Articles about Social contributions for self-employed people and freelancers in Bulgaria.
Social security contributions for self-insured persons are paid monthly by the 25th of the month following the month for which they are due, together with Declaration form 1. We explain when the deadline falls, what the payment codes are and why the wrong code leaves the obligation unpaid.
The three most common forms of self-employment are taxed differently. Liberal professions pay 10% tax with normative recognised expenses, sole traders 15% on accounting profit, and limited companies 10% corporate tax plus 5% on dividends.
Income from international freelance platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr is treated as income from a liberal profession and is subject to taxation and social insurance in Bulgaria. Registration must be completed within seven days of the first transaction, and the National Revenue Agency receives automatic data on your income from the platforms.
From gross income as a self-insured person, social security contributions and income tax are deducted. Here is the complete annual calculation for three typical monthly incomes — with the amounts that Danak's calculator works out for 2026.
Declaration form 1 (Декларация образец 1) is the monthly declaration by which self-insured persons — freelancers and sole practitioners — report their insurance income and days in insurance to the National Revenue Agency and the National Social Insurance Institute. It is filed by the 25th of the following month — electronically with a qualified electronic signature or PIN, on paper or on a medium.
Social security contributions are calculated as the product of the chosen insurance income and the rate for each fund. The monthly amount does not depend on actual income but on the insurance income you have chosen — equalization comes annually.
A complete explanation of social security contributions for self-insured persons in Bulgaria in 2026: what the funds and rates are, how to choose your insurance income, how much you pay monthly and what annual equalization means.