Updated last 18.06.2025
Who are self-insured persons?
According to art. 5, para 2 of the Social Insurance Code (SIC) self-insured persons are natural persons obliged to make insurance contributions for their own account.
These include:
- Freelancers and/or persons exercising craft activity;
- Persons involved in trade as sole proprietors (SP), as well as natural persons who are traders within the meaning of the Commercial Act, but have not registered as sole proprietors;
- Owners or partners in commercial entities, who work in these companies;
- Natural persons, members of unincorporated partnerships, who work in these entities;
- Registered farmers or tobacco growers.
Paragraph 1, point 29 of the Additional Provisions of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) explains who are “freelance practitioners“. Some of them include: chartered accountants; consultants; auditors; lawyers; notaries; private bailiffs; jurors; experts to the court and the prosecution; licensed appraisers; industrial property representatives; medical specialists; translators; architects; engineers; technical managers; persons of culture, education, art and science; insurance agents and other natural persons who meet simultaneously all of the conditions listed below:
- They perform professional activities at their own expense;
- They are not registered as sole proprietors;
- They are self-insured persons within the meaning of the Social Insurance Code.
How to register as a self-insured person?
Registration at the Registry Agency (applicable to the freelance practitioners)
On the grounds of art. 3, para 1, item 9 of the Law on the BULSTAT Register the freelance practitioners are obliged to register with the BULSTAT Register at the Registry Agency within 7 days as of the occurrence of their obligation for registration. The application form is available on the website of the BULSTAT Register.
The registration shall be done by submitting the application on paper to the Registry Agency or electronically on the website of the BULSTAT Register, for which you need to have a qualified electronic signature (QES). Information on the registration procedure and the necessary documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice (when submitting the documents on paper) and on the website of the BULSTAT Register, if the application is submitted electronically.
This step is applicable to the freelance practitioners.
Registration with the National Revenue Agency (NRA)
Following successful registration at the BULSTAT Register, your next step should be to register as a self-insured person with the National Revenue Agency (NRA).
You have to register the start of your business operations by filing a declaration in a standard form with the Territorial Directorate of the NRA at your permanent address within 7 calendar days as of the start of your business activities. The suspension, termination or renewal of the operations are also indicated by virtue of declaration, which should be filed within 7 days as of the occurrence of the respective circumstance.
The template of the declaration for the registration of the self-insured person is available on the website of the NRA.
When registering with the NRA, you must declare the type of social insurance coverage you choose – specifically, which social risks you wish to be insured for: only for pension (excluding general illness and maternity); or including general illness and maternity.
The minimum monthly social insurance income for 2025 is BGN 1,077*, and the maximum is BGN 4,130*.
The registration may be performed on site at the counters, as well as electronically through a qualified electronic signature (QES) or personal identification code (PIC).
Detailed instructions in respect to the transactions that may be carried out electronically are available on the website of the NRA.
| Important to know | |
 | Following initial registration you have to file certain reporting documents to the NRA. Information about the type of returns you are obliged to file with the NRA as a self-insured person and the deadlines for their filing is available on the website of the Revenue Agency. Self-insured persons are required to submit all declarations to the NRA electronically, using a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) or a Personal Identification Code (PIC). |
Are you required to pay separate insurance contributions, if you carry out another activity requiring self-insurance?
In this case, in accordance to the Art. 2, para 3, sentence one of the Ordinance on social security of self-insured persons and Bulgarian citizens working abroad and seafarers, self-insured persons pay insurance for one of the grounds, at the discretion of the person.
| Important to know | |
| If you suspend or terminate your activity as a self-insured person, you should file a declaration with the NRA within seven days as of the suspension/termination of the activity. Template of the declaration is available on the website of the NRA. The declaration may be filed on paper, electronically with a QES or PIC. |
What tax declarations should a self-employed person file?
- Declaration for determination of advance tax
When a self-insured person acquires income from another economic activity (income from a free profession, civil contracts, royalties, etc.) he should declare this circumstance in writing to the payer of the income, when the same is an enterprise or other self-insured person. The amount of the tax is determined and paid by the person who acquires the income. For this purpose, the person determines the advance tax due by him for each quarter, except the last one, submits a declaration for due taxes and pays the due advance tax by the end of the month following the quarter of receiving the income, ie. until April 30, July 31 and October 31.
More about determining the advance tax and filing the tax return can be found here and here.
- Annual tax declaration
The self-insured persons, who receive income for the activity performed by them, should submit an Annual tax declaration (Annual Tax Return) under Art. 50 of the Personal Income Tax Act. It is filed between January 10th and April 30th of the year following the year of acquisition of income, with the exception of the annual tax declaration for persons, performing activity a as sole proprietors, which is filed between March 1st and June 30th of the year. next of the income acquisition year.
You can read more about filing an annual tax declaration on the NRA website.
The tax declaration and the annual tax declarations are submitted by self-insured persons only electronically with a qualified electronic signature (QES) or personal identification code (PIC).
VAT Registration
Upon reaching a taxable turnover of BGN 100,000* over the past 12 months, a self-insured person is required to register for VAT within 7 days of reaching the threshold, in accordance with Article 96 of the VAT Act.
| Fee | The state fee for the registration with the BULSTAT Register is BGN 10.* The filing of declarations and returns to the NRA is free of charge. In case of non-compliance with the deadlines for filing a declaration, you are subject to a fine.
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| For more information | |
 | Additional information is available on the websites of: |
[*] As of January 1, 2026, the equivalent value in euros, calculated at the official exchange rate, will apply to the above-mentioned monetary amounts.