On May 12, 2017, the Deputy Prime Minister in the new government of the Republic of Bulgaria for demography and economic policy, Valerie Simeonov, promised to introduce a patent tax for owners of apartments rented out in the summer. The Deputy Prime Minister made the corresponding statement in front of the cameras of the BNT TV channel. "Some Russians have bought dozens of apartments for themselves and are "spinning" tourism without paying anything to the state. We should introduce a patent tax this season," said a native of the patriotic political forces of Bulgaria. The Deputy Prime Minister has already discussed this issue with the Minister of Finance of the Republic Vladislav Goranov.
It is not yet clear how exactly Mr. Simeonov's initiative will be implemented. Will it affect the owners of aparthotels or individual apartments too? Also, the politician's emphasis on "Russian" owners of Bulgarian real estate is not fully clear. However, it is clear that the owners of such apartments from among foreigners, who have not yet delved into the Bulgarian legislation, should start studying the issue of paying the patent tax.
Reference MC "Window to Bulgaria":
The regime of patent tax is regulated by Articles 61z-61p of the Law on Local Taxes (Parts 61z-61p of the Law on Local Taxes and Taxis).
Among the objects subject to annual patent taxation, there is indeed a clause about places for accommodation with no more than 20 rooms ("places for a place with no more than 20 rooms").
The amount of the tax is determined by the community council, according to Appendix No4, depending on the location of the object on its territory.
Reporting: Persons subject to patent taxation file a tax return according to the established template to the community in which the object is located.
For more information, please visit the website of the Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria at this link).