Freelancers /Self-employed/

A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer. The self-employed is another term for the freelancers which his more broad meaning. The freelancers perform activity at their own risk and on their account. For the performing of the activity they shall possess legal capacity and qualification. Some of the freelancers are allowed to act after initial registration, determined by a law. These are the Notary Publics, attorneys, CPAs, licensed assessors, medical specialists, insurers under art.164 from the Insurance Code and ect.. At their own risk and on their account professional activity can be performed by architects, economists, engineers, journalists and other physical persons.

All freelancers /self-employed/ in Bulgaria are obliged to be registered for Unified Identical Code /UIC/ with the Registry Agency whereby they conduct their social contributions. In compliance with art.3, para 1, point 9 from the Law on the register BULSTAT the physical persons acting as freelancers shall be registered in BULSTAT with their 10 digit unique personal numbers. The deadline for the UIC registration is 7-days term from the starting of the activity.

After the registration in the Registry Agency the physical person receives official registration in the competent directorate of the National Revenue Agency where is the permanent address of the physical person.

The freelancers /the self-employed/ are self-insured people and they are obliged to pay social contributions from the moment of starting their activity. In a term of 7 days from the starting of the activity the freelancers are obliged to submit a declaration for commencing of the self-insurance process. In compliance with the Social Security Code the self-insured can choose the scope of the insurance – Fund Pension or fund Pension plus fund General Disease and Maternity. For that purpose together with the declaration for commencing of the self-insurance process the freelancer /the self employed/ shall submit a declaration for the chosen type of insurance. Every year the self insurance people are entitled to change the scope of social securities. The physical persons who are exercising freelance and receive pension can choose to pay or not social contributions.

The freelancers who had chosen to pay only for pension shall pay the monthly amounts determined for Fund Pension. They are also entitled to make advanced installments. When the freelancers had chosen to be insured for all social security risks without labour accident, professional disease and unemployment, then except for the payment of Fund Pension they also pay for the fund General Disease and Maternity. The physical persons born after 31.12.1959 are also subject to additional insurance in Universal pension fund. The installments shall be paid until the 10th of the following month to the bank accounts of the competent directorate of the National Revenue Agency and the security payments to the respective department of the National Social Security Institute.

When working on contract the assignor shall not deduct insurance installments on behalf of the freelancer. The freelancers prove the self-insurance by maintaining an Insurance booklet. The insurance booklets can be received and stamped by the National Social Security Institute.