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Country guide · 2026

How to open a Bulgarian company from Italy 🇮🇹

Italian founders face IRES, IRAP and a flat 26% on dividends, and an SRL carries heavier ongoing obligations than most owner-managed businesses need. Bulgaria offers the same EU market access at 10%.

Italian rate
24% IRES plus 3.9% IRAP and 26% on dividends
Bulgaria
10% corporate, 5% dividends
Setup
Remote, 3-7 business days

Why Italian founders move to a Bulgarian EOOD

  • No IRAP equivalent layered on top of the corporate rate
  • 5% dividend tax rather than 26%
  • Registration in days and no notarial deed of the Italian kind
  • Lower and capped social contributions than the gestione separata scale

The remote registration process, step by step

  1. 1

    Reserve the company name

    We check availability in the Bulgarian Commercial Register and reserve your EOOD or OOD name. Takes a few hours; the reservation holds for six months.

  2. 2

    Sign the incorporation pack

    Articles of association, founder declarations and specimen signature. You sign in front of a notary or a Bulgarian consulate near you, or you give us a power of attorney and sign once.

  3. 3

    Open the capital accumulation account

    The statutory minimum share capital is BGN 2 (about €1). The bank issues a deposit certificate the register requires.

  4. 4

    File with the Commercial Register

    Electronic filing at the Registry Agency. Standard processing is 2 to 4 business days, and you receive an EIK (company number) on approval.

  5. 5

    Register for tax and, if needed, VAT

    The EIK doubles as your tax number. VAT registration is mandatory above the BGN 166,000 turnover threshold and voluntary below it; intra-EU sellers usually register voluntarily on day one.

  6. 6

    Open the operating bank account

    A Bulgarian business account for local payments, plus an EMI such as Wise or Revolut Business for multi-currency invoicing. Most non-resident directors need one video call.

  7. 7

    Appoint an accountant and start filing

    Monthly VAT returns, payroll if you hire, and an annual corporate return filed by 30 June. The 10% flat corporate tax applies from your first invoice.

Tax residency

Italy presumes residence if you are registered in the anagrafe or your habitual abode is Italian. It also blacklists nothing about Bulgaria, but esterovestizione challenges target companies managed from Italy.

Exit tax and leaving Italy

Italy applies exit taxation to business assets transferred abroad, with EU deferral available. Personal shareholdings are usually outside it.

Banking and payments

Italian clients pay a BG IBAN under SEPA; EU rules forbid IBAN discrimination, though some Italian portals still need a nudge.

VAT on sales into Italy

B2B invoices to Italy are reverse-charged, and Italian e-invoicing (SdI) obligations do not follow a Bulgarian supplier.

Mistakes Italian founders make

  • Staying registered in the anagrafe while claiming to have left
  • Running an EOOD entirely from an Italian office, which is textbook esterovestizione
  • Overlooking AIRE registration when the relocation is real

Questions Italian founders ask

What is esterovestizione and does it affect me?

It is Italy's doctrine for treating a foreign-registered company as Italian when it is actually managed from Italy. Genuine relocation of management is the defence.

Do I still need to issue Italian e-invoices?

Not as a Bulgarian company. Your Italian B2B customers self-account for VAT instead.

Full Bulgaria vs Italy tax tableRun your numbers in the tax calculatorFormation pricing

Start your Bulgarian company from Italy

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

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