Airbnb and Booking in Bulgaria: Taxes, Registration and Tourist Tax in 2026

Short-term rental is not the same as ordinary long-term rent

One of the most common mistakes is to treat short-term accommodation through Airbnb and Booking in the same way as a standard long-term rental.

When short-term accommodation is provided, the activity has the characteristics of a hospitality service. The Bulgarian National Revenue Agency also treats the short-term provision of properties through online platforms differently from ordinary long-term rental.

Depending on the specific circumstances, obligations may arise regarding patent tax or income tax, VAT and social security contributions.

For this reason, the appropriate tax regime should be determined according to who carries out the activity, how the accommodation is registered and what turnover is generated.

Do you need to have a company?

Not necessarily.

The Bulgarian Tourism Act expressly allows accommodation services in guest rooms, guest apartments and guest houses to be provided by an individual who is not registered as a trader. This also applies when the apartment is part of a residential building.

In other words, the owner of a single apartment may legally begin offering short-term accommodation without necessarily establishing an EOOD or another type of company.

However, this does not mean that there are no tax or administrative obligations.

Registering the apartment with the municipality

Under the current Bulgarian Tourism Act, guest rooms and guest apartments are classified as Class “B” accommodation establishments.

They are subject to a registration procedure rather than the standard star categorisation applicable to hotels and certain other types of accommodation.

An application for registration of a guest apartment is submitted to the mayor of the relevant municipality by the person who will provide the accommodation service or by their authorised representative.

The law requires information about the property and the legal grounds on which the applicant has the right to use it.

Another important point is that accommodation services may be offered through online platforms only for accommodation establishments that have been properly categorised or registered.

In other words, the correct registration of the property should be one of the first steps before actively offering it for short-term accommodation.

Do you need your neighbours’ consent?

This is one of the most common misconceptions resulting from discussions surrounding amendments to the Tourism Act in 2019–2020.

The current registration regime for guest apartments does not contain the previously discussed general requirement for the owner to obtain consent from more than 50% or 100% of all neighbours in the residential building.

The law expressly allows accommodation services to be provided in a guest apartment even when it is part of a residential building.

Of course, guests must comply with the condominium rules and the usual requirements regarding peace, order and appropriate behaviour in the building.

What is ESTI and why is it mandatory?

Once the property has been registered, another important obligation arises – submitting information about accommodated guests to the Unified Tourist Information System (ESTI).

The Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism states that all accommodation providers, including individuals offering accommodation in guest apartments, must submit guest information to ESTI.

In practice, this means that the required guest information must be collected for every booking and reported in accordance with the established procedure.

This administrative process often remains invisible to the property owner, but it is an essential part of legally operating a short-term rental property.

Tourist tax

A tourist tax is also payable to the municipality in which the property is located for the overnight stays provided.

The amount is determined by the relevant municipal council and therefore varies between municipalities.

The tax is calculated based on the number of actual overnight stays and the applicable rate for the relevant type of accommodation.

Accurate reporting of guests in ESTI is also important for this reason, as the system allows actual overnight stays to be recorded and compared with the tourist tax due.

Patent tax or income tax?

There is no single answer that applies to every property owner.

Under certain conditions, individuals, including sole traders, who operate accommodation establishments with no more than 20 rooms and which are either categorised with one or two stars or registered under the Tourism Act may fall under the patent tax regime.

The amount of the patent tax is determined by the relevant municipality.

In other cases, income may be taxed under the Bulgarian Personal Income Tax Act or under the Corporate Income Tax Act when the activity is carried out through a company.

For this reason, it is incorrect to automatically assume that every Airbnb property is simply taxed as ordinary rental income.

Short-term tourist accommodation has a different legal and tax nature from standard long-term rental. The Bulgarian National Revenue Agency identifies several possible tax regimes applicable to short-term accommodation.

What about VAT and Airbnb/Booking?

This is perhaps one of the most commonly overlooked issues.

When international platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com are used, they provide services in return for a commission.

As a result, persons established in Bulgaria carrying out this type of activity may be required to register for VAT under Article 97a of the Bulgarian VAT Act in relation to services received from these platforms.

The Bulgarian National Revenue Agency specifically refers to this obligation in the context of short-term accommodation through online platforms.

When a person is registered only under Article 97a, VAT applies to the relevant services received – for example, the commission charged by the platform.

This type of registration does not automatically mean that the property owner must begin charging VAT on every overnight stay in the same way as a person registered under the general VAT regime.

Persons registered solely under Article 97a also do not have the general right to deduct input VAT.

Separate rules apply to standard VAT registration.

From 2026, the national VAT registration threshold is EUR 51,130, together with rules relating to the small enterprise VAT scheme.

For persons registered under the general VAT regime, accommodation services provided by hotels and similar establishments, including holiday accommodation, are subject to a 9% VAT rate.

Due to these specific rules, we always recommend checking the applicable VAT treatment with an accountant based on the individual owner and the specific business model.

What does Home2Host take care of?

When we take over the full management of a property, our work does not stop after creating an attractive Airbnb or Booking listing.

Our goal is to provide the owner with a genuinely passive property-management experience while we organise and manage the entire operational process.

Depending on the specific agreement, we can assist with or manage:

• registration of the apartment as an accommodation establishment;
• communication with the relevant municipality;
• organisation and management of ESTI reporting;
• collection of the required guest information;
• reporting of overnight stays;
• organisation of tourist tax and other payments according to the applicable regime;
• Airbnb and Booking management;
• dynamic pricing;
• guest communication;
• check-in and check-out;
• cleaning and property maintenance;
• ongoing supervision of the property.

This means that the owner does not need to personally manage multiple platforms, reservations, guests, municipal requirements and everyday administrative tasks.

Legal compliance is part of professional property management

Airbnb and Booking can turn a well-selected property into a successful source of income, but uploading a few photographs and setting a nightly price is no longer enough.

Proper registration, ESTI reporting, tourist tax, taxation and the applicable VAT regime are all part of the overall process.

At Home2Host, we believe that property owners should have clear information about what is happening with their property and the income it generates, without having to personally handle the entire administrative and operational workload.

Do you own an apartment that you would like to rent out through Airbnb and Booking?

Contact Home2Host.

We will review your property, explain the process of getting started and show you how we can take care of its complete management – from registration and preparation to the first booking and everyday guest management.

Home2Host – professional management of short-term rental properties.

This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute individual tax or legal advice. The applicable tax regime may vary depending on the property owner, the way the activity is carried out, turnover and other specific circumstances.