Social tax (sotsiaalmaks)
What sotsiaalmaks is: the 33 percent tax an Estonian employer pays on top of pay, the 2026 minimum base of 886 euros, and how it funds health insurance and pension.
Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.
Sotsiaalmaks is the Estonian social tax. The employer pays it on top of the gross pay of an employee or a board member: it is not withheld from the person (Social Tax Act § 7 (1)). The rate is 33 percent. The tax funds the state pension and the health insurance (SMS § 1).
Key facts
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 33 percent of the taxable amount | SMS § 7 (1) |
| Minimum monthly base for an employee | 886 euros in 2026, so at least 292.38 euros of tax a month | SMS § 2 (2), § 2^1; 2026 State Budget Act § 2 (6) |
| Earlier bases | 820 euros in 2025, 725 euros in 2024 | SMS § 2^1 and the State Budget Act of each year |
| Return and payment | On the TSD, by the 10th of the next month | SMS § 9 (1) |
| Fringe benefits | 33 percent on the benefit plus its income tax | SMS § 2 (1) p 7; TuMS § 48 |
The minimum base
For an employee, the employer pays social tax on the actual pay, but on at least the monthly base set in the State Budget Act (SMS § 2 (2)). The base may not be lower than the minimum wage in force on 1 July of the previous year (SMS § 2^1). In a month when work starts or ends, or when the employee is absent on holiday or sick leave, the minimum is pro rata (SMS § 2 (3)). Some people carry no minimum at all, for example an employee who receives a state pension (SMS § 2 (4)).
A board member fee has no minimum: the tax is 33 percent of the actual fee. But a board member is covered by health insurance only in a month when the companies together pay social tax of at least the minimum for that person (Health Insurance Act § 5 (2) p 4). In 2026 that means a monthly fee of at least 886 euros. The guide on founder remuneration explains the choice.
Example
On a gross salary of 946 euros, the full-time minimum wage from 01.04.2026, the employer pays 312.18 euros of social tax and 7.57 euros of employer unemployment insurance, so the salary costs 1 265.75 euros. The salary calculator shows this for any amount, and the minimum wage page explains the rules.
General information, not advice for your situation. The law as in force on 30.09.2026.
Sources
Related pages
- Income tax (tulumaks)
What tulumaks is in Estonia: 22 percent on personal income, 22/78 on the profit a company distributes, how it is withheld and when it is paid.
- TSD (income and social tax return)
What the TSD is: the monthly Estonian return for income tax, social tax, unemployment insurance and the funded pension, due on the 10th of the next month.
- Hiring employees in Estonia: contracts, registration and foreign staff
What an Estonian OÜ must do before its first employee starts: the written contract, fixed terms and probation, the employment register, the minimum wage and the employer cost, family members, board members, non-EU staff and interns.
- Minimum wage in Estonia in 2026, and what a salary costs the employer
The Estonian minimum wage is 946 euros a month and 5.67 euros an hour from 01.04.2026. What the employer pays on top, the minimum social tax, what the employee keeps, and a worked example.
- Paying yourself as the founder of an Estonian OÜ: board fee, salary and social tax
How the owner-manager of an Estonian OÜ is paid: the board member fee, a salary, the minimum social tax, health insurance, the basic exemption and the TSD.
- Estonian tax rates 2024 to 2026
Every Estonian business tax rate on one page, by year: corporate and personal income tax, basic exemption, social tax, unemployment insurance, pension, VAT.
- Estonian salary calculator
Work out the net pay and the employer's total cost of an Estonian salary or board member fee, with income tax, the basic exemption, social tax, unemployment insurance and the funded pension.
Reviewed on 10 Oct 2026. Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.