Annual property tax in Bulgaria 2026: deadlines, discounts
Annual property tax in Bulgaria 2026: how it is calculated, when to pay, which reductions you lose and why 31 October is two deadlines, not one.
The notice from your municipality arrives with two figures on it. One is a tax, the other is a fee, and they follow different rules.
Below you will see how each of the two is calculated, when they are paid, which reductions apply and what cancels them. And why 31 October is actually two deadlines, not one.
❓When is the annual property tax paid in 2026?
Source: ЗМДТ, Art. 28
Who owes the tax and what it is calculated on
The owner of the property owes it. If a right of use (право на ползване) has been established over the property, the user owes it, not the owner.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 11(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъчно задължени лица са собствениците на облагаеми с данък недвижими имоти.“
An empty flat is taxed too. Whether you live in the property, rent it out or leave it locked up for years makes no difference to the tax.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 13
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът се заплаща независимо дали недвижимите имоти се използват или не.“
The basis is not the market price. The basis is the tax assessment value (данъчна оценка), which the municipal administration calculates using norms in an annex to the law, according to the type of property, its location, area, construction and age. It is almost always considerably lower than what the property would sell for.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 19(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът се определя върху данъчната оценка на недвижимите имоти по чл. 10, ал. 1 към 1 януари на годината, за която се дължи и се съобщава на лицата до 1 март на същата година.“
The rate is not the same across the country. Each municipal council adopts it in its own ordinance, within a range set by the law. That is why identical flats in two neighbouring municipalities produce different tax.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 22
Official Bulgarian text
„Общинският съвет определя с наредбата по чл. 1, ал. 2 размера на данъка в граници от 0,1 до 4,5 на хиляда върху данъчната оценка на недвижимия имот.“
Per thousand, not per hundred
The two instalments and the 5 per cent discount
The deadlines for the tax itself are in the law and are the same for all municipalities.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 28(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът върху недвижимите имоти се плаща на две равни вноски в следните срокове: до 30 юни и до 31 октомври на годината, за която е дължим.“
The discount is for the whole annual tax, paid in one go and early. Paying only the first instalment early does not bring a discount.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 28(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„На предплатилите до 30 април за цялата година се прави отстъпка 5 на сто.“
| When you pay | How much | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| By 30 April | The whole annual tax | 5 per cent discount on the whole amount |
| By 30 June | First instalment, half | No discount, but you are on time |
| By 31 October | Second instalment, the remainder | No discount, but you are on time |
| After 31 October | The whole remainder plus interest | The obligation remains and grows |
The deadlines under Art. 28 ЗМДТ for the annual tax on real estate
Did you buy a property in the autumn and the deadlines have already passed? Then a separate rule applies, and it is short.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 28(4)
Official Bulgarian text
„За недвижимите имоти, придобити през текущата година, данъкът се заплаща в сроковете по ал. 1, а в случаите, в които придобиването е след изтичане на сроковете по ал. 1, данъкът се заплаща в двумесечен срок от датата на придобиването на имота.“
That is, if you buy on 10 November, you have until 10 January. You do not wait for the following June.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
The reductions most people miss
The home you live in is taxed at half. This is not automatic for every property you own, only for the one you have declared as your main residence (основно жилище).
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 25(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„За имот, който е основно жилище, данъкът се дължи с 50 на сто намаление.“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 25(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„За имот, който е основно жилище на лице с намалена работоспособност от 50 до 100 на сто, данъкът се дължи със 75 на сто намаление.“
And here comes the trap that almost nobody writes about. If you have declared two main residences, you do not lose the reduction for just one. You lose it for both.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 25(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„В случай че е установено деклариране на повече от едно основно жилище, облекченията по ал. 1 и 2 не се прилагат и данъкът, определен по чл. 22, се дължи в пълен размер за всяко от жилищата и за периода, в който едновременно са декларирани като основни жилища.“
How this happens without you meaning it to
There are also properties on which no tax is due at all, because of their low tax assessment value.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 10(4)
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се облагат с данък недвижимите имоти с данъчна оценка до 1680 лв. включително.“
The threshold is written in leva because this text was not rewritten when the euro was introduced. That does not make it invalid. Amounts in leva in existing laws are read as amounts in euro at the official rate of 1.95583 leva to the euro, so the threshold is 858.97 euro.
