contacts and advice please

stoney2016 Member

10POSTS

9 years ago

Hi, I am looking at buying a place in Bulgaria, ideally in countryside close to Plovdiv. Currently I live in Greece and would spend part of the year in Bulgaria. I am from the UK originally, my wife is Russian.
For now I was thinking of setting up a company to take advantage of the competitive tax, and putting my car on Bulgarian plates (as it would be a nightmare to do that in Greece).
I wondered if anyone knew the following;
- A trustworthy English speaking company to help me open a company, get an ID card, put bulgarian number plates on
- A trustworthy diligent lawyer for checking when i find a house, in Plovdiv area ideally
- A trustworthy estate agent in Plovdiv area
- Do I have to live in Bulgaria to get Bulgarian ID, can i just pay some cheap rent somewhere and only be there on and off, how would they know?
- As I understand it, if I set up a company I am taxed 10% of my profit in Bulgaria and then a further 5% for what I pay myself, making that 15% of my income after expenses? Is this true?
- Can anyone recommend an English speaking accountant in the area also.
- How are internet connections in villages around Plovdiv.
- Can anyone recommend a reliable, trustworthy builder for renovation, when I do eventually buy.
- Has anyone used the company bulgarianplates.com, are they any good?
- Anything to watch out for?
Eventually I plan to come but for now I am looking for a quick solution to put European plates on my car with Brexit looming, and to have a european tax base. I am self employed with two UK registered companies.
If any anyone has a house to sell I will be looking for something with ideally over 4000m2 of land, close to a village, I dont mind renovation projects as I plan to make the place capable for off grid living.. Must have decent internet in the area though and of course electricity/water etc.
Sorry for so many questions but I am very grateful for any advice for these points.
Many thanks. Alex.

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kojidae Serial expat

588POSTS

9 years ago

From what I understand, employment taxes are around 30% (13% from the employee and 17% from the employer) I know self employed persons and business owners pay both sides of that (so, 30%). Corporations only pay the 10% tax on profit, but once you pull it out as income, the 30% on what you take out of the corporation is due. (At least that is how it works for my husband's business.) I could be wrong, but that is my experience so far. (The social security taxes are only taken on the first 2,600 lev per month, and after that only income tax is taken, and not social security taxes). Again, there are many different ways to set up businesses so that might not apply to you, but you should definitely ask what social securities you will owe when talking to an accountant.

kristiann Bulgaria Expert

794POSTS

9 years ago

Hi Alex,

... a lot of questions

)

I'll try to answer some of these. To start with, you do not have to live in Bulgaria, you can simply visit it with your EU documents and do not need BG ID card. Noone cares how long you stay here.... except for the Greeks

Also, if you set up a company here, then you will be eligible for a permanent residence.

Your can be owned by your company, therefor by you. You do not need to change the licence plates, though I would advice you to do so.

Companies are taxed 10 % ot their profit. The additional 5 % is not correct. It very much depends on the type of your contract (management contract, labour contract, self employed option, etc.).

I can help with some of the companies/professionals you need, but that on PM.

About the house, I would probably look for a place at least 20 km. away from Plovdiv, Ideally close to the mountains.

And, do not worry too much about Brexit, it will take some time.

Kris