# Bulgaria Tax Residence and Foreign Income Bulgarian tax residence is determined independently of nationality through address, presence, vital interests and specified overseas assignments. It normally changes the income-tax scope from Bulgarian sources to worldwide income. Scope: Selected individual residence and income-scope rules from current NRA guidance, corroborated against its Act consolidation through March 2026; not an annual-rate calculation, corporate-tax guide or individual treaty opinion. Jurisdiction: Bulgaria: individual income tax. Sources reviewed 2026-09-17; review due 2026-12-16. General information, not personal tax advice. Nationality, tax residence and source of income are different questions. Consult the tax authority or a qualified adviser for your circumstances. ## Residence tests do not depend on citizenship Domestic tests include a Bulgarian permanent address, presence exceeding 183 days in any twelve-month period, a Bulgarian centre of vital interests, or specified assignments abroad by Bulgarian state bodies or enterprises and accompanying family. The permanent-address rule has an important foreign-vital-interests exception. Evidence: conditional. [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Resident and non-resident individuals: personal income tax residence](https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/godishen-danak-varhu-dohdite/mestni-i-chuzhdi-litsa/); [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Personal Income Tax Act: published consolidation through State Gazette No. 30 of 27 March 2026](https://nra.bg/wps/wcm/connect/nra.bg25863/e0daae38-32b9-40b7-8c21-ff7feed98935/ZDDFL%2B%281%29.rtf?MOD=AJPERES). Source location: NRA resident definition; Personal Income Tax Act Article 4(1), (5). ## Strictly more than 183 days The presence test applies to the year in which the 183-day threshold is exceeded. Entry and exit days count as days of presence. Stays exclusively for study or medical treatment are excluded from this test, not necessarily from the other residence tests. Evidence: conditional. [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Resident and non-resident individuals: personal income tax residence](https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/godishen-danak-varhu-dohdite/mestni-i-chuzhdi-litsa/); [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Personal Income Tax Act: published consolidation through State Gazette No. 30 of 27 March 2026](https://nra.bg/wps/wcm/connect/nra.bg25863/e0daae38-32b9-40b7-8c21-ff7feed98935/ZDDFL%2B%281%29.rtf?MOD=AJPERES). Source location: NRA presence-counting paragraphs; Article 4(2)-(3). ## A Bulgarian address is not conclusive A person with a Bulgarian permanent address but a centre of vital interests outside Bulgaria is not resident under the stated exception. Family, property, work or business activity and where property is managed are relevant to locating those interests. Evidence: conditional. [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Resident and non-resident individuals: personal income tax residence](https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/godishen-danak-varhu-dohdite/mestni-i-chuzhdi-litsa/); [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Personal Income Tax Act: published consolidation through State Gazette No. 30 of 27 March 2026](https://nra.bg/wps/wcm/connect/nra.bg25863/e0daae38-32b9-40b7-8c21-ff7feed98935/ZDDFL%2B%281%29.rtf?MOD=AJPERES). Source location: NRA centre-of-vital-interests explanation; Article 4(4)-(5). ## Worldwide residents; Bulgarian-source non-residents Residents generally face tax on domestic and foreign income; non-residents on Bulgarian-source income. Work or services performed in Bulgaria and income from Bulgarian real estate are source examples. The place where payment is received does not determine source by itself. Exemptions and treaties still apply. Evidence: conditional. [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Resident and non-resident individuals: taxable sources and double-tax relief](https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/okonchatelen-danak-varhu-dohodi/mestni-i-chuzhdestranni-litsa/mestni-chujdestranni-lica/); [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Personal Income Tax Act: published consolidation through State Gazette No. 30 of 27 March 2026](https://nra.bg/wps/wcm/connect/nra.bg25863/e0daae38-32b9-40b7-8c21-ff7feed98935/ZDDFL%2B%281%29.rtf?MOD=AJPERES). Source location: NRA obligations and Bulgarian-source sections; Articles 6-8, especially 8(2), (10), (12). ## Double-tax relief depends on the treaty Depending on the applicable treaty, relief may use foreign-tax credit or exemption with progression. The NRA identifies dedicated annual-return schedules for these methods. This does not establish that every income item must be declared or that foreign tax is always fully refunded. Evidence: conditional. [National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria: Resident and non-resident individuals: taxable sources and double-tax relief](https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/okonchatelen-danak-varhu-dohodi/mestni-i-chuzhdestranni-litsa/mestni-chujdestranni-lica/). Source location: NRA section on methods for eliminating double taxation and annual-return schedules. ## Scope and limitations - A Bulgarian passport does not itself prove tax residence or exempt overseas income. Treaty residence, the particular income category and statutory exemptions need individual review. - The Act file is served as DOCX despite its .rtf URL and is expressly identified by its March 2026 consolidation date. These selected rules are also stated on the currently accessible NRA guidance pages; no claim is made that the download contains every later amendment. - Rates, allowances, social insurance, special business regimes and filing calculations are outside this baseline. The source page's shortened description of days during a year is not used to replace Article 4's any-twelve-month-period rule. ## Explore this passport - [Passport rank and travel access](https://multipassrank.com/passport/bulgaria) - [Citizenship requirements](https://multipassrank.com/passport/bulgaria/citizenship) - [Country-profile JSON, including sources and scoped requirements](https://multipassrank.com/api/v1/country-profiles/BG) - [Multiple-citizenship policy guide](https://multipassrank.com/dual-citizenship-countries) [Canonical page](https://multipassrank.com/passport/bulgaria/taxes)