The Bulgarian Construction and The Foreign Investment Act provide national treatment to foreign investors, which means that foreign persons are entitled to perform business activities under the same conditions as Bulgarian citizens.

Foreign investments in Bulgaria are covered by legal and international guarantees, except minor additional requirements for land purchases as explained below. Each contract will be assigned a registration number, which can be referenced for any inquiries of proof of ownership. In term of two months after the permission for use is issued, the estate address should be registered in the municipality.

Legal requirements for real estate purchases in Bulgaria in case the buyer is a foreign person /individual or company/:
Purchase of land:

Foreign companies and citizens can buy land in Bulgaria only through a Trade Company formed in Bulgaria. The company will buy the land, and on the other side the same company might be 100% owned by the respective foreign person. Bulgarian participation in the company is not necessary at all. The owner of the company can be its manager as well. Land purchase in Bulgaria is free of VAT.

Foreign companies and citizens can buy buildings and objects in buildings without any restrictions.
 
What is the stage in the process when the investor becomes official owner of the respective property?

The buyer becomes the official owner of the property in the moment, when the final purchase contract in special notary’s form is concluded. The contract /title deeds/ is prepared by a solicitor and certified via a notary. After the signing of the contract in front of the notary it has to be filled in the special property register in the local Regional court / the register is similar of the cadastre register in some west European countries/.

Taxation

The taxation of real estate purchases depend on the price of the property and the tax valuation. The valuation is in accordance with addendum No 2 of the Law for the local taxes and fees.

to 100 levs - 15 levs
from 101 levs to 1 000 levs - 15 levs + 1. 5% for incomes over 100 levs
from 1 001 levs to 10 000 levs - 28. 50 levs + 1. 0% for incomes over 1 000 levs
from 10 001 levs to 50 000 levs - 118. 50 levs + 0. 5% for incomes over 10 000 levs
from 50 001 levs to 100 000 levs - 318. 50 levs + 0. 2% for incomes over 50 000 levs
over 100 001 levs - 418 levs + 0. 1% for incomes over 100 000 levs, but not more than 3 000 levs