Employer of record in Bulgaria: costs and rules in the euro era
We may earn a commission when you sign up through some links on this page. Commissions never change our scores or the order of our lists. How we make money.
Bulgarian social and health insurance applies only up to the maximum insurable income, which the National Social Security Institute (NOI) lists as EUR 2,111.64 a month through July 31, 2026 and EUR 2,300 from August 1, so just EUR 26,281.48 of a EUR 35,550 salary bears contributions this year; provider fees come on top, from $199 a month at Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad) to $699 at Oyster (checked October 2026). What trips up US budgets is that the ceiling moved mid-year: the 2026 Social Security Budget Act only passed on July 22, 2026, so quotes built in the first half of the year use a ceiling that is now EUR 188.36 a month too low.
An employer of record in Bulgaria is a Bulgarian company that becomes the legal employer of your hire, files and pays social and health insurance with the NOI and the tax authority, and runs euro payroll, while you manage the person's work.
- Currency
- EUR (euro adopted Jan 1 2026)
On this page
Four 2026 changes that make old Bulgarian quotes wrong
A quote or vendor country page written before mid-2026 is likely wrong on at least one of these.
- The currency. Bulgaria adopted the euro on January 1, 2026. Contracts, payslips and the minimum wage are now in EUR, not lev.
- The minimum wage. Eurostat shows EUR 620 monthly for 2026, after EUR 551 in 2025. The NOI uses EUR 620.20 as the minimum insurable income for the self-insured from August 1.
- The ceiling. The 2026 Social Security Budget Act (State Gazette No. 68 of July 28, 2026, art. 9) raised the maximum monthly insurable income from EUR 2,111.64 to EUR 2,300 from August 1. Minimum insurable income is set separately by economic activity and occupation.
- The Guaranteed Receivables Fund. Art. 15(1) of the same act says no contributions are paid to this fund in 2026. Rate tables that still show 0.1% for it are stale.
Monthly pay and a 40-hour week are the norm in our data, though we have not matched them to the Labor Code. A new contribution group for civil servants, judges and prosecutors started on August 1 with its own splits; it does not apply to private employers or EORs.
Gaps in our data: the general 2026 contribution rates for private-sector staff, and the Labor Code's rules on trial periods, dismissal notice, redundancy pay, vacation, holidays and the length-of-service supplement. None of these has been matched to an official text by us yet, so have your EOR set each one out in the contract.
Employment costs and rules in Bulgaria
| Item | Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Employer social contributions | About 18.9% to 19.6% of insurable income up to the cap in 2026 (unconfirmed today; no Guaranteed Receivables Fund contribution in 2026); about 14.0% of salary at the sample with the 2026 caps |
| What the employer pays | For workers born after 1959 (unconfirmed today): pension 8.22%; universal pension fund 2.8%; sickness and maternity 2.1%; unemployment 0.6%; health 4.8%; guaranteed receivables fund 0.1% in earlier years (not paid in 2026, art. 15(1) of the 2026 budget act); work accident 0.4% to 1.1% by activity |
| Caps and ceilings | Maximum monthly insurable income EUR 2,111.64 from Jan 1 to Jul 31 2026 and EUR 2,300 from Aug 1 to Dec 31 2026 (State Social Security Budget Act 2026, art. 9, State Gazette No. 68 of Jul 28 2026; NOI). Minimum insurable income is set by economic activity and occupation |
| Employee contributions | 13.78% up to the cap (pension 6.58%, universal pension fund 2.2%, sickness 1.4%, unemployment 0.4%, health 3.2%) (unconfirmed today), plus 10% income tax |
| Minimum wage | EUR 620 per month from Jan 1 2026 (was 551) (Eurostat earn_mw_cur); NOI uses EUR 620.20 as the minimum insurable income for the self-insured from Aug 1 2026 |
| Mandatory bonuses | Seniority (length-of-service) supplement of at least 0.6% of base pay per year of service (unconfirmed today) |
| Notice period | 30 days for indefinite contracts, extendable to 3 months by agreement (unconfirmed today) |
| Severance | 1 month's gross pay on redundancy-type dismissals (unconfirmed today) |
| Sample salary used | EUR 35,550 per year (EUR 2,962.50 per month; USD 40,000 at 1.1253 USD per EUR, ECB reference rate Oct 16 2026) |
Checked October 17, 2026. Source type: official (NOI, Ministry of Labor copy of the 2026 Social Security Budget Act, Eurostat, ECB) for caps, minimum wage and exchange rate; general contribution rates unconfirmed. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
What an EOR charges to employ someone in Bulgaria
| Provider | EOR fee per employee per month | Deposit | Entity model (provider claim) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payoneer Workforce Management | from $199 | None listed | Claims owned entities across APAC, MEA, Europe and the Americas |
| Pebl | $399 | Not listed | About 90% of employees on Pebl-owned entities |
| Playroll | from $399 | One month's salary per employee, refundable | No clear owned-entity claim |
| Rivermate | $319 to $639 | Not stated | Claims 38 owned entities |
| Multiplier | $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) | Sized from costs, fees and notice period (method published, no fixed amount) | Claims owned entities in 160+ countries |
| Rippling EOR | Quote only (third-party reference: $499) | Not listed | Claims Rippling entities; no partner mention |
| Deel | $599 | Not stated by Deel | Claims owned entities in 130+ countries |
| Remote | from $599 | Waived for startups; otherwise not stated | Claims 100% owned entities in 90+ countries |
| Atlas | from $599 | Not published | Claims owned entities in 160+ countries |
| Papaya Global | from $650 | Refundable deposit, amount not stated | Uses in-country partners |
| Oyster | $699 | At least one month of total service cost, refundable (per its terms) | Owned entities and partners |
| Globalization Partners (G-P) | Quote only | Not stated | Information page claims 100+ wholly owned entities |
Source: each provider’s pricing page, checked October 16, 2026. Fees are the provider’s charge on top of salary and the employer contributions above. Some providers adjust prices by country.
