Gifting an apartment to your child or parents? The good news is you'll most likely pay nothing at all. Gift tax in Bulgaria depends entirely on how closely you're related to the recipient — which is exactly the part older explanations usually bury in legal jargon.
Between direct-line relatives (parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren) and between spouses — no tax is due at all. If you're gifting property to your child or parents, that's it: your cost is zero.
Here the tax appears, but stays relatively low — between 0.4% and 0.8% of the property's assessed value. The exact rate is set by the municipal council's own ordinance where the property is located.
For anyone outside the categories above — nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, unmarried partners — the rate is significantly higher: 3.3% to 6.6% of the assessed value.
| Parents ↔ children, spouses | 0% |
| Siblings and their children | 0.4–0.8% |
| Everyone else | 3.3–6.6% |
The taxpayer is the recipient of the gift — not the person giving it.
The property's value at the time of transfer: real estate — at the agreed or tax assessment value (whichever is higher), foreign currency and precious metals — at the Bulgarian National Bank rate, securities and movable property — at market value.
Yes — besides family exceptions, tax-exempt gifts include: donations for medical treatment of EU/EEA citizens and assistive devices for people with disabilities; humanitarian donations for people with 50-100% reduced working capacity and those in need; donations to non-profit organisations for public benefit activities; customary gifts; donations to community centres (chitalishta); property transferred gratuitously under a legal obligation.
To the municipality where the property is located (for other property — at the recipient's permanent address). Administered under the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code.
Tax not paid on time is collected together with interest under the Interest on Taxes, Fees and Similar State Receivables Act.
