A Permanent Address Alone Can Make You Resident, and Only the Centre of Your Life Can Undo It
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Italy on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
154 exceptions recorded across 56 countries · none match Italy to Bulgaria · When you become a tax resident
Article 4(1) of the Zakon za danatsite varhu dohodite na fizicheskite litsa makes a person resident, whatever their nationality, on any one of four alternatives: a permanent address in Bulgaria; presence on Bulgarian territory for more than 183 days in any 12-month period; being sent abroad by the Bulgarian state, its bodies or Bulgarian undertakings, together with the family; or having the centre of vital interests in Bulgaria. The first of these is the one that catches people out, because a permanent address is an administrative registration rather than a fact about where you sleep. Article 4(5) is the counterweight: a person with a permanent address in Bulgaria whose centre of vital interests is not in the country is not resident. The day count has its own rules - the year in which 183 days are exceeded is the year of residence, and the day of arrival and the day of departure are each counted separately as days of presence - and time spent in Bulgaria solely for study or medical treatment is not presence at all. A resident is taxed on worldwide income under article 6, a non-resident only on Bulgarian-source income under article 7, and the rate on the general annual base is a flat 10 per cent under article 48(1).
At a glance
- Day count
- More than 183 days in any 12-month period
Article 4(1)(2). Under article 4(2) the person is resident for the year in which the count is exceeded, and arrival and departure days are each counted.
- Permanent address
- Enough on its own to make you resident
Article 4(1)(1), subject to article 4(5).
- The way out
- A permanent address does not make you resident if your centre of vital interests is elsewhere
Article 4(5).
- Study and medical treatment
- Not counted as presence at all
Article 4(3).
- What a resident is taxed on
- Worldwide income
Article 6. A non-resident is taxed only on Bulgarian-source income, under article 7.
- Rate on the general annual tax base
- 10 per cent
Article 48(1).
Requirements
- One of the four alternatives in article 4(1): permanent address, 183 days, posting abroad by the Bulgarian state, or centre of vital interests
- Nothing about nationality, which article 4(1) expressly disregards
Country-level policy
Bulgaria's currency is the euro. Article 4 of the Zakon za vavezhdane na evroto v Republika Balgariya says so in terms, and the Payment Services Act was amended with effect from 1 January 2026 so that a basic payment account provides its services in euro. None of that redenominated the statutes. The Aliens Act still asks for 600,000 leva of real estate, 250,000 leva in a disadvantaged region, 500,000 leva with ten jobs, 2,000,000 leva in listed securities and 6,000,000 leva in an unlisted company, because the Euro Introduction Act did not go through the statute book changing numbers. It did something else: article 11(1) says the introduction of the euro does not affect the operation of existing legal instruments that refer to the lev, and article 11(2) says amounts stated in leva in existing legal instruments are treated as amounts in euro at the official rate, with the conversion rule in article 12 and the rounding rule in article 13. So the lev figures in the Aliens Act are live law and are read as euro, and a reader converting them is doing what the statute tells them to do rather than correcting an oversight. Where an amendment does touch such a provision it is expected to carry the euro figure across: paragraph 5(2) of the transitional provisions requires that, for sums that came into Bulgarian law from a Union act which stated a euro amount.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Italy
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Местно физическо лице, без оглед на гражданството, е лице: 1. което има постоянен адрес в България, или 2. което пребивава на територията на България повече от 183 дни през всеки 12-месечен период, или 3. което е изпратено в чужбина от българската държава, от нейни органи и/или организации, от български предприятия, и членовете на неговото семейство, или 4. чийто център на жизнени интереси се намира в България.»Our translation - not official
A resident natural person, regardless of nationality, is a person: 1. who has a permanent address in Bulgaria, or 2. who is present on the territory of Bulgaria for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or 3. who is sent abroad by the Bulgarian state, by its bodies and/or organisations, by Bulgarian undertakings, and the members of his family, or 4. whose centre of vital interests is in Bulgaria.
Four alternatives, and any one of them is enough.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«За целите на ал. 1, т. 2 лицето се смята за местно за годината, през която пребиваването надхвърли 183 дни. Денят на излизане и денят на влизане в страната се смятат поотделно за дни на пребиваване в страната.»Our translation - not official
For the purposes of paragraph 1, point 2, the person is considered resident for the year in which the stay exceeds 183 days. The day of departure from and the day of entry into the country are each counted separately as days of presence in the country.
