Global Payroll Services in Bulgaria

Already have a Bulgarian entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Bulgarian payroll partner who keeps income tax, social security, health insurance, and NRA filings exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Bulgaria involves

If you already employ people through your own Bulgarian entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run payroll correctly every month: income tax, social security, and health insurance, all combined into one remittance to the National Revenue Agency (NRA) by the 25th of the following month. That single-remittance structure sounds simpler than it is: get the pension, health, or accident-at-work component wrong inside the combined figure and the error is not obvious until the NRA flags it. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Bulgarian staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Income tax, social security, and health insurance calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and the combined statutory remittance filed with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Bulgarian payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and where you employ people, place you with the right vetted Bulgarian payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Income tax, social security, health insurance, and any statutory benefits configured correctly to current Bulgarian rules, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, income tax, social security, and health insurance withheld, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

The combined statutory remittance filed with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) on time, with annual reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Bulgaria costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Bulgaria’s employer burden is predictable and low by EU standards, but it is bundled into a single remittance with several moving components; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer social security & health insurance

18.92-19.62% of gross salary (14.12-14.82% pension and social insurance plus 4.8% health insurance, plus an employer-only accident-at-work fund of 0.4-1.1%), calculated to the EUR 2,111.64/month cap (EUR 2,300 from 1 August 2026, adopted by Parliament, awaiting Gazette promulgation), configured correctly every payroll run.

Minimum wage (2026)

EUR 620.20 per month for 2026, up 12.6% on 2025’s lev equivalent, fixed nationally by government decree with nothing regional to configure in payroll software.

Income tax (employee)

Flat 10% on personal income, unchanged since 2008, calculated and filed correctly on every payslip.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Bulgaria bundles pension, health, and accident-at-work contributions into one NRA remittance, and getting the internal split wrong on a payslip is an easy, invisible mistake until it is flagged. We benchmark across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Dual-system rules that expose risk

The pension/health/accident-at-work contribution split inside a single NRA remittance, the flat 10% income-tax withholding, and the annual reconciliation deadline. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across global markets, the deadlines, the filings, the year-end detail that exposes risk.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The payroll slips the NRA never misses

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & deduction rates

Misapplying the pension, health, and accident-at-work split inside the combined NRA remittance. Missing a statutory benefit or leave entitlement. Getting the euro/lev changeover figures wrong on a contract or payslip during the 2026 dual-circulation window. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to the NRA when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late remittance to the NRA, where penalties and interest apply automatically, or a missed annual financial statement filing with the Commercial Register, where fines land personally on the manager. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Bulgarian payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Tax, social security & health insurance

Compliant Bulgarian payroll processed monthly, with income tax, social security, and health insurance correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax, social security, and health insurance calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Bulgaria.

Do I need a Bulgarian entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Bulgarian entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Income tax calculation and remittance, employer and employee social security and health insurance, statutory benefits and leave, payslips, and the combined statutory filing with the National Revenue Agency (NRA). You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

From 1 January 2026, Bulgaria adopted the euro and all payroll figures are now denominated in EUR at the fixed rate of BGN 1.95583. Dual lev/euro pricing on payslips and contracts is expected during the transition, which runs until 8 August 2026. A good payroll partner keeps both figures correct on every document during the changeover, one of the most common payroll mistakes when a currency changes.

Between 18.92% and 19.62% of gross, the exact figure driven by your sector’s accident-at-work risk rating, all bundled into one NRA remittance and capped once monthly pay passes EUR 2,111.64. Your payroll partner fee sits on top, and configuring the sector-specific rate correctly is exactly where a specialist earns their fee.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Bulgarian payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Bulgaria?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (NRA, NSSI, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.