When you pay tax on selling a property, and when you don’t
10% tax on the profit, or zero. The difference is in how long you have owned the property, not in the order of your sales. The full calculation for 2026, line by line.
10% on the profit. Or zero.
The profit is further reduced by 10% statutory recognised expenses under Art. 33 of the Personal Income Taxes Act (ЗДДФЛ) before the rate is applied. But for most sellers in Varna the question does not even reach this formula, because the deal is fully exempt.
Four cases in which you owe nothing.
Owned for more than 3 years. Fully tax-free.
Residential or holiday properties or plots, owned for more than 5 years. Tax-free.
Tax-free after 5 years, with no limit on the number of deals.
Fully tax-free, with no ownership period required.
The order means nothing.
The only deciding factor is the ownership period, 3 or 5 years depending on the type of property, not where the sale falls in the seller’s life. A second, third or fifth home is treated under exactly the same rules as the first.
Hold the property for longer than the required period and the sale is tax-free, no matter how many properties you have sold before. Hold it for less, and the tax is due even if it is your first sale.
The trap of a gift.
A gifted property has no purchase price. The tax base is the entire sale price, reduced only by the 10% recognised expenses: €120,000 × 90% × 10% = €10,800.
If you owe tax, you declare it by 30 April of the following year, in Annex No. 13 of the annual tax return.
The local tax is someone else’s cost.
0.1% to 3% of the price in the notarial deed (нотариален акт), set by each municipality. The buyer pays it, not the seller.
The rates follow the ordinances of the respective municipal councils. Varna has been at 3% since 2020, after the ordinance was amended on 27 December 2019. The PDF published on the Municipal Council’s website still shows the old 2.6%, because it has not been updated since the amendment.
Notary, registration, commission.
A progressive scale based on the value of the transaction. By law the fee is split equally; in practice the buyer almost always covers all of it.
Of the value of the transaction. Usually covered by the buyer.
Most often agreed at between 2.5% and 3% of the deal price.
Companies get no exemption.
Uses the exemption under Art. 13 of the Personal Income Taxes Act after 3 or 5 years of ownership, depending on the type of property.
There is no such exemption. Any income from selling a property is taxable.
new threshold for mandatory VAT registration
the Personal Income Taxes Act and the Corporate Income Tax Act (ЗКПО) remain unchanged
One decision, a different bill.
The buyer separately covers the local tax, the notary and registration, about €3,270 – €3,820 in total.
On the profit from the sale, when the exemption period has not yet passed.
The same property, the same price. The difference is entirely in the ownership period.
Five things that are easy to confuse.
“First home” does not automatically mean an exemption. The ownership period decides, not the order.
The local acquisition tax (местен данък при придобиване) is a cost for the buyer, not for the seller.
A gifted property has no purchase price to deduct. Selling it is usually the most expensive scenario.
The notary fee is split by law, but in practice the buyer pays almost all of it.
A legal entity has no right to an exemption based on the ownership period; an individual does.
For context on who is actually buying property in Varna this year, see The buyer has changed. For how hard it is to reach a first home, see First home: 7.6 annual salaries.
Planning to sell a property?
We work out whether you owe tax in your specific case, before you sign anything.
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