Costs of Buying and Selling Property in Bulgaria in 2026: Taxes, Notary Fees and Who Pays What

Buying or selling real estate in Bulgaria involves more than the agreed property price. A transaction may also generate local taxes, notary and registration fees, document preparation costs, legal review expenses, banking charges and, where applicable, real estate agency fees.

It is common to see statements suggesting that additional transaction costs amount to “around 4% to 8% of the property price”. This can be useful as a rough budgeting rule, but it should not be treated as a universal standard.

The actual cost of a property transaction depends primarily on:

• the municipality in which the property is located;
• the value used as the basis for calculating the transaction fees;
• how the buyer and seller agree to allocate the costs;
• whether the purchase is financed with a mortgage;
• whether the parties use a lawyer, real estate agency, notary escrow account or other additional services.

For this reason, the most professional approach is to calculate the transaction costs for the specific property before the preliminary agreement is signed.

In general, they can be divided into three categories.

These usually include:

1. local acquisition tax;
2. notary fee;
3. registration fee for entering the notarial deed in the Bulgarian Property Register.

These may include:

• cadastral documents;
• certificates and searches from the Property Register;
• legal due diligence;
• lawyer’s fees;
• translations and legalisation for foreign parties;
• bank transfers or use of a special notary account.

Examples include:

• bank valuation;
• mortgage-related fees;
• bank charges;
• insurance;
• real estate agency commission.

The distinction between these categories is important because not every cost applies to every transaction.

The local acquisition tax is usually the largest mandatory transfer cost.

Under the Bulgarian Local Taxes and Fees Act, each municipal council determines the applicable rate within the statutory range of 0.1% to 3%.

This means there is no single rate applicable throughout Bulgaria. The exact percentage must be checked for the municipality in which the property is located.

For real estate transactions, the tax base is generally the higher of:

• the agreed purchase price; and
• the official tax valuation of the property.

For example, if a property is sold for €150,000 and its tax valuation is €70,000, the tax is calculated on €150,000.

If the tax valuation is higher than the agreed price, the tax base will generally be the higher tax valuation.

As a general rule, the tax is payable by the acquirer — usually the buyer.

However, the parties may agree on a different allocation of this cost.

For example, they may agree that the tax is shared, or that the seller bears it.

This is one of the reasons why the allocation of transaction costs should be expressly agreed in the preliminary contract.

The transfer of ownership of real estate in Bulgaria is completed by means of a notarial deed, and the notary charges a fee for the notarial proceedings.

Unlike the local acquisition tax, the notary fee is not a flat percentage of the purchase price.

It is calculated according to a progressive tariff under the Bulgarian Notaries and Notarial Activity Act.

As the transaction value increases, the relative percentage represented by the notary fee decreases.

The fee is calculated on the applicable material interest of the transaction, which generally takes into account the value relevant for the notarial certification.

VAT is added to the notary’s remuneration in accordance with the applicable tax rules.

For a transaction value of approximately €100,000, the base notary fee is roughly €471 excluding VAT, or approximately €565 including VAT.

For a transaction value of approximately €200,000, the base notary fee is roughly €671 excluding VAT, or approximately €805 including VAT.

These figures are indicative calculations of the main proportional notary fee.

The final invoice may also contain additional amounts for other notarial actions or services required for the specific transaction.

After signing the notarial deed, it must be registered in the Bulgarian Property Register maintained by the Registry Agency.

The state registration fee is 0.1% of the value on which the document is charged, subject to the statutory minimum fee.

For example:

For a transaction value of €100,000, the registration fee is approximately €100.

For a transaction value of €200,000, the registration fee is approximately €200.

This fee is separate from the notary fee.

This is one of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of Bulgarian property transactions.

Under the general rule of Article 186 of the Bulgarian Obligations and Contracts Act, where real estate is sold, the costs connected with the contract and transfer are generally borne equally by the parties.

