If you work in one Member State of the EU but live in another and return there every day or at least once a week, you are considered a cross-border worker (a commuter).
There are no exceptions for commuters in the Estonian tax conventions or law. They need to take into account the rules of two states. It is important for commuters to establish their residency for tax purposes and comply with the tax rules (registration and declaration requirements, etc.) of both the home state and the state where work is carried out.
More information on determining the residency for tax purposes is available on website of the Tax and Customs Board.
Information on your income, the use of tax-free income, and taxes paid on your income is available from the e-services environment e-MTA, where you need to choose ‘Registers and inquiries’ after signing in. For information, you can also turn to the customer support of the Tax and Customs Board. Information on tax obligations in other states must be obtained from the tax authorities of the state in question.
In Estonia, in the case of an Estonian resident, a special tax scheme applies only to the members of a ship’s crew, taxation that differs from a non-resident receiving salary or wages under an employment contract of workers working based on contracts under the Law of Obligations, as a member of a management or supervisory body, entertainer or athlete, researchers who are the residents of specific countries. More information is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board: Income from employment.
In order to qualify for the basic exemption in Estonia, residents of another state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement must submit a residency certificate verified by the tax authority of their home state to the payer; in the case of other deductions, the income tax return of a resident of Estonia has to be submitted. More information is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board: Deductions from income taxable in Estonia.
Foreign income must be declared even if not taxed in Estonia, as it affects the calculation of the amount of tax-free income. Double taxation is avoided in the state of residence.
If a non-resident works for an Estonian employer while staying in Estonia, only the Estonian income is taxed in Estonia.
More information is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board:
Declaration of income.
Income tax refunds to residents and non-residents.
Submitting an income tax return
You can submit your income tax return from 15 February of the year following the taxable period:
- in the Tax and Customs Board’s e-services environment e-MTA, where you need to identify yourself for signing in by using an ID-card, Mobile-ID, Smart-ID or EU eID
- in the service bureaus of the Tax and Customs Board
- by mail at Lõõtsa 8a, 15176 Tallinn.
We recommend that you submit your tax return in the e-services environment, if possible, because there can be long queues at the service bureaus, especially at the beginning of the income tax return submission period.
Where to find information and help
The Tax and Customs Board will help you with questions of determining tax residency, taxation and income declaration.
Customer Support of the Tax and Customs Board
Appeals
If you consider that your rights or freedoms have been violated by an administrative act or measure of a tax authority, you can contest the decision, or file an appeal in the courts.
The appeal must be filed in Estonian and in writing at the Estonian Tax and Customs Board:
- by email: [email protected];
- by post: Lõõtsa 8a, 15176 Tallinn.
An appeal against an administrative act must be filed within 30 days of the date of notification or delivery of the administrative act, and an appeal against a measure must be filed within 30 days of the date on which the person appealing becomes or should have become aware of the measure. If the period for filing an appeal is not complied with, the tax authority may, on duly justified grounds, reinstate the period not complied with on application by the party concerned.
More information on appealing administrative acts can be found on the Tax and Customs Board’s website.
Forms
References
- About tax incentives
- Information about filing income tax returns for employees from abroad working in Estonia
- Taxation of a non-resident
- E-residency and taxes
- Information phones and e-mails of the Tax and Customs Board
- Requisites for payment of taxes