Estonia
Estonia: 5 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment.
Forming a company
Company types in Estonia
The 5 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
Forming and closing an OÜ
The headline facts; the steps, requirements and their sources are on its own page.
- Formation fee
- EUR 265
- Days to incorporate
- 1
- Formed remotely
- Yes
- Closing route
- Voluntary dissolution by liquidation (OÜ), then deletion from the register
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Estonia. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
AirwallexAirwallex business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
PayseraPaysera business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
- RevolutRevolut Business accountlist read 8 Oct 2026
StripeStripe account (payments)list read 8 Oct 2026
Checked, not listing Estonia: Brex, bunq Business, Mercury, Qonto.
Publish no country list: N26 Business, Payoneer, PayPal Business, Wise Business. They may still serve it; ask them.
Payments and payroll
Services for taking payments, paying people and moving money, as each states where a business based in Estonia may open an account.
- StripeOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
WiseOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
DeelOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026- RevolutOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
AdyenOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
For individuals only here: PayPal.
Not available here: Square.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Estonia: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Estonia belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 2004
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 2004, Euro area member since 2011, Schengen area member since 2007 and more about Estonia’s participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Euro area
- Monetary union · since 2011
Covers a common currency.
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EU Member State since 2004, Euro area member since 2011, Schengen area member since 2007 and more about Estonia’s participation in the EU.
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 2007
Covers movement of people.
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EU Member State since 2004, Euro area member since 2011, Schengen area member since 2007 and more about Estonia’s participation in the EU.
- European Economic Area
- Single market
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%Official OECD Corporate Tax Statistics (combined CIT) as of 2026
- Distributions
- 0% on retained profit; 22/78 on distributionOfficial Eesti.ee state portal, text by the Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) last modified 22.01.2026
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A special feature of corporate income tax in Estonia is the fact that only dividends are taxed. Earnings are not taxed as long as they are reinvested in the company.
- Audit
- 2 of: revenue EUR 5,000,000, assets EUR 2,500,000, 50 employees (audit); or 1 of: EUR 15,000,000, EUR 7,500,000, 180 (see page)Official Eesti.ee state portal, text by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK) last modified 15.04.2025
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An audit or review of the annual report is mandatory for accounting entities that have at least two figures in their annual report exceeding the following conditions
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Annual report to the Commercial Register within 6 months of financial year endOfficial Eesti.ee state portal, text by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK) last modified 15.04.2025
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You are required to file the annual report with the Commercial Register within six months of the end of the financial year.
- Annual registry fee
- Not in our records
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Estonia, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 24%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2026-07-01
- Other rates
- 13% Accommodation or accommodation with breakfast, excluding accompanying goods or services other than breakfast
- 9% Books and educational literature, on a physical medium and electronically
- 9% Medicinal products, contraceptive preparations, sanitary and toiletry products and medical devices for the personal use of disabled persons
- 9% Press publications, on a physical medium and electronically
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As of 1 January 2025, accommodation or accommodation with breakfast is subject to 13% VAT rate instead of the previous 9%, except for goods or service accompanying this service.
- Registration threshold
- EUR 40,000
taxable supply under subsection 3 of § 19¹ of the VAT Act with place of supply in Estonia; calendar year, from the beginning of the year
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If a person's supply for a calendar year provided for in subsection 3 of § 19 1 of the VAT Act, the place of creation of which is Estonia, exceeds 40,000 euros as of the beginning of the calendar year, the person is required to register as a person liable to VAT.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A person may register voluntarily even if taxable supply does not exceed €40,000 or has not yet begun, on proof that business in Estonia has started or is about to start.
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a person has the option to voluntarily register as a taxable person even if his taxable supply does not exceed the threshold of 40,000 euros
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply; no local representative required
A foreign business with no permanent establishment in Estonia that creates taxable supply there must register from the date the supply is created; the 40,000 euro calendar-year threshold does not apply to it. No tax representative need be appointed by a non-Community operator from a country with an EU mutual assistance agreement.
