Insurable income

The base contributions are charged on

The insurable income (осигурителен доход) is the base every social and health contribution is charged on. It is not simply the gross salary: it is the gross clamped between two limits — the minimum insurable income as a floor and the maximum insurable income as a ceiling. Contributions are worked out on this clamped figure, not on the raw gross. The values on this page are those in force for 2026.

The floor

For full-time work the floor is the minimum wage of 620,20 € a month. A full-time gross cannot lawfully fall below it, so in practice the floor rarely binds for a standard full-time job — the gross is already at or above it. Bulgaria also has a separate, lower general minimum insurable income and, in the wider system, occupation-specific thresholds; those matter mostly for part-time, sub-minimum or particular occupational cases, and this calculator treats the full-time minimum wage as the practical floor.

The ceiling — the figure that changes the shape of your payslip

The ceiling is the maximum insurable income: 2 111,64 € a month. It is the single most important number for understanding a higher Bulgarian salary. Once the gross crosses 2 111,64 €, contributions stop rising, because nothing above the ceiling is subject to them. From that point every additional euro of gross is only reduced by the flat 10% income tax, not by the 13,78% of contributions — so net pay climbs faster above the ceiling than below it. The calculator marks this moment in the distribution bar so you can see exactly where it happens.

The same ceiling applies to the employer side: the employer’s 18,92% is also charged only up to 2 111,64 €, so the total cost of employment flattens above the ceiling too.

The currency changeover

From 1 January 2026 the thresholds are expressed in euro, following Bulgaria’s euro adoption at the fixed statutory conversion rate. During the mandatory dual-display window that runs until 8 August 2026, official notices and payslips often show the lev equivalent alongside the euro figure; the operative statutory value for 2026 is the euro one, which is what the calculator uses.

An honest caveat on the ceiling

The site ships the in-force ceiling of 2 111,64 € — the value carried forward for 2026 by the transitional collection law (State Gazette issue 113 of 2025). A draft social-security budget for 2026 proposes a higher ceiling from 1 August 2026, but it has not been promulgated in the State Gazette. Because it is not yet law, it is deliberately not shown here; if it is enacted, the ceiling will be updated for the dates it takes effect.

The content of this page is being extended over time.