This does not mean, however, that every transaction in Bulgaria must automatically follow a 50/50 split.

The buyer and seller may agree on a different arrangement.

Several models are commonly encountered.

The buyer and seller agree to divide the local tax, notarial costs and registration fee between them.

This is the model that most closely reflects the general statutory rule.

In many transactions, the parties agree that the buyer will pay the local acquisition tax and the main costs of the transfer.

This may form part of the commercial negotiation and should not be treated as an automatic legal requirement for every property transaction.

For example:

“The seller is to receive a net amount of €200,000, while all transaction costs are borne by the buyer.”

Such an arrangement is possible, but it should be drafted carefully.

The contract should specify whether this includes:

• local acquisition tax;
• notary fees;
• registration fees;
• bank charges;
• document preparation costs;
• other transaction-related expenses.

Do not rely on expressions such as “standard market practice”.

Instead, state clearly in the preliminary agreement who pays:

• the local acquisition tax;
• notary fees;
• registration fees;
• bank charges;
• document preparation costs;
• real estate agency fees.

This avoids uncertainty on the day of completion.

Assume the following:

• purchase price: €100,000;
• tax valuation is lower than the purchase price;
• local acquisition tax in the relevant municipality is 3%;
• there is no mortgage loan;
• the buyer has agreed to pay the main transfer costs.

The indicative calculation would be:

Local acquisition tax – 3%: €3,000

Notary fee including VAT: approximately €565

Property Register fee – 0.1%: €100

Total main transfer costs: approximately €3,665

This equals approximately 3.7% of the purchase price.

This calculation does not include:

• real estate agency commission;
• lawyer’s fees;
• bank charges;
• mortgage-related costs;
• property valuation;
• insurance;
• additional notarial services;
• administrative documents.

A buyer using mortgage financing and professional services should therefore budget a higher amount.

A mortgage-financed purchase creates a second group of expenses that should not be confused with the transfer costs of the property itself.

The lender will normally require a valuation carried out by an approved or accepted valuer.

The cost depends on the bank, the type of property and the particular valuer.

Depending on the mortgage product, charges may arise for:

• processing the loan application;
• loan administration;
• account services;
• transfer of the purchase price;
• other services under the bank’s tariff.

These charges should not be treated as fixed market amounts because they differ significantly between banks.

A contractual mortgage is a separate notarial act.

It may generate:

• a notary fee based on the secured amount;
• a registration fee in the Property Register.

The registration of the mortgage is also subject to the applicable registration fee.

Banks typically require property insurance.

Depending on the lender and mortgage product, additional insurance products may also be required or offered.

Some lenders require proof after completion that the mortgage has been registered and that its ranking has been established correctly.

The exact requirements differ from one bank to another.

Practical recommendation: before signing the preliminary agreement, the buyer should ask the financing bank for a full breakdown of all one-off costs connected with granting and securing the mortgage.

The seller must provide the documents required to demonstrate ownership and allow the transfer to proceed.

The exact document package depends on the property and the way in which it was acquired.

Typical documents may include:

For example:

• previous notarial deed;
• contract;
• court decision;
• inheritance documents;
• earlier title documents where relevant.

This is issued by the municipality in which the property is located.

In addition to stating the official tax valuation, it is relevant to the verification of local property tax obligations.

Where an approved cadastral map exists, the relevant cadastral document is normally required.

For an apartment or another individual unit, this is generally the scheme of the independent property unit.

A certificate or search from the Bulgarian Property Register may show registered rights and encumbrances, including:

• mortgages;
• attachments;
• other registered restrictions or rights.

This is an important element of legal due diligence.

The exact scope of the search depends on the transaction and the requirements of any financing bank.

Depending on the circumstances, the transaction may also require:

• inheritance certificates;
• marriage or matrimonial property documents;
• documents proving identity or correspondence of the property;
• construction documents;
• documents relating to release of an existing mortgage;
• powers of attorney;
• declarations required for the notarial proceedings.

