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Bulgaria's tax revenue rose 10.4% in 2025, the second-fastest increase in the EU

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Tax forms, a pen and a calculator on an office desk with a laptop and a window behind Macroeconomic Data
Tax forms, a pen and a calculator on an office desk with a laptop and a window behind

Eurostat data show only Romania recorded a faster rise in tax and social contribution revenue last year, while the EU total increased by 5.5%, or about €401 billion.

Bulgaria recorded the second-highest annual increase in revenue from taxes and social contributions among EU countries in 2025, at 10.4%, according to Eurostat data published on 29 October and reported by The Sofia Globe.

Only Romania grew faster, at 10.5%. The other countries with the strongest increases were Malta at 9.4%, Croatia at 9.3% and Lithuania at 8.4%. Every EU and EFTA country saw its tax revenue rise in absolute terms between 2024 and 2025, Eurostat said.

Across the EU, tax revenue increased by 5.5% from 2024 to 2025, or by around €401 billion. In the data series from 1995 to 2025, total EU tax revenue fell in absolute terms only twice: in 2009, by 5.2% during the economic and financial crisis, and in 2020, by 3.6% during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figures measure growth in nominal revenue, which reflects inflation, wage increases, employment and changes in tax rules as well as economic growth. They do not show how large the tax burden is compared with the size of each economy.

For Bulgaria, strong revenue growth in 2025 came before the first year of euro membership and at a time when the budget deficit is under close scrutiny. Bulgaria currently has an excessive deficit, as Prime Minister Rumen Radev noted in talks with EU Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin on 29 October, and the government is preparing a 2027 budget that is due to be submitted to Parliament in the coming days. How far revenue can keep rising without changes to the main tax rates will be one of the central questions in that debate.

For companies planning investments in Bulgaria, the point is to follow the budget closely for any changes to contributions, VAT rules or one-off levies.

Sources