Business type guide · 2026

Bulgarian company for online coaches and course creators

Coaching and course businesses are mostly B2C, which is exactly the case where the VAT rules bite hardest. The corporate side is straightforward at 10%, but whether you owe VAT in your customer's country depends on a detail most people miss: whether the product is automated or delivered live.

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

Why it fits online coaches and course creators

Margins are high and costs are low, so the 10% rate applies to almost all of the revenue.
One entity can sell worldwide through the usual course platforms and payment providers.
Course production, editing, software, ads and affiliate commissions are all deductible.
The 5% dividend rate makes taking money out predictable, unlike progressive personal rates on the same income.

VAT

A pre-recorded course sold to a consumer is an electronically supplied service and is taxed where the customer lives, reported through OSS. A live coaching call is not automated, so it usually falls under the general rule and is taxed differently. If some platforms act as the merchant of record, they may handle the VAT for you. Check per platform rather than assuming.

Substance and residency

Nothing about a course business is physically tied to a location, which makes it easy to set up and easy to challenge. The defensible version is that you actually relocate, or that the company has real people running it. Selling to your old country's audience from your old country's sofa is the version that fails.

Paying yourself

Take a management salary at a contribution base that keeps health cover in place, then distribute surplus profit at 5%. Launch-driven revenue makes annual distributions easier to plan than monthly draws.

What it costs

Formation from €890; accounting from around €100 a month, higher if you run OSS filings and several payment providers.

Full pricing

Mistakes online coaches and course creators make

Treating all digital sales the same when automated courses and live sessions have different VAT places of supply.
Assuming Stripe or a course platform handles VAT when only some platforms act as merchant of record.
Running paid ads to one country's audience for years while claiming no connection to it.

Frequently asked

Do I charge VAT on a course sold to a consumer in Germany?

For a pre-recorded, automated course, generally yes at the German rate, reported through OSS. Live one-to-one coaching follows different rules.

What about selling to customers outside the EU?

Sales to non-EU consumers are typically outside EU VAT, though some countries have their own digital-service registration thresholds.

Can I run a membership site through an EOOD?

Yes. Recurring memberships are treated like any other digital supply, so the automated-versus-live distinction still decides the VAT treatment.

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

Set up your EOOD for online coaches and course creators

We handle the register filing, bank introduction, VAT and accounting in English. 750+ EU founders incorporated, fully remote.

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