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the registration obligation will arise for the person as of the date on which the taxable supply is created
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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The taxable period is one calendar month.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Estonia, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- Not required here
Estonia taxes companies when profit is distributed, not when it is earned; declarations arise per taxable disbursement (form TSD). No annual return of the year's taxable income exists.
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Estonia does not have a corporate tax return covering the taxable income of the entire calendar year.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- Day 10 of the following month · each year
The liability arises at distribution (rate 22/78), so the payment follows the month of each distribution rather than an annual balancing date. Tax and the TSD/INF 1 declarations are due together.
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The term for payment of corporate income tax and dividend declaration is the 10th day of the month following payment.
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Not required here
No advance or instalment payments of corporate income tax: the tax event is the distribution itself, so there is nothing to estimate during the year.
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According to Estonian rules profits are subject to income tax at the time that profits are distributed (e.g. via dividend payment) and not when income is earned.
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 April · each year
For the previous calendar year; the return can be filed in e-MTA from 15 February (16 February for 2025).
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30 April Deadline for submission of income tax returns
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 1 October · each year
Falls in the calendar year after the tax year; the Tax and Customs Board sends a tax notice not later than 1 September.
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1 October Term for additional payment of income tax and refund of overpaid income tax
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 15 September · twice a year
Two equal instalments a year, by 15 September and by 15 December (Income Tax Act s. 47); the rule records the first. No payment is due in the first business year, where a quarterly payment does not exceed 300 euros, or where there was no business income in the preceding year.
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Advance payments of income tax must be made into the bank account of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board in equal amounts by the 15th day of the third month of each quarter (not later than by 15 September and 15 December)
- VAT return
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
A VAT return must be filed even if no supply or input VAT occurred in the period.
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The deadline for submitting both a VAT return and a report on intra-Community supply is the 20th day of the month following the taxable period.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 10 of the following month · each month
Declared and paid on form TSD by the 10th day of the month following the month the payment was made.
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Declaration of income and social tax, unemployment insurance premiums and contributions to mandatory funded pension (form TSD) is submitted by the 10th day of the month following the month the payment was made.
Running the company
Running a company here
What it takes to keep a company in good standing in Estonia: the full guide is on each form’s own page.
Running a Osaühing (OÜ)
17 obligations for one shareholder who is the sole director, with who may do each, when, and how.
- The director can do
- 16 of its 17 obligations
personally, through the authorities’ own services.
- A professional the law requires
- A licensed auditor — if At least two of Statutory audit of the annual accounts
- Not required here
- Annual return or confirmation statement · Separate identity verification of directors with the registry · Annual general meeting of the shareholders · General business or trade licence renewed periodically · Advance or instalment payments of corporate income tax · Insurance an employer must hold by law · Registration or fee with the data protection authority
- Set by each state
- Municipal local taxes on business
Not yet covered: AS, TÜ, UÜ, FIE. Each form has its own requirements.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Estonia exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Estonia’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528 HS 8517 | 5.6% | 5.3% | 5.7% | US$1.2 bn |
| Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars HS 8703 | 3.1% | 5.0% | 5.1% | US$1 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 5.7% | 3.1% | 2.6% | US$529 m |
| Builders' joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and shakes HS 4418 | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2.0% | US$400 m |
| Prefabricated buildings HS 9406 | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1.9% | US$392 m |
| Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms HS 4401 | 1.4% | 2.2% | 1.9% | US$377 m |
| Oils and other products of the distillation of high temperature coal tar; similar products in which the weight of the aromatic constituents exceeds that of the non-aromatic constituents HS 2707 | 3.2% | 1.8% | 1.6% | US$320 m |
| Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm HS 4407 | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.5% | US$313 m |
| Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430 HS 8431 | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.5% | US$309 m |
| Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors HS 8504 | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.5% | US$308 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$20.3 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.