Bulgarian Corporate Income Tax Act
Corporate income tax act, (last amended Dec 2015 / Extract)
Objects of taxation
Corporate income tax act – art. 1. This Act shall regulate the taxation of:
1. the profit of local legal entities;
2. the profit of those legal entities which are not traders, including the religious organizations, this profit being derived from transactions under Art. 1 of the Commerce Act, or from leasing movable or immovable property;
3. foreign legal entities’ profit derived from a location of business activity within the Republic of Bulgaria or from administration of property in such a location of business activity;
4. local and foreign legal entities’ income specified in this Act where the income originates from a source within the Republic of Bulgaria;
5. those expenses which are specified in Part Four;
6. the activity of organizers of gambling games set out in the law;
7. the income from transactions under Art. 1 of the Commerce Act, and the income from leasing movable or immovable property to State-budget enterprises;
8. corporate income tax.
Taxable persons
Art. 2. (1) Taxable persons shall be the following ones:
1. local legal entities;
2. those foreign legal entities which carry out business activities within the Republic of Bulgaria through a location of business activity, carry out administration of property in such a location of business activity or receive income from a source within the Republic of Bulgaria;
3. sole proprietors as well as natural persons registered as tobacco producers and farmers, who calculate their taxable income pursuant to Art. 26 of the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act – regarding the taxes withheld at the source, and the cases specified in the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act;
4. natural persons-traders within the meaning of Art. 1, para. 3 of the Commerce Act – in the cases specified in the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act;
5. the employers and the assignors under management and supervision contracts – regarding the tax on social expenses, provided for in Part Four;
6. The National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria – for the tax on the additional costs of the MPs.
(2) For the purposes of this Act the unincorporated companies and the insurance funds established under Art. 8 of the Social Insurance Code shall be treated as legal entities.
(3) For the purposes of taxation of income from a source within the Republic of Bulgaria, any foreign formation which is organisationally and economically autonomous (such as a trust, a fund and the like) which carries out business activities on its own or makes and manages investments and the owner of the income is impossible to identify, shall be a taxable person.
Types of taxes
Corporate income tax
Art. 5. (1) Profits shall be taxed with corporate tax.
(2) Local and foreign legal entities’ income specified in this Act shall be taxed with taxes withheld at the source.
(3) The expenses specified in this Act shall be taxed with tax on expenses.
(4) Instead of corporate income tax, alternative tax shall apply to:
1. the activity of organizing gambling games provided for in the law;
2. the income from transactions under Art. 1 of the Commerce Act, and the income from leasing movable or immovable property to State-budget enterprises;
3. corporate income tax.
Determining the amount of tax
Corporate income tax act – Article 6. The amount of tax shall be determined by way of multiplying the basis of taxation by the tax rate.
Tax returns
Corporate income tax act – Art. 7. The standard forms of the tax returns and the other documents under this Act shall be approved by way of an Ordinance of the Minister of Finance and shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.
Paying the taxes
Corporate income tax act – Art. 8. (1) The taxes due under this Act by the taxable persons shall be paid to the State Budget.
(2) The taxes due shall be paid to the Central Budget by crediting the account of the territorial directorate of the National Revenue Agency either by registration of the taxable person or by the place in which the taxable person must have registered.
(3) The taxes due shall be regarded as paid on the date on which the amount enters the State Budget as an amount credited to the account of the respective territorial directorate of the National Revenue Agency.
Documentary grounds
Corporate income tax act – Article 10. (1) The accounting expenses shall be recognized for tax purposes where they are grounded on a primary accounting document within the meaning of the Accountancy Act, this document presenting fairly the business operation.
(2) The accounting expenses shall also be recognized for tax purposes where a part of the primary document’s information required under the Accountancy Act is missing, provided that there are documents available which certify the missing information.
(3) Apart from the cases under para. 2, the accounting expenses shall also be recognized where the primary accounting document is issued by a person that is not an establishment within the meaning of Art. 2, of the Accountancy Act and a part of the primary document’s information required under the Accountancy Act is missing, provided that the document presents fairly the business operation documented.