Older Bulgarian property guides often state that the seller must provide a certificate from the National Revenue Agency confirming the absence of public debts.

This is no longer the current mechanism.

Since 3 May 2024, Bulgarian notaries perform an electronic check with the National Revenue Agency to determine whether the transferor has enforceable outstanding public liabilities.

If such liabilities exist, Bulgarian law provides mechanisms through which they may in certain cases be paid from the proceeds of the property transaction.

For this reason, listing a separate tax clearance certificate under Article 87 of the Bulgarian Tax and Social Security Procedure Code as a standard seller document would now be outdated.

This is another area in which oversimplified statements are common.

It is not correct to say simply:

“If you sell a property within three years, you pay 10% tax on the profit.”

The Bulgarian Personal Income Tax Act contains more detailed rules.

Income received by an individual from the sale or exchange of property may be exempt, including in cases such as:

• the sale of one residential property, provided that more than 3 years have passed between acquisition and sale;
• the sale of up to two real estate properties, provided that more than 5 years have passed between acquisition and sale;
• agricultural and forest land, subject to the applicable statutory conditions.

The tax treatment therefore depends on factors such as the type of property, number of properties sold and period of ownership.

It should not be reduced simply to whether the property was purchased, inherited, donated or exchanged.

Where the gain is taxable, the taxable income is generally based on the positive difference between the sale price and the acquisition price, reduced by 10% statutory expenses.

The resulting taxable income then forms part of the individual’s income tax calculation.

For this reason, saying that there is always a straightforward “10% tax on the difference between the purchase and sale price” is not fully accurate.

These rules concern individuals outside specific cases where the activity may be treated as business or commercial activity.

If the seller is:

• a company;
• a sole trader;
• a person carrying out property sales as a business activity;
• or the transaction falls within a specific VAT regime,

the tax treatment may be different.

In a standard sale between private individuals, VAT is generally not shown as a separate component of the purchase price.

However, transactions involving:

• property developers;
• construction companies;
• VAT-registered sellers;
• new buildings or certain categories of property

may be subject to a different VAT treatment.

For this reason, when buying new construction in Bulgaria, the buyer should always confirm:

Does the advertised price include VAT?

A price of €150,000 excluding VAT and a price of €150,000 including VAT are obviously two very different financial propositions.

The VAT treatment depends on the seller, type and characteristics of the property and the specific transaction.

Professional tax advice should be obtained where the VAT position is unclear.

There is no universal “correct price” for legal due diligence on a property transaction.

A lawyer’s fee depends on factors such as:

• complexity of ownership history;
• number of previous transfers;
• inheritance issues;
• mortgages or attachments;
• co-ownership;
• construction documentation;
• preparation or negotiation of the preliminary agreement;
• financing structure.

The more important question is not simply the lawyer’s price, but the scope of the legal review.

A proper property due diligence process should not be limited to obtaining a single certificate of encumbrances.

It should review ownership and the available documentation sufficiently to identify significant legal risks before the buyer pays a substantial deposit or the balance of the purchase price.

Real estate agency fees are separate from taxes, state charges and notarial costs.

There is no statutory standard percentage for real estate agency commission in Bulgaria.

The amount, timing and conditions for payment should be agreed in the brokerage agreement between the client and the real estate agency or broker.

Different models are possible.

For example:

• only the seller pays a brokerage fee;
• only the buyer has engaged and pays their own agent;
• both buyer and seller use separate agencies;
• one agency works with both parties under clearly agreed terms.

For this reason, real estate commission should not automatically be included under the heading “notary costs”.

They are entirely different types of payment.

In a property transaction, the payment mechanism is just as important as the transaction fees.

Bulgarian law allows the purchase price to be transferred into a special bank account of the notary.

The conditions under which funds are received and released are agreed in writing between the notary and the parties.

The funds in the special account are protected from enforcement relating to the notary’s personal liabilities.

