Anyone hiring in Bulgaria usually budgets the salary first and is then surprised by the rest: contributions, ceilings, minimum bases per occupation, deadlines. This article lays out the 2026 figures side by side, with a worked example, and ends with how health insurance works for employees, for the managing shareholder and for people who have moved here from Germany. All amounts in euro; Bulgaria has counted exclusively in euro since 1 January 2026.
Minimum wage 2026
The statutory minimum wage has been 620.20 euro gross a month for full time since 1 January 2026, the former 1,213 leva. It is set annually by government decree, in recent years on 1 January each time, and has risen markedly faster than prices in recent years. Expect a further increase for 2027; the figure is usually announced in the autumn.
The minimum wage is not the only floor. For social security there is additionally a minimum insurable income per economic sector and occupation group (МОД), which for many jobs lies above the minimum wage. An accountant or software developer is therefore insured on at least the base set for their group, even if the contract says less.
Average salary
The National Statistical Institute reports an average gross salary of 1,444 euro a month for the second quarter of 2026, preliminary, about 9.8% more than a year earlier. The average hides large differences: Sofia is well above it, the IT sector far above that, manufacturing and retail in the regions below. For workforce planning the sector and regional figure is the better measure; we will give you the one for your case.
Payroll costs: what the employer pays on top
On top of gross salary come employer social security contributions of 18.52% plus the occupational accident contribution of 0.4% to 1.1% depending on the sector, usually 0.5%. In total, around 19%. The employee bears a further 13.78% out of gross, plus the flat 10% income tax on gross after their contributions.
Both sets of contributions are calculated only up to the contribution ceiling of 2,300 euro a month, in force since 1 August 2026. A salary of 5,000 euro costs the employer no more in contributions than one of 2,300 euro; the 10% income tax, by contrast, applies to the full amount. That makes high salaries in Bulgaria strikingly inexpensive compared with Germany.
Worked example: a salary at the average
Gross salary 1,444 euro, accident contribution 0.5%, employee born after 1959:
- Employer contributions: 18.92% of 1,444 = 273.20 euro. Total cost to the employer: 1,717.20 euro.
- Employee contributions: 13.78% of 1,444 = 198.98 euro.
- Income tax: 10% of (1,444 − 198.98) = 124.50 euro.
- Net salary: 1,120.52 euro.
Of 1,717 euro total cost, a good 65% reaches the employee. For comparison, in Germany that share is markedly lower at a comparable salary. Run other amounts through our net salary calculator.
The employment contract and the deadlines
- Registration before work starts: every employment contract is registered electronically with the tax authority НАП within three days of signing and in any case before the employee starts work. Letting someone work unregistered risks a fine per employee.
- Probation: up to six months, to be agreed in the contract.
- Leave: at least 20 working days a year.
- Notice period: 30 days unless the contract provides otherwise, up to three months; for fixed-term contracts three months, at most until the contract ends.
- Monthly filing and payment: social security contributions and income tax are filed and paid by the 25th of the following month. The salary itself is due as the employment contract provides.
- Sick leave is transmitted electronically by doctors to the social security institute НОИ; the first three days of illness are paid by the employer at 70% of gross, thereafter by НОИ. Our sick leave calculator shows the calculation.
Health insurance in Bulgaria
Statutory health insurance runs through the health fund НЗОК and is financed with 8% of insurable income, split in employment between employer (4.8%) and employee (3.2%). It is already included in the contributions above. An employee is therefore health-insured without any further step.
For the managing shareholder of an EOOD who insures themselves, the same 8% applies to the chosen contribution base, at least 620.20 euro, so at least 49.62 euro of health insurance a month, on top of pension insurance. Our calculator for the self-employed works out the total burden for self-insured people.
For people who have moved from Germany three points matter:
- German statutory health insurance ends with the move. Until you are in the Bulgarian system, the European Health Insurance Card covers only treatment that becomes necessary during a temporary stay, and only while the German insurance still exists.
- You enter the Bulgarian system through employment, through self-insurance as manager or, without income, through your own contributions of 8% on half the minimum base, currently 24.81 euro a month. Registration requires the Bulgarian personal number, which you receive with your residence registration.
- Anyone who leaves more than three monthly contributions unpaid within the last 36 months loses their insurance rights until all arrears are paid. This regularly catches people who spent a few months “in between” after moving. Better to pay the gap.
НЗОК covers the general practitioner, referrals, hospital and part of the cost of medicines, with small co-payments. Public hospitals are unevenly equipped; most of our clients also take out private supplementary insurance, which in Bulgaria costs a fraction of German premiums and opens access to private clinics.
How we help
ConsulTax runs payroll for companies with German-speaking owners: contracts, registrations, monthly pay runs, filings with НАП and НОИ, sick leave, leavers. What that includes is described under Personnel, Labor and Wages, and everything else for owners from Germany on German-Speaking Accountant in Bulgaria. If you are hiring your first employee or want an existing payroll taken over: talk to us.