Costing a EUR 35,550 hire in Bulgaria
The benchmark is USD 40,000, which at 1.1253 dollars per euro (ECB, October 16) becomes EUR 35,550, or EUR 2,962.50 a month. Each month's pay is above both 2026 ceilings, so a slice of every payslip sits outside the contribution base: EUR 850.86 a month until July and EUR 662.50 from August.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross salary, year | EUR 35,550.00 |
| Insurable, January to July (7 x EUR 2,111.64) | EUR 14,781.48 |
| Insurable, August to December (5 x EUR 2,300) | EUR 11,500.00 |
| Total insurable income | EUR 26,281.48 |
| Pay above the ceiling (no contributions) | EUR 9,268.52 |
| Employer contributions | Rates not yet confirmed |
| EOR fee, $599 x 12 | EUR 6,387.63 |
| Salary plus EOR fee | EUR 41,937.63 |
Caps: NOI and the 2026 State Social Security Budget Act. Fee: $599 Deel and Remote list price (Oct 16, 2026) at 1.1253 USD per EUR. Checked Oct 2026.
Seven months at EUR 2,111.64 (14,781.48) plus five at EUR 2,300 (11,500) give EUR 26,281.48, which is 73.9% of pay. Fees: $7,188 a year, or EUR 6,387.63.
Provisional estimate, rates unconfirmed: our research found commonly published employer rates for workers born after 1959 that total 18.92% at the lowest work-accident rate. If those apply, 18.92% x EUR 26,281.48 = EUR 4,972.46, about 14.0% of the salary. Treat that as a planning figure until your EOR confirms the rates.
At Pebl's or Playroll's $399 the fee is $4,788 a year; at Oyster's $699 it is $8,388. Expect a deposit as well: at least a month of total service cost under Oyster's terms, or a month of salary with Playroll. Different salary? Use the international employee cost calculator.
Which EOR to use for Bulgaria
Multiplier (79 of 100) and Oyster (64) head our published EOR scores, ahead of Remote 62, Playroll 60, Pebl 57 and Deel 54; how we score EORs explains the criteria. A Bulgaria-specific fee is not published by any of them.
This year, put two questions to every bidder: which ceiling the quote assumes, and whether the invoice still bills the Guaranteed Receivables Fund. Then weigh the EOR ranking against our Deel, Remote and Oyster write-ups.
Bulgarian contractors
A Bulgarian contractor on independent, project-based work is a normal setup. Once the person keeps your schedule, has no other client and reports to your managers, it resembles employment, and back contributions would be owed on insurable income up to the ceilings above. If you keep the contractor route, see contractor management software or a contractor of record.
Your own Bulgarian company instead
At $599, every EOR hire adds $7,188 a year. Your own Bulgarian company brings NOI and tax registrations, a payroll bureau and direct control of contracts. Weigh the two in our EOR versus entity comparison and check current provider fees on the EOR pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum insurable income in Bulgaria in 2026?
Does Bulgaria use the euro for payroll?
How high is Bulgaria's 2026 minimum wage?
What will an EOR charge for a Bulgarian hire?
Is the Guaranteed Receivables Fund contribution due in 2026?
Sources (13)
- Pebl: Pebl EOR pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Playroll: Playroll pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Multiplier: Multiplier pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Deel: Deel pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Remote: Remote pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Oyster: Oyster pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad): Skuad pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Oyster: Oyster terms of service (EOR deposit) (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- nssi.bg/dohod01082026 (checked October 17, 2026)
- nssi.bg/osiguriteli/osiguryavane_osiguriteli/osiguriavane-na-rabotn... (checked October 17, 2026)
- mlsp.government.bg/uploads/7/tpoout/2026/zakon-za-budjeta-na-dyrjav... (checked October 17, 2026)
- ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/earn_mw... (checked October 17, 2026)
- ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml (checked October 17, 2026)
This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official source linked above before you file or sign a contract. Read our disclaimer.