This mechanism is different from a normal bank transfer directly between buyer and seller.

In more complex transactions — for example where:

• an existing seller’s mortgage must be discharged;
• the buyer is using bank financing;
• several sellers are receiving portions of the price;

the payment structure should be agreed before completion.

Sometimes parties may be tempted to state a lower price in the notarial deed in order to reduce local tax and transaction charges.

This creates serious legal and tax risks.

In a Bulgarian real estate transaction, the parties declare in the notarial deed that the amount stated reflects the actual agreed payment under the transaction.

Apart from the tax implications, understating the official price may create difficulties in proving the true amount paid if a dispute arises later.

The professional approach is for the notarial deed and payment documents to reflect the actual commercial terms of the transaction.

There is no single percentage that is correct for every property purchase in Bulgaria.

For a cash buyer, one of the largest variables is usually the local acquisition tax, which may range between 0.1% and 3% depending on the municipality.

On top of this come:

• notary fees;
• the 0.1% registration fee;
• and, where applicable, additional professional or financial costs.

If the buyer uses:

• mortgage finance;
• a lawyer;
• a real estate agency;
• a special bank or notary account;
• translations or other services,

the overall budget can be significantly higher.

For this reason, rather than relying on a general rule such as “budget another 5%”, the better approach is to prepare a detailed cost estimate for the specific transaction before entering into binding contractual obligations.

Before signing the preliminary agreement, the parties should ideally have reached clear agreement on at least the following financial matters:

1. What is the final purchase price?
2. Does the price include VAT, where applicable?
3. What amount is paid initially and what is the legal nature of that payment?
4. When and how will the remaining purchase price be paid?
5. Who pays the local acquisition tax?
6. Who pays the notary fee?
7. Who pays the Property Register fee?
8. Who pays for the transaction documents?
9. What happens if the property is subject to an existing mortgage?
10. What is the procedure if the buyer uses mortgage finance?
11. When is possession of the property and the keys transferred?
12. What real estate agency fees are payable by each party?

When these issues are left unresolved until the day of completion, the risk of disagreement increases significantly.

Local acquisition tax

As a general statutory rule, this is payable by the acquirer, usually the buyer. The parties may agree on a different allocation.

Notary fees and other transfer costs

The general statutory rule for a sale of real estate is that the parties bear the costs connected with the contract and transfer equally. They may expressly agree on another arrangement.

Property Register fee

This forms part of the transfer costs and may be allocated between the parties according to their agreement.

Seller’s documents

The seller normally organises the documents necessary to demonstrate ownership and prepare the property for sale, although the parties may agree otherwise in specific circumstances.

Buyer’s mortgage costs

Bank charges and financing costs connected with the buyer’s mortgage are usually borne by the buyer.

Mortgage registration costs

The notary fee, mortgage registration fee and related banking costs are normally borne by the buyer because the mortgage secures the buyer’s financing.

Lawyer’s fees

Each party normally pays the lawyer they have instructed, unless another arrangement has been agreed.

Real estate agency commission

Agency fees are payable in accordance with the relevant brokerage agreement. Bulgarian law does not impose a mandatory commission percentage on either the buyer or seller.

Property transaction costs in Bulgaria should not be viewed as one fixed percentage mechanically added to the purchase price.

Some costs are determined by law and official tariffs.

Others depend on the municipality.

Still others arise entirely from the parties’ agreement, the financing structure or the professional services used.

The correct question is therefore not:

“What percentage are the notary costs?”

but:

“What is the full financial structure of this specific property transaction, and who is responsible for each individual cost?”

When this is clarified before the preliminary contract is signed, the buyer understands the true acquisition cost, the seller knows the net amount they will receive, and the risk of unpleasant surprises on the day of completion is significantly reduced.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute individual legal, tax or financial advice.

The applicable legal and tax treatment may vary depending on the parties, type of property, method of acquisition, mortgage financing, VAT status and other specific circumstances.