Gifting property in Bulgaria 2026: fees and tax calculator
Calculator for the fees when gifting a property in Bulgaria: notary fee under item 8, 0.1% registration and a local tax of 0 to 6.6%. Example for €80,000.
Contents12 sections
- 1.Calculator: fees when gifting a property
- 2.The three costs and who pays them
- 3.The local tax: the family relationship decides everything
- 4.The notary fee: how it is calculated under the Tariff
- 5.Registration and the tax assessment value
- 6.Gift or sale: when it is cheaper
- 7.The trap when selling a gifted property
- 8.Reserved right of use: the donor stays in the home
- 9.What no calculator shows: heirs, marriage, revocation
- 10.A gift of money: the same tax, a different procedure
- 11.Frequently asked questions
- 12.Related articles
You want to transfer your flat to your child or grandchild without going through a sale. A gift (дарение) is the shortest route, but at the notary nobody tells you in advance how much you will pay, and the difference between “I am gifting to my daughter” and “I am gifting to my daughter-in-law” is several thousand euro.
Here are the three costs of gifting a property, the exact statutory ranges for 2026, a calculator for your case and the four traps that the calculators of notary offices do not show.
❓How much does gifting a property cost in 2026?
Source: ЗМДТ, Art. 44(6) and Art. 47(1); Tariff of Notary Fees, item 8
Calculator: fees when gifting a property
Enter the value of the property, choose the family relationship and, if it is not the direct line, the rate of your municipality. The calculator works out the notary fee from the same table the notary uses.
Calculator: fees and tax when gifting a property
Notary fee for the deed (item 8 of the Tariff)
431.24 euro
VAT 20% on the notary fees
86.25 euro
Registration fee (0.1%, minimum €5.11)
80.00 euro
Local tax (exempt under Art. 44(6) ЗМДТ)
0.00 euro
Total
597.49 euro
The calculation is indicative. The notary fee tariff is in leva and has been converted at the rate of 1.95583. The tax is at the rate you have set; the exact rate is in the ordinance of the municipality where the property is located. The costs of the tax assessment, the cadastral sketch and the certificates are not included.
The three costs and who pays them
The Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ) calls this the “tax on the acquisition of property” („данък при придобиване на имущества“). It is owed on a gift and on a purchase, but at different rates. Separate from it are the notary fee and the registration fee, which do not depend on the family relationship.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 44(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Обект на облагане с данък са имуществата, придобити по дарение, както и недвижимите имоти, ограничените вещни права върху тях и моторните превозни средства, придобити по възмезден начин.“
Here is what the recipient (надарен) pays for a flat worth €80,000 gifted by a parent to a child. The figures are under the Tariff of Notary Fees, converted from leva at the fixed rate.
Gift of a €80,000 property from a parent to a child
Notary fee for the deed (item 8)
BGN 843.43 by the table, converted at 1.95583
€431.24
VAT 20% on the notary fee
€86.25
Registration fee at the Registry Agency (0.1%)
€80.00
Local tax on acquisition
Exempt: relatives in the direct line (Art. 44(6) ЗМДТ)
€0.00
Total
€597.49
Without the costs of the tax assessment, the cadastral sketch and the certificate of encumbrances, which are under the tariffs of the municipality and of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (АГКК). If the notary also drafts the deed, the fee under item 8 is charged a second time.
The same flat, gifted to a cousin or to a daughter-in-law, costs between €3,237 and €5,877, because a tax of 3.3% to 6.6% is added to the notary and the registration. The rate within this range is chosen by the municipal council.
| Who gifts to whom | Local tax | Total for a €80,000 property |
|---|---|---|
| Parent to child, grandmother to grandchild, spouse to spouse | 0% (exempt) | €597.49 |
| Brother to sister, aunt to nephew | 0.4% to 0.8% (€320 to €640) | €917.49 to €1,237.49 |
| Cousin, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, unmarried partner | 3.3% to 6.6% (€2,640 to €5,280) | €3,237.49 to €5,877.49 |
The notary fee of €431.24 + VAT €86.25 + registration €80 are the same in all three rows
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 45(1)
The tax is borne by the recipient, not by the donor.
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът се заплаща от приобретателя на имуществото по чл. 44“
The local tax: the family relationship decides everything
Relatives in the direct line are those where one descends from the other: parents and children, grandmothers, grandfathers and grandchildren, great-grandparents and great-grandchildren. Spouses are treated the same way. Between all these people a gift of property is fully exempt from tax.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 44(6)
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се облагат с данък имуществата, придобити по дарение между роднини по права линия и между съпрузи.“
The second group is narrow: brothers, sisters and their children. Here the tax is low, but not zero. Everyone else, including in-laws (relatives by marriage), falls into the most expensive group.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 47(1), item 1
Official Bulgarian text
„от 0,4 до 0,8 на сто - при дарение между братя и сестри и техните деца“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 47(1), item 2
Official Bulgarian text
„от 3,3 до 6,6 на сто - при дарение между лица извън посочените в т. 1“
A daughter-in-law, a son-in-law and an unmarried partner are “strangers” for the tax
A mother-in-law who gifts to her daughter-in-law or son-in-law, or a person who gifts to a partner they are not married to, pay the full rate of 3.3% to 6.6%. If the aim is for the property to stay in the family, it is often cheaper to gift it to your own child rather than to the child’s spouse. A gift to your own child during the child’s marriage remains the child’s personal property, not marital community property (Art. 22(1) of the Family Code).
What is the tax calculated on? On the valuation of the property in euro at the time of the transfer. A gift has no price, so in practice the base is the tax assessment value (данъчна оценка) issued by the municipality, unless a higher value is stated in the deed.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 46(2), item 1
Official Bulgarian text
„недвижимите имоти и ограничените вещни права върху тях - по уговорената цена или по определена от държавен или общински орган цена, а в случай че тя е по-ниска от данъчната им оценка - по последната, съгласно приложение № 2“
The tax is paid before the deed is signed, at the municipality where the property is located, not at the address of the donor or the recipient. The notary may not execute the transaction until he or she sees that it has been paid.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 49(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът се заплаща в общината по местонахождението на недвижимия имот“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 49(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъкът се заплаща при прехвърлянето на недвижимия имот, ограничените вещни права върху недвижим имот и моторните превозни средства“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 50(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Съдиите, нотариусите, областните управители, кметовете на общините и други длъжностни лица извършват сделката или действието, с което се придобиват, учредяват, изменят или прекратяват вещни права, след като установят, че са платени данъците по тази глава за имуществото, което е предмет на сделката или действието.“
The notary fee: how it is calculated under the Tariff
The notary fee is not “whatever the notary says”. The amount is set in a tariff of the Council of Ministers, and for issuing a notary deed (нотариален акт) it is calculated from a stepped table on the certified material interest (удостоверяван материален интерес, the value the notary certifies). The table is in leva and has not been reissued in euro, so notaries convert it at the fixed rate.
Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Art. 85(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„Размерите на нотариалните такси се определят по тарифа, приета от Министерския съвет по предложение на министъра на правосъдието след съгласуване с Нотариалната камара.“
| Material interest (BGN) | In euro | Notary fee under item 8 |
|---|---|---|
| up to 100 | up to 51.13 | BGN 30 |
| 101 to 1,000 | up to 511.29 | BGN 30 + 1.5% over BGN 100 |
| 1,001 to 10,000 | up to 5,112.92 | BGN 43.50 + 1.3% over BGN 1,000 |
| 10,001 to 50,000 | up to 25,564.59 | BGN 160.50 + 0.8% over BGN 10,000 |
| 50,001 to 100,000 | up to 51,129.19 | BGN 480.50 + 0.5% over BGN 50,000 |
| 100,001 to 500,000 | up to 255,645.94 | BGN 730.50 + 0.2% over BGN 100,000 |
| over 500,000 | over 255,645.94 | BGN 1,530.50 + 0.1% over BGN 500,000, at most BGN 6,000 |
Tariff of Notary Fees to the ЗННД, Section II, item 8. 20% VAT is added to the fee
Tariff of Notary Fees to the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Section II, item 8
Official Bulgarian text
„За издаване на нотариален акт или на договор за делба извън посочените в т. 1 се събира такса по следната таблица“
On what amount? The law says the market price of the property, but not lower than the tax assessment value. For a gift, the parties state a value in the deed and the notary calculates on it; if it is below the tax assessment value, the notary calculates on the tax assessment value.
Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Art. 96(1), item 1
Official Bulgarian text
„При прехвърляне и удостоверяване на право на собственост върху вещи удостоверяваният материален интерес е: 1. пазарната цена на вещта;“
Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Art. 96(3)
The valuation under § 2 is the one under Art. 33 ЗМДТ, that is, the tax assessment value.
Official Bulgarian text
„При разлика между оценката по § 2 и удостоверения материален интерес нотариалната такса се събира върху по-високата от двете.“
Drafting the deed is charged separately
If the notary also drafts the notary deed itself, the Tariff provides for one more fee, in the same amount as for issuing it. This is why the “notary fee” at two offices can differ twofold for the same property. A ready draft from a lawyer or from you saves the second fee, but the notary still checks it.
Tariff of Notary Fees to the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
item 20, letter “а”
Official Bulgarian text
„на проект на нотариален акт извън посочените в т. 1 се събира таксата по т. 8“
Registration and the tax assessment value
The deed of gift is registered at the Registry Office (Служба по вписванията) for the location of the property. The fee is 0.1% of the value on which the deed was charged, but not less than BGN 10 (€5.11). The notary submits the deed for registration; registration is what protects the new owner against third parties.
Tariff of State Fees Collected by the Registry Agency
Art. 2(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„За вписване на подлежащи на вписване актове и документи се събира такса върху цената, по която е таксуван актът или документът, или върху цената на иска в размер 0,1 на сто, но не по-малко от 10 лв.“
The certificate of tax assessment value (удостоверение за данъчна оценка) is the document everything revolves around: the tax and the fees are calculated on it, and in it the municipality also certifies whether there is unpaid tax on the property. It is issued by the municipality where the property is located within 5 days.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Annex No. 2, Art. 3(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Данъчната оценка се определя от служителите на общинската администрация по местонахождение на имота в 5-дневен срок от подаване на искане по образец.“
Tax and Social Security Procedure Code (ДОПК)
Art. 264(1)
The notary checks electronically with the National Revenue Agency (НАП) whether the donor has public debts; the debt on the property itself is shown in the tax assessment.
Official Bulgarian text
„Наличието или липсата на непогасени данъчни задължения за имота се удостоверява в данъчната оценка.“
The tax assessment has a deadline
An assessment issued by 30 June is valid until 30 June; one issued after that is valid until the end of the year. If the tax on the property has been paid for the whole year and this is entered in the assessment, it is valid until the end of the year regardless of the date. Do not get the assessment in May for a transaction in July.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Annex No. 2, Art. 3(4)
Official Bulgarian text
„Издадените до 30 юни на текущата година удостоверения за данъчна оценка на основание чл. 264, ал. 1 от Данъчно-осигурителния процесуален кодекс са валидни до тази дата, а издадените след тази дата - до края на текущата година.“
Gifting a property step by step
Certificate of tax assessment value from the municipality
A request on the standard form is submitted at the municipality where the property is located. Deadline 5 days.
Sketch or plan from the cadastre
From the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre, online through kais.cadastre.bg or at an office.
Payment of the local tax, if it is due
At the municipality where the property is located, before the notary. For the direct line and spouses there is no tax.
Notary deed of gift
Both parties appear in person or through a representative with a notarised power of attorney. The notary checks ownership, the tax assessment and the obligations to the National Revenue Agency (НАП).
Registration at the Registry Office
The notary submits the deed to the Registry Office. Until it is registered, the gift cannot be set up against third parties who registered rights over the property earlier.
The municipality finds out by itself
The notary notifies the municipality within 7 days. The recipient does not file a declaration for the property acquired.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 51(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Нотариусите в 7-дневен срок от извършване на сделката уведомяват съответната община за прехвърлените вещни права върху недвижимите имоти и превозните средства“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 14(3)
Since 2019 the recipient does not file a declaration for the annual tax on the property acquired. The municipality determines it by itself from the data from the notary.
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.“
Documents for gifting a property at a notary
Document of ownership of the donor (notary deed)*
Certificate of tax assessment value of the property*
Sketch of the plot or plan of the separate unit from the АГКК*
ID cards of the donor and the recipient*
Document proving the family relationship (birth certificate, marriage certificate or certificate of family and kinship ties)
Proves the right to the exempt or reduced rate
Document for the local tax paid
Only when tax is due: brothers, sisters, their children and everyone else
Certificate of encumbrances from the Property Register
Not mandatory, but it shows mortgages and attachments on the property
Power of attorney with a notary’s certification
Only if one of the parties does not appear in person
* Mandatory documents
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
Gift or sale: when it is cheaper
Many people think a gift is always cheaper than a sale. That is true only between close relatives. Between strangers it is exactly the opposite: the tax on a purchase is between 0.1% and 3%, and on a gift between 3.3% and 6.6%.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 47(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„При възмездно придобиване на имущество данъкът се определя от общинския съвет в размер от 0,1 до 3 на сто върху оценката на прехвърляното имущество“
| Transaction for a €80,000 property | Local tax | Total costs |
|---|---|---|
| Gift to a child or spouse | €0 | €597.49 |
| Sale to anyone | €80 to €2,400 | €677.49 to €2,997.49 |
| Gift to a cousin or friend | €2,640 to €5,280 | €3,237.49 to €5,877.49 |
The notary fee and the registration are the same; the difference is only in the tax. On a sale the seller may also owe income tax
A contract for transferring a property in exchange for an obligation of care and maintenance (гледане и издръжка) is not a gift. It is for consideration: the property is given in return for a counter-performance, and for that reason it is treated as an acquisition for consideration at the lower rate. It has its own rules and risks and deserves a separate conversation with a lawyer.
The trap when selling a gifted property
The recipient does not owe income tax on the gift itself: property received as a gift is not counted as income. The problem comes if they sell the property soon afterwards.
Personal Income Tax Act (ЗДДФЛ)
Art. 13(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се смята за доход полученото имущество по наследство, завет и дарение“
On the sale of a property, the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price is taxed, reduced by 10% costs. For a gifted property the law assumes that the acquisition price is zero. That means almost the whole sale price is taxed.
Personal Income Tax Act (ЗДДФЛ)
Art. 33(6), item 3
Official Bulgarian text
„нула - когато няма документално доказана цена на придобиване, включително за имущество, придобито по дарение“
€9,000
income tax on the sale of a gifted property for €100,000 before 3 years have passed: €100,000 minus 10% costs, at 10%
Source: ЗДДФЛ, Art. 33(1) and (6), item 3; Art. 48(1)
The way out is the time limit. The sale of one residential property is not taxed if more than three years have passed between the acquisition and the sale. For a gifted property the three years run from the date of the notary deed of gift, not from the moment the donor bought it.
Personal Income Tax Act (ЗДДФЛ)
Art. 13(1), item 1, letter “а”
For up to two properties, as well as for agricultural and forest properties, the period is more than 5 years (letter “б”).
Official Bulgarian text
„един недвижим жилищен имот, ако между датата на придобиването и датата на продажбата или замяната са изминали повече от три години“
Reserved right of use: the donor stays in the home
The most common arrangement when parents gift to children is for the donor to keep the right of use (право на ползване) for the rest of their life. Ownership passes to the child, but the parent lives in the property and the new owner cannot throw them out.
Property Act (ЗС)
Art. 59(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Правото на ползуване се погасява със смъртта на ползувателя, ако то не е учредено за по-кратък срок.“
There is also a flip side that few people know: while the use lasts, the annual property tax and the household waste fee are borne by the user, that is, by the donor, not by the new owner.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 11(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„При учредено вещно право на ползване данъчно задължен е ползвателят.“
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 64(1)
The household waste fee follows the person liable for the tax, that is, the user.
Official Bulgarian text
„Таксата по чл. 62 се заплаща от лицата по чл. 11 за имотите на територията на общината.“
Property Act (ЗС)
Art. 57(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Ползувателят е длъжен да плаща разноските, свързани с ползуването, включително данъците и другите такси“
What no calculator shows: heirs, marriage, revocation
A gift is final from the moment of signing: the donor gives up the thing “immediately and free of charge”. Unlike a will, it cannot be changed by a new document tomorrow.
