needs an EORI number first. It is issued by the Customs Agency, costs nothing and, according to the official service entry, is available within three working days of application; submission runs through the agency's electronic portal, the secure electronic delivery system, e-mail to the competent customs office, or on paper at any customs office, for the southern coast at the Burgas territorial directorate. The legal basis is Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 952/2013 together with Bulgarian Ordinance H-9 of 2018, and operators established outside the Union may use a number issued in another member state. In practice: EORI and VAT registration come before the order, not after it, and the forwarding instruction states the company number, the VAT number and the EORI in writing, so that the customs declaration names the company as importer rather than the forwarder.

The national register of administrative services gives the fee for exchanging a foreign driving licence as 14.00 euros for applicants under 58, 5.62 euros from 58 to 70, 1.53 euros for a degree of disability of 50 per cent or more, and no fee from 70; processing takes up to 30 days, or up to ten under the expedited procedure. The tariff version available on the traffic police site still lists the same items in the currency that applied before 2026, and converting it produces a different figure from the official entry, so anyone who brings the register entry in print does not argue at the counter but simply presents it. The same register clears up a common misunderstanding: a psychological fitness certificate is required only for categories C1, C, D1, D and T, whereas the general practitioner's medical card is required generally. Three steps before any administrative act: open the entry in the service register, note the amount and the currency, and ask at the till for a receipt showing the sum.

On 17 September 2026 from 15:00, Burgas Free University acts as host and strategic partner of the Lider.BG Regional Business Conference, held under the patronage of Dimitar Nikolov, mayor of Burgas Municipality. The programme is structured around three discussion strands: investment and growth, the digital future of business, and economic security and resilience. Partners include the Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA), the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Burgas Industrial and Logistics Park; attendance is free after mandatory registration and places are limited.

The municipality of Burgas is a partner in ComActivate, a project funded under the LIFE programme. The project has produced a platform that shows, as a 3D model, the potential energy savings of multi-family residential buildings in the Vazrazhdane complex once energy efficiency measures are carried out. The platform is at an early stage of development; over the coming months it is expected to cover more complexes in Burgas and to refine the results for each individual building.

Tsarevo municipality reports 17,000 registered overnight stays for 6 September, in other words full houses at a point when the season on the southern coast used to be over. The fish festival drew 12,000 to 13,000 visitors over a weekend, and direct turnover for the businesses involved exceeded one million euros. The municipality is working to turn a peak season of six weeks into a year-round offer, using an events calendar, road works, parks and orderly traffic management. Lozenets, Ahtopol and Sinemorets report strong late-summer trade, along with families from the larger Bulgarian cities buying a second property there.

The Ministry of Regional Development publishes a weekly account of which settlements are under restricted water supply. The report of 8 September, covering 31 August to 7 September, lists 45 municipalities nationwide, three towns with 20,054 and 109 villages with 44,199 inhabitants, a total of 64,253 people affected. In the Burgas service area two villages with 368 inhabitants are recorded, and none of the coastal towns between Rezovo and Sveti Vlas appears on the list. The heaviest burden falls on the Kyustendil area with 17,712, Gabrovo with 10,297 and Veliko Tarnovo with 7,677 inhabitants.

On 7 September the National Statistical Institute published preliminary national accounts for the second quarter of 2026. Output reached 30,292.5 million euros at current prices, or 4,729.3 euros per head of population. That is 2.8 per cent above the same quarter of 2025 and 0.7 per cent above the previous quarter after seasonal adjustment; the flash estimate in mid-August had shown 2.7 per cent. Final consumption accounts for 79.0 per cent and gross fixed capital formation for 23.0 per cent, while the external balance stays negative at minus 3.5 per cent (exports 51.8, imports 55.3 per cent of output).

Assessment: For owners on the coast the telling figure is not the growth rate but the 23.0 per cent investment share: as long as close to a quarter of output goes into plant and buildings, cost pressure on new build and refurbishment stays high. The negative trade balance points the same way, because building materials and fittings are largely imported. Sellers sit more comfortably in this setting; anyone planning to build or refurbish should ask for quotations with a short validity and read the price adjustment clauses before signing.

Work has started on the underpass beneath “Prof. Yakim Yakimov“Boulevard, which links the Slaveykov housing complex with the fast-growing Madika district. The scope covers a new switch cabinet, complete rewiring, energy-saving LED lighting, video surveillance, replacement of the stone cladding and the flooring, and new metal railings. This underpass has 153,387.56 euros earmarked, and the municipality's two structures together 383,468.91 euros; the funds were approved in December 2025. The second underpass at Nikola Petkov Boulevard is to follow next.

The central bank reports housing loans of 19.022 billion euros at end-July 2026, 25.7 per cent above the same month a year earlier; in June the annual increase still stood at 26.4 per cent. Total lending to households reached 32.129 billion euros, up 20.8 per cent, consumer loans 12.089 billion (up 15.4 per cent) and loans to non-financial corporations 29.150 billion (up 13.0 per cent). Deposits of the non-government sector add up to 86.305 billion euros, of which 56.859 billion are held by households. The statistics were released on 27 August 2026.

The Foreign Ministry lists two options as proof of accommodation for the long-stay D visa: a notarised rental contract or a notarial title deed. With a rental contract the document list also asks for a notarised declaration by the owner that he provides the registration address. That declaration depends on the landlord being willing and reachable, and it is needed again at every renewal; with your own deed it falls away entirely. The same list requires a passport with at least 18 months of remaining validity, medical insurance of at least 30,000 euros and, for a first application, a certificate of good conduct. Checklist: anyone buying on the southern coast anyway should place the notary appointment before the visa application, have the deed entered in the property register, check that the address of the property and the address in the application match character for character, and file two certified copies for later renewals.

Earth masses have slipped on the road to Brodilovo in Tsarevo municipality. On 8 September 2026 the municipality introduced temporary traffic management on the affected section so that the material can be removed, the carriageway cleaned and the section secured. The arrangement applies until the works are finished and traffic flows normally and safely again. Drivers are asked to observe the signs and follow instructions on site; the municipality answers questions on 0590 55010.

From 8 to 10 September 2026 the National Social Security Institute, together with Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund and Deutsche Rentenversicherung Mitteldeutschland, advises on insurance periods completed in both countries. Sessions run daily from 9:00 to 16:30 at the territorial office in Pleven, Ivan Mindilikov Square 8. The advice is free and given in Bulgarian or German; an appointment must be booked beforehand on 02/926 16 80 or 0882 187 680, or by message to ConsultDay@nssi.bg. Applicants should bring insurance records, certificates and diplomas, an identity document and birth certificates where periods of raising children are to be counted.