Act on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria
Art. 11(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„В съответствие с чл. 6 - 9 от Регламент (ЕО) № 974/98 стойностите, посочени в левове в съществуващите правни инструменти, се считат за стойности в евро при прилагане на официалния валутен курс и правилата за превалутиране по чл. 12 и съответно за закръгляване по чл. 13 или по специалните правила за закръгляване, предвидени в този закон.“
We are talking about very small properties, for example an old village garage or a small outbuilding, but it is worth checking the assessment before you pay.
Household waste fee: 2026 runs on two tracks
The second figure on the notice is a fee, not a tax. The tax is due simply because you own a property. The fee is due in return for a service that the municipality provides.
From 1 January 2026 the law changed the basis on which the fee is calculated. What leads is no longer how much the property is worth, but how much waste it produces.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 67(4)
Official Bulgarian text
„Количеството битови отпадъци е водеща основа за определяне на размера на таксата за битови отпадъци.“
In practice, however, a transitional provision kept the old regime in force for 2026 in two separate ways. The municipal council could set the fee for 2026 under the old regime by 31 December 2025. And if it did nothing, the fee still does not move to the new basis: it is collected at the amount in force on 31 December of the previous year. That is why two models are running side by side across the country this year.
Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending the ЗМДТ (ДВ No. 88 of 2017, supplemented by ДВ No. 113 of 2025)
§ 16(4)
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато до 31 декември 2025 г. общинският съвет не е определил размер на таксата за битови отпадъци за 2026 г. по реда на ал. 3, таксата се събира на базата на действащия размер към 31 декември на предходната година.“
Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending the ЗМДТ (ДВ No. 88 of 2017, supplemented by ДВ No. 113 of 2025)
§ 16(5)
Official Bulgarian text
„Общинските наредби в частта за таксата за битови отпадъци и решенията на общинските съвети, приети по досегашния ред, запазват действието си през 2026 г.“
| New regime | Old regime, kept for 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is calculated on | Quantity of waste, number of containers or number of users in the property | Most often a per-mille rate on the property’s tax assessment value |
| Who decides | The municipal council chooses a basis by ordinance, with reasons | The municipal council, under its existing ordinance |
| Who wins | Small households and people who sort their waste | People with properties that are expensive by tax assessment value lose |
| How to find out which applies to you | Your municipality’s ordinance and the decision on the plan-budget (план-сметка) | The same place, the municipality’s ordinance |
The two models for the household waste fee in force in 2026
The only sure way to find out which model you are under is your municipality’s ordinance and the municipal council’s decision on the plan-budget (план-сметка). Both are published on the municipality’s website. The National Revenue Agency (НАП) also keeps a summary of the two levies in its section “Buildings and refuse” (Сгради и смет).
31 October is two deadlines, not one
Everyone remembers 31 October as the day of the second instalment. Few know that the same date decides whether you will pay part of the refuse fee next year.
31 October
deadline for the declaration that the property will not be used next year
File by 31 October and you are safe. Some municipalities still work under the ordinances kept for 2026, where the deadline is the end of the year, but the earlier date applies everywhere.
If the property is undeveloped or will not be used throughout the following year, the law allows you not to pay the part of the fee for refuse collection and for waste treatment. The condition is a declaration filed on time.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 71, item 2
Official Bulgarian text
„когато имотът е незастроен или не се ползва през цялата година и е подадена декларация по образец и ред, определени с наредбата по чл. 9, от задълженото лице до 31 октомври на предходната година в общината по местонахождението на имота“
Not the whole fee goes away
Check the deadline in your municipality’s ordinance
Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending the ЗМДТ (ДВ No. 88 of 2017, supplemented by ДВ No. 113 of 2025)
§ 16(3), item 11, letter “а”
Official Bulgarian text
„сметосъбиране и сметоизвозване, когато услугата не се предоставя от общината или ако имотът не се ползва през цялата година и е подадена декларация по образец от собственика или ползвателя до края на предходната година в общината по местонахождението на имота“
What to do by 31 October
Check your municipality’s ordinance
You are looking for the ordinance on determining and administering local fees and prices of services. It contains the declaration form and the filing procedure.
