National Revenue Agency Introduces New Accounting Rules from 1 January 2026

New regulations are on the horizon for businesses in Bulgaria. Accountants are forecasting a rise in the cost of their services, while employers are anticipating additional operational expenses. However, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) states that the new audit system—already in use in several European countries—will lead to greater transparency.

The first to comply with the new international standard will be Bulgaria’s large enterprises—around 450 companies. This is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2026. Gradually, over a four-year period, all active companies—more than 460,000—will be required to submit their accounting data using the new "Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes" (SAF-T) format. Accountants predicted chaos and twice as much work.

“It coincides with the introduction of the euro, the phasing out of paper employment records, and the launch of a new employment register, along with several new reporting obligations. By the 14th of each month, we’ll need to submit twice as much information as we currently do,” said Hristo Petrov, manager of an accounting firm.

Although the sector acknowledges the need for this international standard, a key challenge in Bulgaria is the lack of unified electronic systems. The NRA argues that the new approach will increase trust and transparency. The standard, developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is also expected to help remove Bulgaria from the grey list for money laundering risks.

“Greater transparency comes through the adoption of best practices, but it must happen with the full understanding by business stakeholders that this benefits them as well. Around 377,000 companies file annual activity reports, and over 90% are micro-enterprises,” explained Iliya Iliev, Chairman of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Employer organisations have warned that they will need to increase their spending.

“It’s not just about accountants doing more work. This involves changes to software. Software companies had just begun to recover from previous regulatory changes—like the N-18 ordinance. There’s still no official decree. And once something new comes into force, the NRA starts conducting inspections at 9:00 a.m. on the first working day,”
said Hristo Petrov, manager of an accounting firm.

The exact format of the new audit file will be clarified following a public consultation in early May. A six-month pilot testing phase is scheduled to begin in July.