Buying a house in Bulgaria: free for EU citizens, and since 2024 the land too
As an EU citizen you buy a home, a flat or a building plot in Bulgaria without a permit. Agricultural land you could only buy after five years of living there, until the Court of Justice struck out that rule on 18 January 2024. The municipality charges a transfer tax it sets itself, up to three percent, and you're the owner on entry in the land registry — not on signing.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as an EU citizen you buy a home, apartment or building plot in Bulgaria without a permit. Since the Court of Justice's judgment of 18 January 2024 that also applies to agricultural land. So the village house with the orchard, for the price of a garage at home, is within reach too.
On top of the purchase price, count on:
- a municipal transfer tax of a tenth to three per cent;
- the notary;
- the entry in the land registry;
- possibly an agent, who here asks the buyer for commission too.
The pitfall: you are only the owner on registration in the land registry, not on signing. And not every notary yet applies the 2024 judgment equally smoothly.
In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know the village or the city outside the summer visit, and only then do you decide. Read why that order is fixed. This article is for the moment you've got that far.
Do I need a permit?
As an EU citizen you buy a home, a flat or a building plot in Bulgaria on the same footing as a Bulgarian. The restrictions from the first years after accession ended for built-up and building land in 2012.
May I also buy agricultural land?
Agricultural land was the exception. The Bulgarian agricultural land act said that only whoever had lived or been established in Bulgaria for more than five years could buy agricultural land. And a village house with an orchard behind it is often partly agricultural land.
The Court of Justice of the EU declared that rule contrary to the free movement of capital of article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU on 18 January 2024 in case C-562/22. The judgment applies directly: the five-year rule no longer applies to EU citizens.
But the law itself wasn't amended in a day, and not every notary applies the judgment equally smoothly yet. Ask beforehand. And have the zoning of the plot checked in the land registry before you sign.
When am I the owner?
The purchase is recorded in a notarial deed, in Bulgarian. The notary has the deed entered in the land registry. You're the owner on that entry, not on signing.
Take your own lawyer who reads Bulgarian, not the seller's or the estate agent's. Have the extract from the land registry checked for mortgages, attachments and easements (other people's rights over your land, such as a right of way).
Two things surprise Dutch people:
- The deed sometimes names a lower price than you pay, to save tax. Don't go along with that: the revenue agency checks, and the liability is yours.
- The tax value of the property is often much lower than the purchase price. That keeps your annual tax low.
What does buying a house in Bulgaria cost on top of the price?
On purchase the municipality charges a transfer tax it sets itself, between a tenth and three percent of the purchase price or the tax value if that is higher. Sofia is at the maximum of three percent in 2025.
On top come:
- the notary, per a statutory tariff;
- the entry in the land registry;
- possibly the estate agent, who in Bulgaria asks the buyer for a commission.
| Item | Who sets it | How much |
|---|---|---|
| transfer tax | the municipal council | 0.1 to 3% of the price or the higher tax value; Sofia 3% in 2025 |
| notary | statutory tariff | depends on the price |
| entry in the land registry | Registry Agency | only on entry are you the owner |
| estate agent | free | commission, in Bulgaria from the buyer too |
| property tax, every year | the municipal council | on the tax value, which is often far below the price |
Where is my house taxed?
With property the tax treaty doesn't follow your place of residence but the bricks: income from immovable property may be taxed in the state where that property is situated. That's in article 6.
What that means:
- A property in Bulgaria is taxed there, with the annual municipal property tax on top.
- A home you keep in the Netherlands stays taxed in the Netherlands. Bulgaria credits the Dutch tax. With the flat tax of ten percent (one rate for all income) there is rarely anything left of that.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Bulgaria or go straight to step 5.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Court of Justice of the EU — judgment C-562/22 of 18 January 2024 on the five-year rule for agricultural land — eur-lex.europa.eu
- Sofia Municipality — 2025 budget, the transfer tax of 3 percent — sofia.bg
- NRA — local taxes are set by the municipal council — nra.bg
- Treaty Netherlands-Bulgaria for the avoidance of double taxation, 2020 — wetten.overheid.nl
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