SAF-T reporting in Bulgaria, ready before your deadline
Bulgarian companies are starting to send their accounting data to the National Revenue Agency in the Standard Audit File for Tax format, phase by phase until every VAT-registered business reports by 2030. We get your data, systems and team ready, then file every month.
Your accounting data, in one standard file
SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is an international XML format, developed by the OECD, for exporting accounting data from a company’s systems. Instead of asking for documents during an audit, the National Revenue Agency receives the data regularly and analyses it automatically.
The file brings together your general ledger, customers and suppliers, invoices and payments. Inconsistencies that used to stay hidden, such as differences between your ledgers and your VAT returns, become visible to the NRA within weeks. Clean data and a correctly configured system are therefore as important as filing on time.
The Bulgarian file goes well beyond invoices. It covers your company’s identification data, including related parties and ultimate owners, the chart of accounts and every accounting entry, all customers and suppliers, payments, assets and stock, and your product lists and tax codes. Several hundred of its close to 1,000 data points are mandatory.
SAF-T is required under Art. 71k of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code. The NRA published the final file structure, taxonomies and reporting guidelines on 25 July 2025.
From your accounting system to the NRA
- Your accounting systemLedgers, invoices, payments, customers, suppliers and assets, as you record them every day.
- SAF-T fileAn XML export in the NRA’s format, checked against its validation rules before it is sent.
- Signed and submittedSigned with a qualified electronic signature and uploaded to the NRA e-services portal.
- NRA analysisThe NRA analyses the data automatically and can compare it with your VAT returns and VIES declarations.
The quality of the file depends on step one: clean, complete data in your accounting system.
Five phases, from the largest companies to everyone
Thresholds are set in Bulgarian leva on the basis of each company’s data for the year shown. Every phase starts with a grace period: the first six monthly files can be corrected without penalty until the deadline for the seventh.
- 2026Largest companiesNet revenue over BGN 300 million (about €153.4 million), or taxes and social security contributions over BGN 3.5 million (about €1.79 million), based on 2023 data.
- 2027Further large companiesCompanies meeting the same thresholds on the basis of their 2024 data.
- 2028Large and medium companiesNet revenue over BGN 15 million (about €7.67 million), or taxes and contributions over BGN 1.5 million (about €767,000), based on 2025 data.
- 2029All large, medium and small enterprisesEvery large, medium and small enterprise under the Accounting Act, without a revenue threshold.
- 2030All VAT-registered businessesEvery VAT-registered business, including micro-enterprises.
When does your company have to file SAF-T?
Each SAF-T phase is based on a specific year: 2023 for the 2026 phase, 2024 for 2027 and 2025 for 2028. So we ask for your figures year by year, as shown in your annual financial statements. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere: the check runs in your browser.
Indicative only, based on the phases published by the NRA and the figures you entered. We can confirm your date in a short call.
Book a SAF-T readiness checkSince 1 January 2026
Your 2023 figures are above BGN 300 million in revenue or BGN 3.5 million in taxes and contributions, which places you in phase I. SAF-T already applies to you: a monthly file has been due for every month since January 2026. If you are not filing yet, contact us straight away.
From 1 January 2027
Your 2024 figures are above BGN 300 million in revenue or BGN 3.5 million in taxes and contributions, which places you in phase II. Your first monthly file, for January 2027, is due by the end of February 2027. The files for January to June 2027 can be corrected without penalty until 31 August 2027, the deadline for the July file.
From 1 January 2028
Your 2025 figures are above BGN 15 million in revenue or BGN 1.5 million in taxes and contributions, which places you in phase III. Your first monthly file, for January 2028, is due by the end of February 2028. The files for January to June 2028 can be corrected without penalty until 31 August 2028, the deadline for the July file.
From 1 January 2029
All small, medium and large enterprises under the Accounting Act file SAF-T from 2029. Your first monthly file, for January 2029, is due by the end of February 2029. The files for January to June 2029 can be corrected without penalty until 31 August 2029.
From 1 January 2030
As a VAT-registered micro-enterprise, you file SAF-T from 2030, when it applies to every VAT-registered business. Your first monthly file, for January 2030, is due by the end of February 2030. The files for January to June 2030 can be corrected without penalty until 31 August 2030.
Not included in the current phases
Micro-enterprises that are not registered for VAT are not part of the announced SAF-T phases. If you register for VAT, SAF-T applies to you from 2030.
From 2029 or 2030
If your company is a small, medium or large enterprise, you file from 1 January 2029. If it is a micro-enterprise, from 1 January 2030. Your accountant can confirm the category from your financial statements.
