The minimum wage (MW) from today, January 1, 2026, will be 620.20 euros (1,213 leva). This is 12.6% more than last year's amount, which was 1,077 leva. The higher increase for the new year was provided for by a decree of the Council of Ministers (CM).
The minimum hourly wage will reach 3.74 euros (7.31 leva), the CM decision also states.
The higher amount of the minimum wage will increase the incomes of nearly 600,000 people. The increase in the minimum wage is expected to increase the pay of about 83,000 personal assistants who care for children and adults with disabilities. The salaries of those working in social services financed by the state, professional foster families, as well as all those employed under employment programs and measures financed by the budget should also increase.
The poverty line in 2026 will be 390.63 euros (764 leva), according to another decision of the Council of Ministers, taken in September last year. Its value will increase by 64.42 euros (or 19.7%) compared to 2025, when it was 638 leva.
The new size of the poverty line will have a beneficial impact on the vulnerable and lowest-income groups of the population. As it increases, the social benefits and financial support related to its value, paid under the Social Assistance Act, the Disabled Persons Act and the Child Protection Act, will increase.
The increase in the poverty line will also improve social protection for vulnerable groups, as a larger number of people and families in need will receive support from the state.
On December 17, the parliament adopted the Law on the Collection of Revenues and the Execution of Expenditures in 2026. The law will be in force until the adoption of the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2026, the Law on the State Social Insurance (SSI) Budget for 2026 and the Law on the Budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026.
The so-called An extension budget law regulates the collection of revenues and the implementation of expenditures in the following year until the adoption of the state budget and the budgets of the NHIF and the DOO for 2026, but for a period not longer than three months, subject to the requirements of the provisions of the Public Finance Act, the Social Insurance Code and the Health Insurance Act. In the implementation of this law, the currency conversion rules of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria shall apply.
The law stipulates that until the adoption of the Law on the State Social Security Budget for 2026, revenues shall be collected and expenditures shall be made in accordance with the amounts, base, mechanisms, procedures, criteria or other relevant indicators, parameters, restrictions, minimum and maximum amounts of certain indicators in force as of December 31, 2025, related to social security contributions, pensions and supplements thereto, compensation and other social security payments, as well as with the guaranteed receivables of workers and employees in the event of the employer's bankruptcy, and in accordance with the remaining applicable regulations, applying the rules of Art. 11, para. 2 and Art. 45 of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The deputies also voted for a one-time indexation of salaries in the amount of the annual inflation accumulated as of December 31, 2025 for all in the budget sphere who are not on the minimum wage.