Employer of Record in Bulgaria: what one employee really costs

Questions people ask before booking a demo

How much does an employer of record cost in Bulgaria?

The statutory employer charge is 19.02% of insurable income: the state pension fund 8.22%, the second-pillar universal pension fund 2.80%, health insurance 4.80%, the sickness and maternity fund 2.10%, unemployment 0.60%, the work accident fund 0.50% at the band an employer of record is registered in, and the guaranteed claims fund at nil for 2026. Contributions stop at EUR 2,300 of monthly insurable income, so on a US$40,000 salary the charge is about US$501 a month rather than the US$634 the headline rate would suggest - an effective 15.0%. Published EOR fees then run from about $199 to $699 per employee per month, so the all-in cost lands near $4,034 to $4,534 a month.

Why is the Bulgarian employer cost lower than 19% at a real salary?

Because of the ceiling, which is where most Bulgaria comparisons go wrong. Article 9 of the 2026 social security budget act caps monthly insurable income at EUR 2,300 from 1 August 2026, and every employer line on this page - pension, second pillar, health, sickness, unemployment and accident - stops there. EUR 2,300 a month is about US$31,630 a year at current rates, so a US$40,000 salary is already above the cap and a US$80,000 salary is far above it. The absolute charge is the same either way: about EUR 5,249, or US$6,016, a year. Rate comparisons between countries with a ceiling and countries without one are not comparing the same thing.

What is the maximum insurable income in Bulgaria in 2026?

EUR 2,300 a month from 1 August 2026, and EUR 2,111.64 a month for 1 January to 31 July. Bulgaria's own social security budget act for 2026 was not promulgated until 28 July 2026, in issue 68 of the State Gazette, and it sets two figures for the one year rather than one. This is the number to check on any Bulgarian cost estimate you are given: Deel's Bulgaria page, read on 21 September 2026, still states that 'the maximum salary for the calculation of the contribution is BGN 3,750' - a figure in leva, in a country that adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, and below even the January-to-July euro figure. The minimum insurable income for a professional is EUR 826 a month under annex 1A of the same act.

How many public holidays and how much leave does Bulgaria have?

Twelve public holidays that fall on working days, and at least 20 working days of paid annual leave under article 155(4) of the Labour Code. The count needs the article to be read twice. Article 154(1) lists ten fixed dates - 1 January, 3 March, 1 May, 6 May, 24 May, 6 September, 22 September, 24, 25 and 26 December - plus Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and adds 1 November as non-working for educational establishments only. Article 154(2) then moves any of the fixed dates that falls on a Saturday or Sunday to the following working day or days, and expressly excludes the Easter days from that rule. So the ten fixed dates always cost ten working days, Easter adds Good Friday and Easter Monday, and the total an employer plans for is twelve.

Does Bulgaria still price payroll in leva?

No. Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026 at the irrevocable conversion rate of BGN 1.95583 to the euro, and its own 2026 social security budget act is written in euro throughout - the ceiling as EUR 2,300, the minimum wage as EUR 620.20, the whole fund budget in thousands of euro. That makes the currency a useful test of whether a Bulgarian cost estimate has been maintained: a quote, a template or a provider table still expressed in leva was built before the changeover, and the figures inside it are worth checking line by line rather than converting.