Practical guide

Facebook ads for a Bulgarian business - and why VAT comes before the first ad.

Most guides start in Ads Manager. For a Bulgarian business the first real step is somewhere else: the VAT Act. Here is what the law actually says, what it costs to get it wrong, and the order we set new accounts up in.

Magnet Minds 16 September 2026 7 min read

A Facebook ad campaign that works is built on a lot of groundwork: tracking, structure, creative, testing. But before any of that, a Bulgarian business has a legal step that is easy to miss and expensive to get wrong. It is about the invoice.

Before the first ad: VAT registration

Facebook ads are invoiced by Meta Platforms Ireland, a company registered in another EU country. For a service like this, Bulgarian law puts the VAT on the recipient - the business buying the ads.

That has a direct consequence. Article 97a(1) of the VAT Act requires every taxable person who receives such services to register for VAT. This is a separate basis from ordinary registration: the turnover threshold, which is 51,130 euro from 2026, does not apply here. A business that is not VAT-registered becomes obliged to register because of the service itself.

7 days

before the tax falls due - the deadline to apply (Art. 97a(4))

20%

the standard rate, which you charge yourself (Art. 66)

Monthly

a VAT return for every tax period once registered (Art. 125)

The deadline is the part people get wrong. Article 97a(4) says the application must be filed no later than 7 days before the date the tax becomes due - the advance payment or the tax event, whichever comes first. In practice that means before you pay for the first campaign, not after the first invoice arrives.

Already VAT-registered? You do not file a new application. The VAT on the ads goes through the returns you already submit.
Not registered? You register on the Article 97a basis. From then on you file a VAT return for every tax period, as Article 125 requires of everyone registered under this article.

What the law sets as sanctions

There are two separate sanctions, and they can apply together. The amounts below are quoted exactly as they appear in the text of the VAT Act.

For not applying for registration on time - Article 178: a fine or property sanction from 500 to 5,000 BGN.
For VAT that was not charged - Article 180: a sanction equal to the uncharged tax, but not less than 500 BGN; for a repeat violation, double the uncharged tax and not less than 1,000 BGN. The law states explicitly that this also applies when the tax was not charged because the business did not register in time.

Not tax advice

This summarises the text of the VAT Act, not how it applies to your specific business. Tax cases in this area do reach the courts. Before your first campaign, go through it with your accountant.

The setup order we use

Once the tax side is sorted, this is how we set up a new account:

Step 1

A business account in Meta Business Suite, owned by the company rather than by one employee's personal profile.

Step 2

An ad account with the company's details and payment method, so the invoices are issued to the business.

Step 3

The Meta pixel and the Conversions API on the site, so purchases and enquiries are measured.

Step 4

A campaign with an objective that matches the goal - sales for an online store, leads for enquiries.

Step 5

Several ad variants, including vertical video.

Launch

Then a steady run before judging it. Meta has a learning phase for new ads, and daily changes make the results hard to read.

Want us to run your Facebook ads?

We set up the account, the tracking and the campaigns, and manage them for a fixed monthly fee of 490 euro - never a percentage of spend.

Discuss Meta Ads

A change from Meta worth knowing

Meta is retiring the old Advantage+ Shopping campaign type. In a developer announcement on 13 February 2026, Meta stated that since 19 May 2026 these campaigns can no longer be created or edited through its API, and that with the next API version - which Meta estimates for September 2026 - all remaining ones will be paused.

If your account still runs one, it is worth checking now rather than finding out when it stops. How much to budget for the ads themselves, and what management costs, we covered in how much Google and Facebook ads cost.

Questions

If your business is not VAT-registered, yes. Article 97a of the VAT Act requires registration when you receive services for which the VAT is due from the recipient, as with ads invoiced by Meta Platforms Ireland. The application must be filed no later than 7 days before the tax becomes due. If you are already registered, no new application is needed.

The VAT Act sets two. Article 178: from 500 to 5,000 BGN for not applying for registration on time. Article 180: a sanction equal to the uncharged tax, but not less than 500 BGN, doubled for a repeat violation with a minimum of 1,000 BGN. The amounts are quoted as they appear in the law.

Yes. Article 125 requires everyone registered under Article 97a to file a VAT return for every tax period.

Meta is retiring them. According to Meta's developer announcement, since 19 May 2026 they cannot be created or edited through its API, and all remaining ones are due to be paused with the next API version, which Meta estimates for September 2026.

Launch it right the first time.

A 30-minute call about managing your ads: what we launch, in what order, and for what fixed monthly fee.

Discuss Meta Ads

Sources