To facilitate doing business through an Estonian company, it would be good to have a basic understanding of the Estonian tax system which includes knowledge about important deadlines, thresholds and other requirements that may impact the company’s tax obligations. It is also important to understand the nature of your field of activity in an international setting, because doing business cross-border may require you to be compliant with more than just Estonian tax legislation.
Companies, which are registered in the Estonian Company Register will be automatically recorded into the taxpayer's registry that is held by Estonian Tax and Customs Authorities. Therefore, no separate registration as an Estonian taxpayer is required (other than for VAT purposes, which is discussed below). This means that your company’s registration number is also your company’s tax identification number.
E-tax system
In Estonia, all tax returns are submitted electronically via the e-Tax system.
Upon the first entry to e-tax, a user account will be created for you.
If you have established your Estonian company your e-Residency ID, you should have automatic access permissions for the use of e-services on behalf of the legal person and for the management of the access permissions.
Please note that additional access permissions might be needed to submit the tax returns, for example, bookkeeper’s package. More information about e-services is available here.
You can access e-Tax system on the Tax Authority’s web page right on the top. Please choose an option ID card to sign in with your e-Residency digital ID.
If you cannot see the company profile upon entering the e-tax, please contact the Estonian Tax and Customs Board at e-maks@emta.ee or +372 880 0815.
The first step would be the creation of an e-services account for yourself and your company to gain access to the e-Tax/e-Customs services online. A contract must be concluded with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board after which you will be given an official account. The process is quite similar for private clients (private individuals) and business clients (legal persons), both of whom can conclude the contract fully online. After the accounts have been created, all private and business client electronic services will become available. However, in order for you to be able to have access to the business client services you must first authorise yourself as an official user.
Through the e-Tax/e-Customs environment, you are going to be able to
- pay taxes and view payment history;
- submit all your necessary tax returns;
- communicate with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board;
- register your company liable to value-added tax, etc.
You are also able to notify the Tax Authorities of a preferred language, having the choice between Estonian, English and Russian.
Articles in the Knowledge Base are intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. This information should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisers.