Unused annual leave pay in Bulgaria: calculator, Art. 224
Free calculator for compensation for unused paid leave when you leave a job in Bulgaria: the Art. 224 formula, limitation period, tax and payment deadline.
Are you leaving your job, or being made redundant, with paid leave still unused? By law your employer must pay you for those days in money. The question is how much exactly, and when you will get it.
Here is the formula, a free calculator and everything important about the limitation period, taxes and the payment deadline, in plain language.
❓How is compensation for unused paid leave calculated?
Source: КТ, Art. 224 and Art. 177
Work out your compensation (calculator)
Enter your gross salary for the base month, how many days you worked in it and how many leave days you have left. The calculator shows both the gross amount and the net amount you will actually receive.
Calculator: compensation for unused leave (Art. 224 КТ)
Average daily gross pay
€76.70
Gross compensation
€1,073.80
10% personal income tax (ДДФЛ)
− €107.38
Net compensation (what you receive)
€966.42
The calculator gives an indicative estimate under Art. 224(2) and Art. 177 КТ. The base month is the last calendar month before the termination in which you worked at least 10 days. Only 10% personal income tax is deducted from the compensation under Art. 224 КТ, and NO social insurance contributions are payable by the employee (it is not insurable income under Art. 1(8), item 7 НЕВДПОВ), so net = gross × 0.90. Enter only the days that have not expired under the limitation period. The final amount is determined by the employer in the payment documents.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
The formula step by step (Art. 224(2) and Art. 177 КТ)
The compensation is calculated under the procedure in Art. 177 КТ as of the day of termination. Three simple steps:
How the compensation is worked out
Find the base month
The last calendar month before the termination in which you worked at least 10 working days. If you leave in January, the base month is usually December of the previous year.
Work out the average daily gross pay
Divide the gross pay for the base month by the days worked in it. This is your average daily gross pay.
Multiply by the unused days
Multiply the average daily gross pay by the number of unused leave days that have not expired under the limitation period.
If you have no month with at least 10 days worked, the base is the agreed basic pay plus the additional pay of a permanent nature (Art. 177(2) КТ).
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 224(2)
The base is the average daily gross pay for the base month under Art. 177 КТ.
Official Bulgarian text
„Обезщетението по ал. 1 се изчислява по реда на чл. 177 към деня на прекратяването на трудовото правоотношение.“
What counts towards the gross pay and what does not
The base for the compensation includes the basic salary and permanent supplements, but not one-off bonuses. Here is what counts and what does not (Art. 17 НСОРЗ, the Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage):
| Included in the base | NOT included in the base |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | One-off bonuses and awards |
| Supplement for length of service and professional experience (клас) | Pay of a non-permanent nature |
| Other additional pay of a permanent nature | Business-trip payments and social benefits |
The permanent nature of supplements is determined under Art. 15 НСОРЗ.
You are entitled to it even with less than a year of service (proportionality)
A common mistake is to think you have no right to compensation if you have not completed a full year. That is not true. Compensation is owed even before you have acquired the right to a full year’s leave, in proportion to the time worked.
When you are entitled to compensation even with a short length of service
The minimum basic paid annual leave by law is 20 working days (Art. 155(4) КТ).
You have at least 1 full month of service with the employer
The last month counts as a full one if you worked at least half of its working days (Art. 42(3) НРВПО).
Compensation is owed even when you have not yet acquired the right to leave (Art. 42(2) НРВПО)
The amount is proportionate to the length of service recognised as of the day of termination (Art. 42(4) НРВПО)
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Periods and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 42(4)
Proportionality of the compensation; Art. 42(1) НРВПО has been repealed.
Official Bulgarian text
„Размерът на обезщетението за неизползван платен годишен отпуск по чл. 224, ал. 1 от КТ се определя пропорционално на времето, което се признава за трудов стаж в предприятието към деня на прекратяването на трудовото правоотношение.“
Mind the limitation period: 2 years (Art. 176а КТ)
Unused leave does not wait for ever. If you do not take it in time, the right to take it expires under the limitation period, and expired leave is not compensated.