About this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«За целите на ал. 1, т. 2 периодът на престой в България единствено с цел обучение или медицинско лечение не се смята за пребиваване в България.»Our translation - not official
For the purposes of paragraph 1, point 2, a period of stay in Bulgaria solely for the purpose of education or medical treatment is not considered presence in Bulgaria.
About this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Не е местно физическо лице лицето, което има постоянен адрес в България, но центърът на жизнените му интереси не се намира в страната.»Our translation - not official
A person who has a permanent address in Bulgaria but whose centre of vital interests is not in the country is not a resident natural person.
The provision that stops a registration deciding a tax question.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Местните физически лица са носители на задължението за данъци за придобити доходи от източници в Република България и в чужбина.»Our translation - not official
Resident natural persons bear the liability to tax on income acquired from sources in the Republic of Bulgaria and abroad.
About this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Размерът на данъка върху общата годишна данъчна основа се определя, като общата годишна данъчна основа по чл. 17 се умножи по данъчна ставка 10 на сто.»Our translation - not official
The amount of the tax on the general annual tax base is determined by multiplying the general annual tax base under article 17 by a tax rate of 10 per cent.
About this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Не е местно физическо лице лицето, което има постоянен адрес в България, но центърът на жизнените му интереси не се намира в страната.»A commercial republication, read only to answer one question: whether article 4 has moved since the ministry's copy was made. Its version selector names ДВ, бр. 85 от 15.09.2026 г. as the current text and article 4 reads there word for word as it reads in the ministry's print.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
A Bulgarian accounting portal that republishes consolidated statutes supplied by the commercial system Сиела Норма, with a version selector naming the Държавен вестник issue each version corresponds to. It is used in this corpus for exactly one purpose: to establish that article 4 of the income tax act has not moved since the finance ministry's 2013 print, by comparing the two texts word for word.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: A commercial republication and in no sense an official text. It may not be used to establish what the law requires, only to date a text we hold from a government source. Its free tier shows the current version and charges for older ones, so the comparison it supports can be made in one direction only.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The Ministry of Finance's copy of this Act lists amendments only to ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and is quoted here because it is the only government-published text of it we could read: the National Revenue Agency's site, which administers the tax, refused a direct fetch, the extraction service and the browser tool alike. Article 4 and articles 6, 7 and 48(1) were each compared against a commercial republication whose version selector names ДВ бр. 85 от 15.09.2026 г. as the current text, and they read identically. No other article of this Act is relied on here.
A permanent address in Bulgaria is a registration under the Civil Registration Act, and foreigners with permanent or long-term residence are registered. Nothing in this record says when that registration is made or by whom; only what article 4 does with it.
A double taxation treaty takes precedence over article 4 where it applies, and none was read.
- administersЗАКОН за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица, Ministry of Finance copy
Министерство на финансите
About this source
The finance ministry, which sets tax policy and hosts a copy of the Закон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица at /upload/9328/. It is the only government-published text of that Act we could reach at all.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: **Its copy of the income tax act is twelve years out of date**: the amendment list in its header stops at ДВ бр. 94 от 30.11.2012 г., in force 1 January 2013, and nothing on the page says so. It must never be cited for a figure or a provision that has moved since; the four provisions quoted from it here were each compared against a current republication before use. The ministry's own /bg/legislation path returns a not-found page, and the agency that actually administers the tax, the Национална агенция за приходите at nra.bg, refused every tool we have.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- reportsЗакон за данъците върху доходите на физическите лица, актуална версия
КиК Инфо
About this source
A Bulgarian accounting portal that republishes consolidated statutes supplied by the commercial system Сиела Норма, with a version selector naming the Държавен вестник issue each version corresponds to. It is used in this corpus for exactly one purpose: to establish that article 4 of the income tax act has not moved since the finance ministry's 2013 print, by comparing the two texts word for word.
Standing: Reports, establishes nothing
Cannot be cited for: A commercial republication and in no sense an official text. It may not be used to establish what the law requires, only to date a text we hold from a government source. Its free tier shows the current version and charges for older ones, so the comparison it supports can be made in one direction only.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source