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Self-employed freelancer (svobodna profesia) salary calculator - Bulgaria 2026

Free Self-employed freelancer (svobodna profesia) salary calculator for Bulgaria (2026). Estimate gross-to-net take-home pay: income tax, social contributions and net salary. Educational, not tax advice.

Simon Bodych

by Simon Bodych

Methodology & sources

Methodology - Bulgaria (2026)

Educational model for calendar year 2026 - not a payroll system, not a tax return, not tax advice. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 (Council Decision (EU) 2025/1372) at the irrevocable rate of 1.95583 BGN per EUR, so all 2026 amounts are in EUR; statutory BGN figures convert at that rate rounded to the nearest cent. PROVISIONAL: Bulgaria entered 2026 without an adopted State Social Insurance Budget Act - an extension act keeps the 2025 insurance parameters in force (maximum insurance income EUR 2,111.64, minimum income for self-insured persons EUR 550.66). The pending revised 2026 budget would raise them to EUR 2,300 and EUR 620.20 from 1 August 2026; the original draft (maximum EUR 2,352 plus a 2 percentage point pension increase from 1 January 2026) was dropped after the December 2025 protests. This calculator uses the extension-act values for the whole year and will be updated when the budget is enacted.

Employee (trudov dogovor, employment contract)

  • Income tax 2026: flat 10% on gross pay minus the employee insurance contributions, with no personal allowance. Art. 42 of the Personal Income Taxes Act (ZDDFL).
  • Employee insurance, 13.78% of gross pay in total (third labour category, person born after 31 December 1959): pension fund 6.58%, supplementary mandatory pension (DZPO universal fund) 2.2%, common disease and maternity 1.4%, unemployment 0.4%, health 3.2%. Art. 6 and 157 of the Social Insurance Code (KSO), Art. 40 of the Health Insurance Act (ZZO). Persons born before 1960 pay the whole 19.8% pension rate into the state fund with no DZPO - the same total, so the result does not change.
  • Employer cost on top of gross pay: pension 8.22%, DZPO 2.8%, sickness and maternity 2.1%, unemployment 0.6%, health 4.8%, plus accident at work and occupational disease 0.4% to 1.1% depending on the economic activity (this model uses the 0.4% minimum), i.e. 18.92% to 19.62% in total.
  • All contributions are charged on gross pay capped at the maximum monthly insurance income of EUR 2,111.64 (PROVISIONAL - see the intro). The 10% tax has no cap.
  • Minimum wage 2026: EUR 620.20 per month (BGN 1,213), EUR 3.74 per hour, set by Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025 (State Gazette No. 98/2025), in force from 1 January 2026.
  • Out of scope: minimum insurance thresholds by occupation and economic activity, child tax reliefs (Art. 22c ZDDFL), reliefs for reduced working capacity, benefits in kind, second and first labour category rates, and annual tax equalization timing. The model is monthly (flat salary x 12).

Sources: NRA - National Revenue Agency (social and health insurance contributions, income tax), NSSI - National Social Security Institute (insurance income and contribution tables), Social Insurance Code (KSO), Art. 6, 157, Health Insurance Act (ZZO), Art. 40, Personal Income Taxes Act (ZDDFL), Art. 42, Ministry of Economy - remuneration, income tax and social security contributions, Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 Nov 2025 - minimum wage EUR 620.20 from 1 Jan 2026, Council Decision (EU) 2025/1372 - euro adoption on 1 Jan 2026 at 1.95583 BGN/EUR.

Self-employed freelancer (svobodna profesia)

  • 25% normative costs (normativno priznati razhodi): taxable income equals 75% of revenue, no expense documentation required. Art. 29(1)(3) ZDDFL.
  • Self-insurance (Art. 6(8) KSO): monthly advance contributions on a chosen base between the minimum insurance income for self-insured persons (EUR 550.66 - PROVISIONAL, 2025 level under the extension act) and the maximum insurance income (EUR 2,111.64 - PROVISIONAL). Rates at the person's own expense: pension fund 14.8% plus DZPO universal fund 5% = 19.8%, optional sickness and maternity cover +3.5% (23.3%), health 8%. Total 27.8%, or 31.3% with the voluntary sickness cover.
  • Annual equalization (Art. 6(9) KSO): the final annual insurance base equals the actual taxable income (after the 25% normative costs), floored at 12x the elected advance base (advances on an elected base are not refunded) and at 12x the minimum, capped at 12x the maximum. This model computes the equalized annual amounts directly.
  • Income tax: flat 10% on taxable income minus the insurance contributions due (Art. 30 ZDDFL). The normative costs are a tax fiction, so the displayed net is revenue minus contributions and tax, before real business costs.
  • Out of scope: ET (edinolichen targovets, sole trader) which pays a 15% final tax on accounting profit (Art. 48(2) ZDDFL), VAT registration, partial-year activity, pensioners (social insurance optional), and advance-payment vs equalization timing.

Sources: NRA - self-insured persons: contributions and annual declaration, NSSI - insurance income for self-insured persons, Social Insurance Code (KSO), Art. 6(8)-(9), Personal Income Taxes Act (ZDDFL), Art. 29, 30, 43, Health Insurance Act (ZZO), Art. 40(1)(2).

Civil contract (grazhdanski dogovor)

  • Work without an employment relationship: 25% normative costs apply, so the insurance and tax base is 75% of the gross remuneration.
  • Insurance (Art. 4(3)(5) KSO, the standard case of a person not insured on another ground): contributions are due when the monthly remuneration after the normative costs is equal to or above the minimum wage (EUR 620.20). Funds due: pension and DZPO plus health - no sickness/maternity, no unemployment and no accident insurance on civil contracts. Split in the standard proportion: the person pays pension 6.58% + DZPO 2.2% + health 3.2% = 11.98%; the assignor (vazlozhitel) pays pension 8.22% + DZPO 2.8% + health 4.8% = 15.82%. The base is capped at the maximum insurance income (EUR 2,111.64 - PROVISIONAL).
  • Below the threshold no contributions are withheld under this standard case.
  • Advance tax: 10% withheld by the assignor on gross minus the normative costs minus the person's insurance contributions (Art. 43 ZDDFL). The final tax is settled in the annual tax return - not modelled.
  • Out of scope: persons also insured under an employment contract (contributions due regardless of the threshold, with a combined cap across incomes), pensioners (insurance optional), the person's own health contribution below the threshold (Art. 40(5) ZZO), and the annual equalization.

Sources: NRA - civil contracts: insurance contributions and advance tax, Social Insurance Code (KSO), Art. 4(3)(5)-(6), Personal Income Taxes Act (ZDDFL), Art. 29, 43, Health Insurance Act (ZZO), Art. 40(1)(3), Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 Nov 2025 - minimum wage EUR 620.20.