Leave is lost after 2 years
The right to take paid annual leave expires 2 years after the end of the year for which it is due (Art. 176а(1) КТ).
Example: leave for 2024 expires on 31 December 2026. After that date it can no longer be taken and cannot be compensated.
Where leave is lawfully postponed under Art. 176 КТ, the limitation period runs from the end of the year in which the reason for the postponement ceased (Art. 176а(2)).
There is also a nuance from the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (cases Schultz-Hoff C-350/06, Max-Planck C-684/16, Bollacke C-118/13 on Art. 7 of Directive 2003/88): if the employer did not actually put you in a position to take your leave, for example by not informing you in writing, the compensation may not be lost through the limitation period. This is a possible argument, not a guarantee, and it allows a reasonable ceiling for carrying leave over (case KHS C-214/10).
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 176а(1)
Two-year limitation period for taking paid annual leave.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато платеният годишен отпуск ... не е ползван до изтичане на две години от края на годината, за която се полага, ... правото на ползването му се погасява по давност.“
Common mistakes and important caveats
Money for leave only when you leave
While you are working you cannot take your leave as money. Replacing paid annual leave with a cash payment is prohibited, except when the employment relationship is terminated (Art. 178 КТ). That is why this paid leave calculator and the compensation under Art. 224 cover two different cases.
When the employer changes under Art. 123 КТ
If the business is transferred to a new employer under Art. 123 КТ, there is no termination of the employment relationship, so no compensation is owed under Art. 224. The rights and obligations pass to the new employer, together with the leave you have accrued.
Important: compensation is owed on every ground of termination, including disciplinary dismissal. Nobody can refuse it to you just because the parting was acrimonious.
Taxes and payment deadline
Here is what the calculation looks like in practice. Example: a base month with gross pay of €1,534 and 20 days worked gives €76.70 a day. With 14 unused days the gross amount is €1,073.80 and the net amount is €966.42.
What you will actually receive (example for 14 days)
Gross compensation (€76.70 × 14 days)
€1,073.80
10% personal income tax (ДДФЛ) on the gross amount
− €107.38
Social insurance contributions payable by the employee(optional)
The compensation under Art. 224 is not insurable income (Art. 1(8), item 7 НЕВДПОВ, the ordinance that defines which income is subject to social insurance contributions), so no contributions are deducted.
€0
Total
€966.42 net
Rate 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN (fixed from 1 January 2026). The amounts are indicative.
Your employer must pay you the compensation no later than the last day of the month following the month of termination. A different deadline can be agreed only in a collective labour agreement. After that deadline the employer owes the amount together with statutory interest for late payment.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 228(3)
Deadline for paying the compensation due on termination.
Official Bulgarian text
„... изплащат не по-късно от последния ден на месеца, следващ месеца, през който правоотношението е прекратено, освен ако в колективния трудов договор е договорен друг срок. След изтичане на този срок работодателят дължи обезщетението заедно със законната лихва.“
If your employer does not pay on time, you can file a complaint with the Labour Inspectorate (Инспекция по труда) or claim what is owed through the courts. For many people the next step after leaving a job is also the unemployment benefit from the National Social Security Institute (НОИ).
Frequently asked questions
Is compensation for unused leave taxed?
Yes. A 10% personal income tax (ДДФЛ) is charged on the full gross amount. No social insurance contributions are payable by the employee, because the compensation under Art. 224 is not insurable income. So the net amount is the gross amount minus 10%.
How soon must the compensation be paid when I leave?
By the last day of the month following the month of termination at the latest (Art. 228(3) КТ). If the employer is late, it also owes statutory interest.
Am I owed compensation on a disciplinary dismissal?
Yes. Compensation for unused leave is owed whatever the ground for termination, including disciplinary dismissal.
Do I lose my old unused leave?
Yes, if the 2-year limitation period has run. Leave for a given year expires 2 years after the end of that year. So do not put off taking or being paid for accrued leave for years.
How many leave days am I owed when I leave?
As many as you have accrued and not used, and which have not expired under the limitation period. The minimum annual leave by law is 20 working days, and with a short length of service the days are calculated proportionally (Art. 42 НРВПО).
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.
