Bulgaria Company Setup from Belarus 2026: Sanctions and Tax

A Bulgarian EOOD gives a Belarusian founder an EU company for EUR 1 of capital and 10% corporate tax. Bulgarian company law has no rule against Belarusian owners. As with Russia, what changes the picture is that Bulgaria is in the EU: European sanctions on Belarus apply directly at the bank, and the bank visit requires a Schengen visa.

On the Belarusian side, the rules are lighter than in Russia: no controlled foreign company regime, but currency contract registration and a dividend declaration.

€100kEU deposit ceiling per bank for Belarusian nationals and residents

0Belarusian CFC rules on undistributed profit

13%Belarusian tax on dividends, with a credit for the Bulgarian 5%

78.3left to an individual from 100 of Bulgarian profit

What Bulgaria asks of a Belarusian founder

• Nothing specific in company law: one owner, one manager, EUR 1 of capital.
• Documents by apostille: Belarus and Bulgaria are both parties to the Apostille Convention; add a certified Bulgarian translation.
• Sanctions screening by the lawyer and the bank.
• A Schengen visa for the bank visit.

The steps are in how to register a company in Bulgaria.

EU sanctions: the deposit ceiling

Since March 2022, EU banks may not accept deposits from Belarusian nationals or residents, or from entities established in Belarus, once the total exceeds EUR 100,000 per bank.

Advisers report that the rule was later extended to companies outside the EU more than 50% controlled by Belarusians. Banks add their own policy: expect detailed questions on counterparties and the source of funds, and refusals for transfers from sanctioned Belarusian banks. See the bank account guide.

1. 1
   Are you on an EU sanctions list?Then no account is possible
2. 2
   Do you hold EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship?Then the ceiling does not apply
3. 3
   Do you hold a residence permit there?Then the ceiling does not apply
4. 4
   OtherwiseDeposits capped at EUR 100,000 per bank

Belarus has no CFC rules

The Belarus Tax Code contains no regime that taxes a resident on the undistributed profit of a foreign company.

• Profit kept in the EOOD is taxed at 10% in Bulgaria and not in Belarus.
• Tax arises in Belarus when the dividend is paid.
• The stake must still be reported: a participation in a foreign organisation is notified to the tax office within ten working days.

This is the main difference with Russian founders; see the guide for founders from Russia.

How the dividend is taxed

Profit of the Bulgarian company100.00

Kept by a Belarusian company79.20

Kept by a Belarusian individual78.30

• Residence: more than 183 days in Belarus in the calendar year.
• Rate: 13% on dividends, 25% above BYN 350,000 in the tax period.
• Declaration: foreign income declared by 31 March of the following year.
• Credit: foreign tax is credited, except for income from the presidential list of offshore zones; check that Bulgaria is not on the current list.
• Treaty: Belarus and Bulgaria have a tax treaty; Bulgaria's own 5% already applies to dividends.

Moving the capital out of Belarus

• Register the currency contract before the first transfer when it exceeds 2,000 base units for an individual or 4,000 for a company. A contribution to the capital of a foreign company is on the list.
• Your Belarusian bank can refuse an operation under an unregistered contract.
• EUR 1 of capital keeps the first transfer small; funding operations is where registration matters.

Visa and residence

Belarusian citizens need a Schengen visa for the bank visit and a D visa to live in Bulgaria as manager. A Bulgarian residence permit also lifts the EU deposit ceiling. See non-resident founders.