From 2029, or possibly not at all
Small, medium and large enterprises file from 1 January 2029. Micro-enterprises that are not registered for VAT are not included in the current phases. Your accountant can confirm the category.
Three files, three deadlines
Monthly file
By the end of the following monthGeneral ledger entries, customers and suppliers, sales and purchase invoices, and payments.
Annual file
By 30 June of the following yearFixed assets and the movements in them during the year. Due on the same date as the annual corporate tax return.
On request
Within 14 days of the NRA’s requestAdditional data, such as stock and inventory movements, when the NRA asks for it.
Files are submitted through the NRA e-services portal with a qualified electronic signature.
Eight things to have in place before your first file
- You know your phase and the date of your first monthly file
- Your accounting software can export SAF-T in the NRA’s current format
- Your chart of accounts is mapped to the SAF-T structure
- Customer and supplier records are complete, with VAT numbers and addresses
- Fixed assets are kept in the accounting system, not only in spreadsheets
- It is clear who prepares, reviews and submits the file every month
- The person submitting has a qualified electronic signature
- Each file is reconciled with the VAT return before it is sent
Where companies get caught out
Data that does not reconcile
Differences between ledgers, VAT returns and VIES declarations become visible to the NRA immediately.
Foreign ERP systems
Group systems such as SAP or Dynamics need Bulgarian localisation and mapping to produce a valid file.
Master data gaps
Missing VAT numbers, inconsistent customer records and unmapped accounts cause validation errors.
Unclear ownership
Finance, IT and the software vendor each assume someone else is responsible for the file.
From readiness check to monthly filing
- Readiness checkWe confirm your phase and deadline, and review your systems and data for gaps.
- Data mappingWe map your chart of accounts and master data to the SAF-T structure and fix inconsistencies.
- System set-upWe work with your software vendor or IT team so your system produces the file, or we prepare it for you.
- Test and validateWe test the file against the NRA’s validation rules before the first real submission.
- Monthly filingWe review each file against your VAT returns and submit it on time, every month.
Who we help
- Large companies already reporting, who want the file reviewed every month
- Subsidiaries of international groups whose ERP was not built for Bulgaria
- Mid-sized and smaller companies preparing for 2027–2030
Mandatory e-invoicing, proposed from 2028
Draft law, October 2026On 23 September 2026 the Ministry of Finance published draft amendments to the VAT Act. If they are adopted, VAT-registered businesses established in Bulgaria will issue structured electronic invoices for domestic sales from 1 January 2028, and the NRA will validate every invoice. SAF-T remains a separate obligation with its own phases, but both depend on the same clean customer and accounting data.
- Domestic sales to businesses, other legal entities and public authorities
- Not for intra-EU supplies or sales to consumers
- Invoices in the European standard EN 16931, each with a unique NRA code
- Pre-filled VAT returns, replacing today’s sales and purchase ledgers
Public consultation runs until 23 October 2026. The text can still change before Parliament adopts it.
Read what the draft saysCommon questions
When does my company have to start filing SAF-T?
It depends on your size and on your revenue or tax payments in the reference year. The largest companies started in 2026; further phases follow in 2027, 2028 and 2029, and all VAT-registered businesses are included from 2030. We can confirm your phase in a short call.
Can my accounting software produce the SAF-T file?
Most Bulgarian accounting packages are adding SAF-T exports, and international ERP systems can be configured for it. But the software can only export the data you have: the mapping of accounts and the quality of master data decide whether the file is valid and consistent.
What happens if the file contains errors?
Files that fail the NRA’s validation are rejected and must be corrected and submitted again. Errors that pass validation can still reveal inconsistencies that lead to questions or audits. That is why we review every file before it is submitted.
Is there a grace period?
Yes, in every phase. The first six monthly files can be corrected without penalty until the deadline for the seventh file. For a company starting in January, that means the files for January to June can be fixed until 31 August. The files still have to be submitted on time every month.
We are a small company. Do we need to do anything now?
If you are VAT registered, SAF-T will apply to you by 2030 at the latest, and earlier if you are a small enterprise under the Accounting Act. Cleaning up master data and choosing software that supports SAF-T now makes the switch far easier.
Does SAF-T replace the monthly VAT return?
No. The VAT return and VIES declarations are still filed every month. SAF-T is an additional report, and the NRA can compare it with them, so the figures need to match.
Can you submit the SAF-T file for us?
Yes. With your authorisation we review the file every month, reconcile it with your VAT return and submit it to the NRA on your behalf.
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