Before you start

Estonian personal identification code
A digital identity — ID-card, residence permit card, Mobiil-ID, Smart-ID or EU eID — to log into e-MTA
An Estonian bank account for refunds

Step-by-step

1
Get your personal identification code
The isikukood is assigned with your residence registration or residence permit and identifies you across tax, health, banking and every e-service.
In personWho: You
2
Apply to be determined an Estonian tax resident
Submit the application in e-MTA once you have a digital identity. EMTA recommends doing this by the end of January, which makes the income declaration process faster.
OnlineWho: YouBy end of January
3
Claim your basic exemption with one employer
The €700 monthly exemption is applied on the basis of a written application to your employer, and only one employer or payer may apply it at a time.
Via employerWho: You
4
Choose your funded pension rate
The second-pillar contribution can be set at 2%, 4% or 6% by application to the registrar. The default is 2%, so the higher rates require you to act.
OnlineWho: You
5
File between 16 February and 30 April
Returns are submitted in e-MTA, largely pre-filled. The deadline is 30 April and the window opens 16 February.
OnlineWho: You16 Feb – 30 Apr annually

Documents you’ll need

Personal identification code
Digital identity for e-MTA sign-in
Written application to your employer for the basic exemption
Estonian bank account details

Things most newcomers don’t know

The 2026 basic exemption change is the biggest personal tax shift in years.

Until 2025 the exemption tapered away as income rose — the 'tax hump' that made marginal rates jump for middle earners. From 1 January 2026 it is a flat €700 a month for everyone regardless of income, €776 at pensionable age. Anyone comparing an Estonian salary against an older online calculator is working from a materially wrong number.

Source: EMTA — tax rates and calculation of basic exemption, 2026

Only one employer may apply the exemption, and only if you ask in writing.

It is not automatic. If you never submit the application you overpay all year and recover it at filing; if you submit it to two payers you underpay and owe at filing. With two jobs or a job plus a pension, pick one and tell them.

Source: EMTA — reminder to contact your employer about basic exemption

Apply for residency determination by end of January.

EMTA explicitly recommends it, because it makes the income declaration process faster. It's a five-minute e-MTA application that most newcomers don't know exists until their first April, by which point it's slowed down the very return they're trying to file.

Source: EMTA — determining residency

The headline 22% hides a 33% employer social tax you should negotiate against.

Social tax sits on top of gross salary rather than inside it, with a monthly minimum obligation of €886. It funds your health insurance, so it isn't a deadweight — but it means an Estonian employer's true cost of you is roughly a third above your gross, which is worth knowing in a salary conversation.

Source: EMTA — tax rates 2026

Common mistakes to avoid

Using a pre-2026 net salary calculator — the tax hump is gone and the numbers changed.
Never submitting the written basic exemption application, and overpaying all year.
Applying the exemption at two payers at once, and owing money at filing.
Missing the 30 April deadline, or not realising filing opens 16 February.
Assuming a Digital Nomad Visa year avoids Estonian tax — 183 days makes you resident.
Leaving the funded pension at the 2% default without deciding whether 4% or 6% suits you.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.