Bulgaria's 183-Day Tax Residency Rule
More than 183 days in Bulgaria during any rolling 12-month period makes you a Bulgarian tax resident. Here is exactly how the count works.
Last verified: July 2026
In short: you become a Bulgarian tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Bulgaria during any rolling 12-month period, and you are then treated as resident for the calendar year in which you cross day 183. Both your arrival day and your departure day count. The window is not the calendar year, and a permanent address or centre of vital interests in Bulgaria is a separate route in.
- Threshold
- More than 183 days
- Counting window
- Any rolling 12 months
- A day counts if
- You are present (arrival and departure count)
- Other residence test
- Permanent address or centre of vital interests
- Tax year
- Calendar year
- Legal basis
- PIT Act (ZDDFL), Art. 4
The rule
Bulgaria treats you as a tax resident if you reside on its territory more than 183 days in any 12-month period. Once you cross that line, you are treated as resident for the whole calendar year in which day 183 was exceeded. Three points decide most real cases:
- The window rolls. The 183 days are measured across any 12-month period, not 1 January to 31 December. Two stays in different calendar years can combine inside one rolling window.
- Both arrival and departure count. The statute counts the day of entry and the day of departure each as a separate day of residence, so a day trip in and out still adds two days.
- Education and treatment do not count. Time spent in Bulgaria solely for education or medical treatment is excluded from the 183-day total.
How to count it
- List every Bulgaria trip with arrival and departure dates.
- Count each day of presence, including both the arrival day and the departure day, but leave out any stay that was solely for education or medical treatment.
- Total the days inside a single 12-month window, then slide that window across your whole travel history.
- If any 12-month window exceeds 183 days, the day-count test is met, and you are resident for the calendar year in which day 183 fell.
Example. 100 days in Bulgaria from October to December, then 100 more from February to May the next year.
No single calendar year hits 183. But both stays sit inside the same rolling 12-month window (October to the following October) and total 200 days, so the test is met, and you are treated as resident for the calendar year in which you crossed day 183.
Beyond the day count
The 183-day count is one route in, not the only one. Bulgaria can also treat you as resident if you have a permanent address in Bulgaria, or if your centre of vital interests is in Bulgaria, judged by where your family, property, and work or business are based. There is an important nuance: a person who has a permanent address in Bulgaria is not resident if their centre of vital interests lies abroad. A separate route applies to people sent abroad by the Bulgarian state. And if another country also claims you, a double-tax treaty decides residency through tie-breaker rules such as permanent home and centre of vital interests.
Official source: Article 4 of the Personal Income Taxes Act (ZDDFL), explained by the National Revenue Agency (NRA).
AtlasDays tracks Bulgaria's 183-day rule automatically
Log your trips once. AtlasDays counts every rolling 12-month window for you, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before you cross 183 days in Bulgaria.
Get AtlasDays on the App StoreFAQ
How many days can you stay in Bulgaria without becoming a tax resident?
Up to 183 days in any 12-month window. Reach 184 or more in any window and the day-count test is met. Remember that both your arrival day and departure day count.
Is Bulgaria's rule based on the calendar year?
No. It uses any rolling 12-month period. Once you cross 183 days, though, you are treated as resident for the calendar year in which you crossed the line.
Do education or medical stays count?
No. Days spent in Bulgaria solely for education or medical treatment are excluded from the 183-day total.