Business type guide · 2026

Bulgarian holding company for EU investments

A holding company exists to own things: subsidiaries, shares, property, intellectual property. Bulgaria is a reasonable EU holding location because the rate is low, the parent-subsidiary rules apply as they do everywhere in the EU, and the running cost is small enough that the structure does not eat its own benefit.

Corporate tax: 10% flat
Dividends: 5% withholding
Setup: Remote, 3-7 business days

Why it fits holding companies

Dividends from EU subsidiaries are generally exempt at the Bulgarian parent under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, so profit can be pooled without a second layer of tax.
10% on any taxable profit at the holding level, and 5% on distributions out to individual shareholders.
Bulgaria has a wide treaty network, which matters for dividends and interest coming from outside the EU.
Annual maintenance is low enough for the structure to be worth running at modest asset levels.

VAT

A pure holding company making no supplies is generally outside the VAT system. Once it charges management fees to subsidiaries, those are taxable supplies and registration follows.

Substance and residency

Holding structures attract the most anti-abuse attention of any category. Directive benefits can be denied where the arrangement is artificial. Real decision-making in Bulgaria, local directors and genuine commercial reasons for the structure are the difference between a defensible holding and a conduit.

Paying yourself

Distributions to individual shareholders are subject to the 5% dividend tax; distributions to EU corporate parents may be exempt depending on the shareholding.

What it costs

Formation from €890; accounting is usually at the lower end because transaction volume is small.

Full pricing

Mistakes holding companies make

Setting up a holding purely to route dividends, with no people and no decisions.
Forgetting the subsidiary's own country may apply controlled-foreign-company or beneficial-ownership tests.
Charging management fees between group companies without documenting how they were priced.

Frequently asked

Are incoming EU dividends taxed in Bulgaria?

Dividends from EU or EEA subsidiaries are generally not taxed at the Bulgarian parent. Dividends from outside the EU depend on the treaty and the local rules.

Can a Bulgarian holding own property abroad?

Yes, though the property's country almost always taxes the rental income and the gain locally.

Is a holding company worth it for one operating business?

Often not. A single trading EOOD is simpler. Holdings earn their keep with multiple subsidiaries, several shareholders or a planned exit.

Guides by home country Tax calculator What an EOOD actually is Country tax comparisons

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