Estonia tax for companies: 0% kept, 22% paid out, and the fine print
An Estonian company pays no tax on profit it keeps. When it pays profit out, it pays 22% of the gross, and nothing more is withheld from an owner abroad.
The 24% rise and the security tax planned for 2026 never came in. What still catches founders: board fees, hidden payouts, and running the company from home.
Everyone repeats the headline: no tax until profit leaves the company. What decides your real bill is the detail behind it: what counts as "leaving", how a board fee compares with a dividend, and whether your own country quietly claims the company because you run it from home. This page is that detail, from the Tax and Customs Board's own guidance. Where the company can keep that money is covered in our Estonian company bank account guide.
Key takeaways
- Profit kept in the company pays 0% in Estonia; profit paid out pays 22/78, which is 22% of the gross.
- The 24% rate planned for 2026 was cancelled, and the 2% security tax on company profit was repealed before it began.
- Estonia withholds nothing more from a dividend to an owner abroad.
- A board fee costs the company 133 for every 78 that reaches you; a dividend costs 100.
- Gifts, private spending and some shareholder loans are taxed as payouts too, reported monthly by the 10th.
- Run the company from your home country and the tax board says it will "probably" have a permanent establishment there.
Estonia corporate tax rate: 0% kept, 22% paid out
- No corporate income tax in Estonia, however large the profit
- Reinvest it, hold it, lend it on commercial terms
- No yearly tax return on profit: there is no profit tax to calculate
- 22/78 of the net dividend, which is 22% of the gross
- Paid by the company, by the 10th of the next month
- Same rate for owners in Estonia and abroad
Since 2025 there's one rate. The old 14% rate for regular dividends and the 7% withholding that came with it are gone, and 2026 stays at 22%.
No profit tax until money leaves. Then 22% of the gross, once.
Dividend or board fee from an Estonian company
Most founders sit on the board of their own OÜ. A board fee is taxed in Estonia wherever you do the work, as the Tax and Customs Board's non-resident rules say, with social tax on top; a dividend isn't. Type what the company can spend.
The comparison charges the board fee 33% social tax and 22% income tax withheld, with no unemployment insurance, and the dividend 22/78 corporate income tax. Your own country may tax either again.
For the same spend, a dividend reaches you with more than a board fee.
Estonian company, founder abroad: the permanent establishment question
An e-resident runs the company from wherever they live. The Tax and Customs Board's own view: if the management is in another country, the company will probably have a permanent establishment there, and that country can tax the profit made through it.
Run it from home and your home country may tax the company as well.
Estonia TSD return and the yearly report
- By the 10th of each monthTSD return and paymentFor any dividend, board fee, salary, fringe benefit or gift in the month before. No payouts, no return needed.
- From EUR 886 a monthMinimum social tax on salariesEUR 292.38 a month in 2026, for employees, under the social tax rules. Board fees are taxed on what's actually paid.
- Within 6 months of the year endAnnual reportTo the Business Register, online. Miss it and the registrar can fine the company and, in the end, delete it.
Monthly returns only when money moves; the annual report every year.
Estonia VAT: 24% since July 2025
Selling to businesses in other EU countries still needs an Estonian VAT number to report the sales, even below the threshold, once you choose to register.
24% since July 2025, with registration from EUR 40,000.
Estonia's tax changes: what was cancelled, what's next
| Announced | Status |
|---|---|
| Corporate and income tax up to 24% from 2026 | Cancelled in December 2025; 22% stays |
| 2% security tax on company profit | Repealed in June 2025, before it started |
| VAT up to 24% | In force since 1 July 2025 |
| 15% global minimum tax rules | Postponed to 2030, only for EUR 750 million groups |
Two announced rises never happened. Check the date on any Estonia tax page.
Estonian tax questions, answered
What is the corporate tax rate in Estonia in 2026?
Do I pay Estonian tax on dividends if I live abroad?
Does an e-resident pay tax in Estonia?
Is the Estonian security tax in force?
Is Estonia a tax haven?
Do I have to file a tax return if the company pays nothing out?
What does your Estonian company include?
Changelog
- 10 November 2026: first published.
- 13 November 2026: official sources linked in the text.
An Estonian company, run online from anywhere.
EUR 444 in year one, with the legal address and contact person.