Get the declaration form
The form is municipal, not national. A declaration in free text may be refused.
File it at the municipality where the property is located
By 31 OctoberNot at your permanent address, but where the property is. Many municipalities also accept filing electronically.
Keep the incoming number
It is your only proof if the fee is charged next year anyway.
There is also a third 31 October date, which affects people living in apartment blocks. If the municipality calculates the fee by the number of users, the manager of the condominium (етажна собственост) files a return of those numbers.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 67(15)
Official Bulgarian text
„Управителят или председателят на управителния съвет на етажната собственост ежегодно до 31 октомври подава справка по образец, определен в наредбата по чл. 9, за броя на ползвателите по имоти в етажната собственост.“
If you are the building manager (домоуправител), this obligation is yours. If you are not, ask the building manager whether the return has been filed, because the bill for the whole entrance depends on it.
When you file a declaration and when you do not
This is where most of the advice on the internet diverges. If you bought a ready-built property at a notary, you do not file a tax declaration. The data reaches the municipality officially.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 14(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се подават данъчни декларации за облагане с годишен данък за имотите и ограничените вещни права, придобити по възмезден или безвъзмезден начин по раздел трети от тази глава.“
When a declaration is still filed
Outside these cases, buying through a notary requires no declaration from you
A new building that does not need to be put into operation under the Spatial Development Act (ЗУТ)
Two-month period for written notice to the municipality, Art. 14(1)
An inherited property
Within the deadline for the inheritance tax declaration, Art. 14(6)
A demolished property, or a property that becomes taxable or non-taxable
In the manner and within the period of Art. 14(1), under Art. 16(1)
When you want an exemption or reduction
The right is asserted by declaration, Art. 27
On sale and in co-ownership
The seller pays what is due up to the transaction, including for the month of the transaction, and does so before the transfer itself.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 28(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„При прехвърляне на недвижим имот или при учредяване на вещни права върху недвижим имот дължимият до прехвърлянето/учредяването данък, включително за месеца на прехвърлянето/учредяването, се заплаща от прехвърлителя/учредителя преди прехвърлянето/учредяването.“
The buyer takes over the tax from the following month.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 15(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„При прехвърляне на собствеността на имота или при учредяване на ограничено вещно право на ползване приобретателят дължи данъка от началото на месеца, следващ месеца, през който е настъпила промяната в собствеността или ползването, освен ако данъкът е платен от прехвърлителя.“
For a co-owned property, each owner owes according to their share. But if the other co-owners say nothing and you want the property to be in order, the law allows you to pay everything.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 12(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Всеки от съсобствениците на имота, съответно от съпритежателите на ограниченото вещно право на ползване, може да плати данъка за целия имот за сметка на останалите.“
Check, do not wait for a letter
Frequently asked questions
Are the tax assessment value and the market price the same thing?
No. The tax assessment value is calculated by norms in an annex to the law and is usually considerably lower than the price at which the property sells. The annual tax is calculated on the assessment value. For the one-off tax on acquisition, see the tax calculator.
Do I pay tax on a flat I do not live in?
Yes. Art. 13 ЗМДТ is categorical that the tax is due regardless of use. Not using the property can cut part of the household waste fee, but only against a declaration filed by 31 October of the previous year.
Does the 5 per cent discount apply to the refuse fee too?
Municipalities usually announce the discount for the whole amount on the notice. The discount in Art. 28(2) ЗМДТ, however, is written for the tax. Check how your municipal council’s decision is worded before relying on it for the fee.
Can I challenge the tax assessment value?
The assessment is determined by an official of the municipal administration and notified to you. If you think the data on the property is wrong, for example the area or year of construction, you file a request for correction with the municipality and attach the documents for the property. What is recorded for the property is checked through the property register.
What happens if I do not pay?
The obligation remains and interest runs on it. If it accumulates, the municipality can collect it by enforcement. The tax is not extinguished by itself with the passing of time.
Is my car in the same notice?
The vehicle tax is separate, although it is paid in the same two instalments and to the same municipality. The rules for it are in vehicle tax (данък МПС).
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
⚠️ Important
Pravko provides legal information, but it does not replace advice from a lawyer. For important legal matters, consult a licensed lawyer.
