What a Bulgarian Company Really Costs: Hidden Costs and How to Spot Them

One-off costs at formation

Item	Typical range	Notes
State fee, Commercial Register	~€28 online / ~€56 paper	Electronic filing halves the fee
Notarization in Bulgaria	€10–€30	Manager's specimen signature etc.
Notarization abroad instead	€50–€150+	Foreign notaries charge more
Apostille (remote route)	€20–€80	Per document, country-dependent
Certified translations	~€50–€150	Depends on volume (estimate)
Bank/KYC costs	€100–€500	Capital account, account opening, bank fees for non-residents
Courier for originals (remote)	€30–€80	Often forgotten
Provider service fee	€150–€1,700	The advertised "formation price"

Independent lawyer-led breakdowns put a straightforward EOOD formation at roughly €800–€1,500 all-in for a foreign founder – which tells you immediately how to read a €150 headline price: it covers the service fee, not the process.

Recurring costs – the part that actually matters

• Monthly accounting: effectively mandatory. Under Art. 17 of the Accountancy Act, annual financial statements must be prepared by a qualified compiler; in practice over 95% of Bulgarian companies engage an accounting firm. Typical rates: from ~€30/month for a dormant or minimal company, €80–€150/month for an active non-VAT business, €125–€250/month once you are VAT-registered. If a provider lists accounting as "optional", read that as "not included", not as "not needed".
• Registered address: renews every year. €120–€540 per year is the usual range. Watch for packages where year one is included and the renewal price only appears in the small print.
• Annual closing and publication. The corporate tax return (by 30 June) and the publication of financial statements (by 30 September) are often billed on top of the monthly fee – commonly an extra month's fee. Ask.
• Social-security contributions. As a self-insured manager you pay monthly contributions on at least the statutory minimum insurance income – a real monthly cost that no formation price list mentions.
• Bank account maintenance. Bulgarian business accounts carry monthly fees; non-resident structures sometimes pay premium rates.
• Company changes later. New manager, new address, share transfer, name change – each is a new register filing with state fee, documents and often notary. Cheap to forget, annoying to discover.

The six places hidden costs hide

• 1. "From" prices. "Formation from €150" usually excludes state fees, address, translations and anything remote. The "from" price is for the simplest possible domestic case.
• 2. VAT on the fee itself. Many advertised prices are silent on whether Bulgarian VAT (20%) is added to the service fee. €700 + VAT is €840.
• 3. "Optional" accounting. The single biggest omission in the market. €150 formation + €150/month accounting is a €1,950 first year, not a €150 one.
• 4. Remote surcharges. Power of attorney, apostille, extra notary appointments, courier – some providers charge a flat remote supplement of €250 or more, others itemize. Either is fine; silence is not.
• 5. Registered address renewals. Year one bundled, year two at full price – and moving your registered address later is itself a paid register change.
• 6. Bank "guarantees". "Guaranteed bank account" sounds like a promise; the bank's compliance department has not signed it. Expect KYC fees and the possibility of needing a second bank. More on marketing language in part 5.

A realistic first-year budget

For a remote foreign founder with a simple, active EOOD (non-VAT, provided address, mid-range accountant), a realistic first year looks like this – as an estimate, not an offer:

Position	Estimate
Formation incl. state fees, notary, translations, service fee	€400–€1,200
Apostille, courier, remote extras	€50–€250
Bank/KYC	€100–€500
Registered address, year 1	€120–€540
Accounting, 12 months	€960–€1,800 (at €80–€150/mo)
Annual closing	€80–€250
Realistic first-year total	≈ €1,500–€3,500

Note what dominates the table: not the formation fee, but twelve months of accounting. This is why comparing headline formation prices is almost useless.

How to compare offers properly

• Always compare first-year totals, never formation fees. Ask every provider the same question: "What will I have paid you and third parties in total after 12 months, assuming X invoices per month and no VAT registration?"
• Ask for the exclusions in writing. A serious provider can list what is not included faster than what is.
• Clarify VAT and state fees on every single line.
• Check the renewal prices for address and accounting after year one.
• Budget the boring extras yourself: social security, bank fees, and one company change per year as a buffer.

Conclusion

A Bulgarian EOOD is genuinely inexpensive to run by EU standards – but it is not €89. Plan with a realistic €1,500–€3,500 for year one and roughly €1,200–€2,500 per year ongoing (accounting, address, closing), and the 10% tax rate does the rest of the maths for you. In part 4 we look at the remote route in detail – what genuinely works from abroad and where the surcharges come from.

Which is why our pages carry no flat fee but the eight things that decide your total, with the exclusions stated openly and honest answers on the recurring costs. How a formation actually runs is in the company-formation guide; what the individual firms charge and disclose is in the provider comparison. Put the first-year question to every quote you get.

For the DE/BG tax comparison behind these numbers, with worked calculation examples, our book "Start in Bulgaria" goes deeper than a blog post can.

Still working out whether Bulgaria fits your numbers at all? Our free 2-minute eligibility check gives you a personalized first read before you request a quote.

All figures are a snapshot as of July 2026 and typical market ranges or clearly labeled estimates, not binding prices. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.