(4) The taxable persons shall be obligated to get registered and to report the sales they have made, as well as the services they have provided, by way of issuing a fiscal cash-register slip from a fiscal device (fiscal receipt) or by way of issuing a cash slip through an integrated business management system (system receipt) in accordance with the procedure set forth in an Ordinance of the Minister of Finance, except where the payment is made through the bank or by way of a set-off. The absence of a fiscal cash-register slip from a fiscal device or of a cash slip from an integrated business management system, where the issue of such is obligatory, shall form grounds for non-recognition of the accounting expenses for tax purposes.
(5) As for the international air transport, the accounting expense shall be documentarily grounded where it is documented by way of a primary accounting document and the boarding pass for the respective flight. Where the primary accounting document (record) is issued by a person who has performed the sale on behalf of and at the account of the carrier, the said person is assumed to be the issuer of the document.
(6) Documentary proof for the expenses under Art. 204, Items 1 and 3, which have been levied an expenses tax, shall be deemed available also where they have been documented only in a fiscal receipt from a fiscal device or in a cash slip from an integrated business management system . The expenses under Art. 204, Item 3, levied an expenses tax, shall be recognized for taxation purposes also in case of lack of a travel list.
Profit and income from sources within the Republic of Bulgaria
Corporate income tax act – Ar. 12. (1) Foreign legal entities’ profit originating either from business activity performed through a certain location of business activity inside the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or from disposal of the property of such a location of business activity shall be income from a source within the country.
(2) The income from financial assets issued by local legal entities, the State and the municipalities shall be income from a source within the country.
(3) The income originating from transactions in financial assets under para. 2 shall be income from a source within the country.
(4) The income from dividends and liquidation shares in local legal entities shall be income from a source within the country.
(5) The following types of income assessed by local legal entities, local sole proprietors or foreign legal entities and sole proprietors through a location of business activity or an establishment within the country, or paid by local natural persons or foreign natural persons, having an establishment within the country, in favour of foreign legal entities, shall be income from a source within the country:
1. interest, including interest comprised in financial leasing contributions;
2. income originating from rent or any other granting of the use of movable property;
3. author’s and licence remuneration;
4. remuneration for technical services;
5. remuneration under franchising contracts and factoring contracts;
6. corporate income tax.
(6) The income referred to in para. 5 assessed to foreign legal entities through a location of business activity of a local person or through an establishment of local natural persons, the said location or establishment being outside the country, shall not be income from a source within the country.
(7) The income originating from agriculture, forestry, game husbandry and fish industry inside the territory of the country shall be income from a source within the country.
(8) The following income shall be deemed to be from a source within the country:
1. income from renting or other grant of use pertaining to immovable property, including ideal share of immovable property located within the country;
2. income from disposal of immovable property, including ideal shares thereof or limited property rights thereupon, that is located within the country.
corporate income tax
(9) Penalties and damages of any kind, except for benefits under insurance contracts charged by local legal persons, local sole-entrepreneurs or foreign legal persons or sole-entrepreneurs through a place of economic activity or certain base in the country in favour of foreign legal persons established in jurisdictions of preferential tax regimes shall be deemed to be income from a source within the country.
(10) When determining the source of income under this Art. the place in which the income is paid shall not be taken into consideration.
International treaties
Corporate income tax act. Art. 13. In those cases in which an international treaty ratified by the Republic of Bulgaria, which has been promulgated and has taken effect, contains provisions that differ from the provisions of this Act, it is the provisions of the respective international treaty that shall apply.
Tax input regarding tax paid abroad
Corporate income tax act. Artic. 14. (1) In those cases in which the provisions of an international treaty under Art. 13 do not apply, the taxable persons shall be entitled to recognition of tax input in accordance with the conditions and the procedure set forth in this Act.
Corporate income tax
(2) When determining the corporate tax or the alternative taxes referred to in this Act, the taxable persons shall be entitled to the recognition of tax input regarding any tax which is similar to the corporate one or has been levied instead of it and has been paid abroad.
Corporate income tax
(3) The taxable persons shall be entitled to the recognition of tax input for the tax levied abroad on the gross amount of dividends, interest, author’s and licence remuneration, remuneration for technical services and rent.
(4) The tax input referred to in paras. 2 and 3 shall be determined separately per each State and per each type of income and shall be limited to the amount of the Bulgarian tax on the said profit or corporate income tax.
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