Obligations and Contracts Act (ЗЗД)
Art. 225(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„С договора за дарение дарителят отстъпва веднага и безвъзмездно нещо на дарения, който го приема.“
The other children can challenge the gift after the donor’s death. Children, parents and the spouse have a reserved share (запазена част) of the inheritance, which the donor cannot infringe either by a will or by a gift. The gifted property is added to the estate at its value at the time of death, and if the reserved share of the other heirs is infringed, they can ask for the gift to be reduced.
Inheritance Act (ЗН)
Art. 28(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато наследодателят остави низходящи, родители или съпруг, той не може със завещателни разпореждания или чрез дарение да накърнява онова, което съставлява тяхна запазена част от наследството.“
Inheritance Act (ЗН)
Art. 30(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Наследник с право на запазена част, който не може да получи пълния размер на тази част поради завещания или дарения, може да иска намалението им до размера, необходим за допълване на неговата запазена част“
If the recipient is not a statutory heir, a challenge requires an inventory
An heir who wants a gift reduced in favour of a person outside the circle of statutory heirs (for example a daughter-in-law or a friend) must have accepted the inheritance subject to an inventory beforehand (приел наследството по опис). Without an inventory the claim is lost at the outset. A gift to your own child can be challenged without this condition, but only up to the amount of the infringed reserved share.
Inheritance Act (ЗН)
Art. 30(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато наследникът, чиято запазена част е накърнена, упражнява това право спрямо лица, които не са наследници по закон, необходимо е той да е приел наследството по опис.“
A gifted property is the recipient’s personal property. Even if your child is married, the flat you gift to them does not become marital community property and is not divided on divorce.
Family Code (СК)
Art. 22(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Вещните права, придобити преди брака, както и придобитите по време на брака по наследство и по дарение, принадлежат на съпруга, който ги е придобил.“
Revocation is possible only in three cases. The donor can ask the court for revocation if the recipient attempts on their life, falsely accuses them of a serious crime or refuses them maintenance that they need. The claim is brought within one year of learning of it. “We do not get on” and “I have changed my mind” are not grounds.
Obligations and Contracts Act (ЗЗД)
Art. 227(3)
The grounds are in paragraph 1, letters “а” to “в”; they do not apply to customary gifts and gifts in return for services (paragraph 2).
Official Bulgarian text
„Искът може да се предяви в едногодишен срок откакто на дарителя са станали известни основанията за отменяване на дарението.“
A gift of money: the same tax, a different procedure
The tax on gifts also applies to money and goods, at exactly the same rates and with the same exemption for the direct line and spouses. The difference is in the procedure: there is no notary to collect it. The recipient files a declaration themselves at the municipality of their permanent address and pays within two months. For a gift from a parent, child or spouse, no declaration is filed.
Local Taxes and Fees Act (ЗМДТ)
Art. 49(3) and (4)
Official Bulgarian text
„При безвъзмездно придобиване на имущество, с изключение на случаите по ал. 2, лицата, получили имущество, подават декларация за облагането му с данък и заплащат данъка в двумесечен срок от получаването му. ... Декларация по ал. 3 не се подава в случаите по чл. 44, ал. 5 и 6 и чл. 48, ал. 1, т. 5, 6, 8 и 9“
Customary gifts, for example for a birthday or a wedding, are exempt under Art. 48(1), item 5 ЗМДТ. The law does not say up to what amount a gift is “customary”; an amount that buys a flat is not.
Frequently asked questions
Can the donor pay the tax instead of the recipient?
They can pay it in practice, but by law the person liable is the recipient. If the deed says the tax is for the donor, the recipient is a surety and the municipality can claim from them.
Does the tax assessment have to be “fresh”?
Yes. An assessment issued by 30 June is valid until 30 June; one issued after that date, until the end of the year. The exception: if the tax on the property has been paid for the whole year and this is noted in the assessment.
Can I gift a property with a mortgage?
Ownership can be transferred, but the mortgage stays on the property and the bank keeps its rights. Check your loan agreement: most banks require their consent to a disposal of the property.
Is gifting a share of a property cheaper?
The fees and the tax are calculated on the value of the share gifted, not on the whole property. A gift of half of a property worth €80,000 is charged on €40,000.
Can the donor take the property back if they change their mind?
No. A gift is final and is revoked only by a court, in the three cases under Art. 227 of the Obligations and Contracts Act (ЗЗД), within one year. If you want to keep control, consider a will or reserving a right of use.
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