The numbers in this article are wrong, especially the company vs individual chart: you'd only pay 16% tax with a company if you paid yourself in dividends.
Past a certain threshold, with a company, the best option is to pay yourself a salary every month. Then your tax rate will be in the 11 - 15% range depending on your income.<p>source: I've got a company in Bulgaria<p>conclusion: coming to Bulgaria to pay less taxes can definitely be done, but hire a local accountant and get professional advice.
I just want to throw out there that this is nice, but it's zero in Panama on foreign source income. The country uses the US dollar and is quite stable and modern. I used to live there, and I want to go back to that tax system as soon as I can.
Getting an accountant is really one of the best decisions you can make especially if you make above average income or income from multiple streams no matter the place you live in.<p>I've done my taxes for individual business for 8 years myself, but when I've moved abroad I needed help with setting up business as I was unfamiliar with local laws and regulations. I hired a great accountant who helped me with setting up both individual business and limited company. I'm getting schooled on how I should do things to take advantage of different opportunities and tax breaks - things I never though or did before.
Considering moving in Bulgaria after this, thanks!<p>My Freelance taxes/social sec/retirement tax in Italy is on average 76% on a total of 80k eur average gross annual income (98th income percentile).
Keep in mind that Bulgaria has just elected a reformist parliament for the first time in more than 10 years. Maybe wait a year or two before buying a one-way ticket as the government may raise taxes, especially on the unaffected by the anti-COVID measures. Or they could lower taxes even more if they manage to get on top of the rampant tax evasion and grey economy (one can hope).<p>Also there are other small things to consider:<p>* Healthcare in Bulgaria is severely underfunded <i>and</i> understaffed. Not only that, but the incentive system for hospitals is currently IMO completely broken, as they get paid per patient i.e. more sick people = more pay, not more <i>healthy</i> people. My current belief is that you need to live in a large city if you want to have a chance to survive an incident or a heart attack/stroke. Source: trust me, I live here, have lost several family members due to poor healthcare, and have had one receiving incompetent treatment so the hospital can receive more money from health insurance.<p>* Same goes for childcare/education.<p>* * There is currently a severe deficit of kindergartens in the large cities -- Sofia (~10k children left out), Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas.<p>* * Bulgarian public education has been in a freefall for the last 10 years as evidenced by dropping results in state exams and international studies (<a href="https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=BGR&treshold=10&topic=PI" rel="nofollow">https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=...</a>). Private schooling is available in large cities and unsurprisingly is limited. Take into account potential need of home-schooling if you plan to start a family here.<p>* The public institutions are (currently) not working or corrupt. There are issues with the judicial system, the prosecution, the police, etc. Tl; dr: better hope you won't have to deal with those before major reforms and definitely don't rely on having your rights protected by them. You are on your own here.<p>Do not be under the illusion that Bulgaria is just like $western_european_country but with less taxes and cheaper housing. Everything comes at a price. You will not find many things you take for granted in your home country here.
> Bulgarian national currency is BGN, and as of now, its value is pegged to EUR with the fixed ratio of 1.95583. So, 1 EUR is 1.95583 BGN, and it doesn't change over time, at least not yet.<p>1.95583 is EXACTLY the exchange rate between Euro and Deutsche Mark that I still remember from the switch in 2002. Indeed, after some research I've just learned that the Bulgarian Lev has been pegged to the DM since 1997.
> And if your income is smaller than 710 BGN, even if it's straight zero, then you'll have to pay social security as if your income was 710 BGN<p>Is this really how it works? They're taxing people with 0 income? I guess it isn't relevant to the target audience of the article but it must suck for the unemployed.<p>> Accountant fees: about 150 - 200 BGN per month independently of the income.<p>This seems really high. Why do you need an accountant every month instead of once a year?
and you can compare some cultural stuff and see if you like it.
<a href="https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/" rel="nofollow">https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/</a><p>.bg is pretty middle ground (culturally and societaly) between (very) east and (very) west, with all the pros/cons of that. A bit more towards the west.. as situated in south-east Evropa (the original Greek word of Europe) after all, but it depends. A little bit of south as well..<p>As said elsewhere, Quite some things might be missing or not working but then.. you might not really need them. After being around the world, i am back here, for.. the vitality and variety of life that happens.
Not that it is easy, but it is interesting.
YMMV
Bulgarian here. :)<p>We like to be hush-hush about the benefits of living in Bulgaria.<p>Nothing at the moment beats the taxes, location and potential of Bulgaria in Eastern Europe :)<p>You can ask me any questions related to living cost, places, customs, etc or anything related to Bulgaria.
Similar as in Poland:<p>1. Long-term remote contracting as software engineers is legal. No need to worry about being forced into being employee.<p>2. Regressive taxation at very low level (e.g. recently in Poland you can opt-in for 12.5% taxation of revenue).
Simplified taxation for contractors in Ukraine (pe simplified system) is basically 5% + ~$500.
You are allowed to make up to around $250,000 per year this way.
I am a big believer in Flag Theory and stuff…<p>I currently pay about 2,5% on my gross income ($100k+) as a software developer, which is more than most of EU/US developers are left after tax…<p>In a short, if you’re willing to make some trade-offs and optimize your taxes, you’ll be legally retaining your hard earned $$$. Among the trade-offs, tax residency is the most important. Things are a bit complicated for US citizens as the government taxes their income regardless of their tax residency, citizenship-based.<p>P.S. That 2,5% includes all the fees like accounting, legal consultations and banking fees (account maintenance, transfers…)