Aktsiaselts ASEstonia
What it takes to form, own and run a public limited company in Estonia, and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.
This company type
At a glance
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A shareholder shall not be personally liable for the obligations of the public limited company.
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A public limited company may be founded by one or several persons.
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The management board may have one member (director) or several members.
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A statutory fee of 200 euros and, in case of entry in the register based on a petition for entry by expedited procedure, a statutory fee of 265 euros is paid for entry of a private limited company, public limited company
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A resident company, including a general and limited partnership, pays income tax on profit distributed as dividends or other profit distributions upon payment thereof in monetary or non-monetary form.
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Formed online
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
What it takes to form
- A notary
- Required
- A resident director
- Not required
- Paying up the capital
- Shares must be paid for in full before the petition for entry in the commercial register is submitted, unless the memorandum sets an earlier due date (§ 246(2)); the issue price may not be below the nominal or book value (§ 225(1)).
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The shareholders shall pay for shares in full before submission of a petition for entry of the public limited company in the commercial register unless the memorandum of association prescribes an earlier due date.
Own it
Who may own and run it
- Directors
- At least 1 · none need live there · individuals only
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The management board may have one member (director) or several members.
- Shareholders
- At least 1 · a company may be one
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A public limited company may be founded by one or several persons.
- Members
- At least 1 · one person may form it alone
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A public limited company may be founded by one or several persons.
- A local company secretary
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- A local registered agent
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
Each year, at the registry
- Annual registry fee
- Free
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A statutory fee is a sum payable in the cases provided by law and at the rate provided in this Act for the performance of an act for which a statutory fee is charged.
- Accounts on the public record
- Yes
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In the system, it is optional to select the date when the report is automatically submitted to the register and becomes publicly available in the register.
- Audit for a small company
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Audit
- Mandatory for every public limited company with more than two shareholders in the financial year (Auditors Activities Act s.91(3)); otherwise the size thresholds of s.91(1)-(2) apply.
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An audit of the annual accounts is mandatory for every public limited company which has during the financial year more than two shareholders
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Call the annual general meeting, whose agenda includes approval of the annual report
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period
With Shareholders (general meeting)
Not later than six months after the end of the financial year; a late meeting does not affect the validity of its resolutions.
- Submit the approved annual report, profit-distribution proposal and sworn auditor's report
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period
With Commercial register (e-Business Register)
- Earliest distribution of assets after dissolution is entered and the liquidation notice pu
- Stated; see the note
With Commercial register / liquidators
What is public
- Directors
- Public
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The data of all other legal entities can be accessed free of charge (except for documents from the file of non-profit associations) in the search of the e-Business Register Portal without logging in or entering into an agreement with RIK.
- Shareholders
- Public
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The data of all other legal entities can be accessed free of charge (except for documents from the file of non-profit associations) in the search of the e-Business Register Portal without logging in or entering into an agreement with RIK.
- Beneficial owners
- To those with a legitimate interest
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The data of all other legal entities can be accessed free of charge (except for documents from the file of non-profit associations) in the search of the e-Business Register Portal without logging in or entering into an agreement with RIK.
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
On distribution · 0% retained+1 regime
Income tax is charged at the company level on profit distributed as dividends or other profit distributions (22/78 of the net distribution, i.e. 22% of the gross amount); retained profit is not taxed until distributed.
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A resident company, including a general and limited partnership, pays income tax on profit distributed as dividends or other profit distributions upon payment thereof in monetary or non-monetary form.
Work it out on a profit figure: the company’s tax, the owner’s, and what is left.
Special regimes that may apply
- Income tax on income derived from international carriage of goods and passengers by sea (tonnage scheme) tonnage
Resident companies deriving income from international carriage of goods or passengers by sea using a qualifying ship, that have taken over liability for managing the maritime activity and meet the conditions in subsection 3 Income Tax Act, § 521
Whether a company qualifies depends on its activity and conditions set in each statute.
- CFC rules in Estonia
- Yes
Close it
Closing it
The other end, which most guides leave out.
- Route
- Dissolution followed by liquidation; assets may be distributed six months after the entry of the dissolution in the commercial register and publication of the liquidation notice.
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Assets may be distributed six months after the entry of the dissolution of the public limited company in the commercial register and publication of the notice of liquidation
- Statutory fee
- Not in our records
Every business in Estonia
VAT
- 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
Portals and registers
- Tax authorityMaksu- ja Tolliamet (Estonian Tax and Customs Board)
- Tax treatiesMinistry of Finance of Estonia — Tax treaties
Payment and banking services
5 services name Estonia on their own list: Paysera, Airwallex, Stripe, Revolut, N26. Each provider, and what a listing means.
Reference
Its name and code
- Kind
- Public limited companyDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- Aktsiaselts (AS)
- ISO 20275 code
- 9LJASecondary GLEIF, Entity Legal Forms code list