# Motor vehicle tax on a company car in Estonia: how it is calculated and when it is paid

The annual Estonian motor vehicle tax: who pays it, how the base, CO2, mass and age parts add up, the rates for electric cars and vans, the payment dates of 15 June and 15 December, and what happens on a sale, a scrapping or a late payment.

Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.

[Part of the guide: Company cars in Estonia: motor vehicle tax, registration fee, fleets and insurance](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/vehicle-tax-fleet-insurance)

The company that is the **registered owner of the car on 1 January** owes the motor vehicle tax for the whole calendar year. The rate depends on the category, the CO2 emissions, the full mass and the age of the car. The Tax and Customs Board sends a notice by 15 February, and the tax is paid in two halves, **by 15 June and by 15 December** ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 7, § 9](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

This page is part of the guide [vehicle tax, registration and fleet insurance](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/vehicle-tax-fleet-insurance). To compute the tax for a car, use the [car tax calculator](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/tools/car-tax-calculator).

## Which vehicles are taxed

The tax applies to motor vehicles registered in the traffic register: passenger cars (category M1), vans up to 3,500 kg (N1), motorcycles and some other categories ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 2, § 3](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). A company car pays no reduced rate: the reduction for children applies only to parents who are natural persons ([§ 15¹](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

## Who pays

The taxpayer is the owner. The responsible user (vastutav kasutaja) entered in the register pays instead only when the owner is a leasing provider, a non-resident individual, or a legal person not registered in Estonia ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 5](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

That list is closed. An Estonian holding company that rents its cars to a sister company is not a leasing provider: a lease is the contract in which the lessor buys the thing the lessee chose ([Law of Obligations Act § 361](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/510092026001)). So the holding stays the taxpayer, even when the sister company is entered as responsible user, and it recharges the tax in the rent.

The liability is fixed on the traffic register data as at 1 January ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 6](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

## How the tax is calculated for a passenger car

For a passenger car with WLTP emissions data in the register, the annual tax is the sum of three parts ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 12(1)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)):

| Part      | Amount                                                                                                                         |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Base      | 50 euros                                                                                                                       |
| CO2 part  | 3 euros for each gram from 118 to 150 g/km, 3.50 euros for each gram from 151 to 200 g/km, 4 euros for each gram from 201 g/km |
| Mass part | 0.40 euros for each kg of full mass above 2,000 kg (2,200 kg for a plug-in hybrid), at most 400 euros                          |

Other cases:

- **Fully electric car:** 50 euros plus 0.40 euros for each kg above 2,400 kg, at most 440 euros ([§ 12(8)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **Only NEDC data in the register:** the NEDC figure is multiplied by 1.21 before the CO2 part is computed ([§ 12(2)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **No CO2 data at all:** the Act computes a reference value from the engine power, the unladen mass and the age ([§ 12(3)-(6)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). The reference value is at most 350 g/km ([§ 12(5)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)), and a plug-in hybrid with no CO2 data pays only the base and the mass part ([§ 12(7)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **A passenger car with more than seven seats** is taxed as a van ([§ 12(10)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

## Vans

A van (N1) with WLTP data pays a base of 50 euros plus a CO2 part of 3 euros for each gram from 205 to 250 g/km, 3.50 euros from 251 to 300 g/km and 4 euros from 301 g/km. There is no mass part. A fully electric van pays 30 euros ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 13](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). A van with a specific power above 0.20 kW per kg of payload is taxed as a passenger car ([§ 13(10)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

## The age factor

Everything above the base is multiplied by a factor that depends on the years passed since the first registration, counted to 1 January of the tax year ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 14](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)):

| Years since first registration | Factor           |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| Less than 5                    | 1 (no reduction) |
| At least 5                     | 0.92             |
| At least 6                     | 0.84             |
| At least 7                     | 0.75             |
| At least 8                     | 0.67             |
| At least 9                     | 0.59             |
| At least 10                    | 0.51             |
| At least 11                    | 0.43             |
| At least 12                    | 0.35             |
| At least 13                    | 0.26             |
| At least 14                    | 0.18             |
| At least 15                    | 0.10             |
| At least 20                    | 0                |

So a car of 20 years or more pays only the 50 euro base.

## Worked example

A petrol car first registered in mid-2020, 150 g/km WLTP, full mass 1,900 kg. On 01.01.2026 it is at least 5 years old.

- CO2 part: (150 - 117) = 33 grams x 3 euros = 99 euros.
- Mass part: none, the full mass is below 2,000 kg.
- Age factor 0.92: 99 x 0.92 = 91.08 euros.
- Plus the base of 50 euros: **141.08 euros for 2026**, paid 70.54 euros by 15 June and 70.54 euros by 15 December.

## When the tax is paid

- **The notice** is issued in e-MTA by 15 February ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 9(1)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). It is an administrative act treated like a tax decision ([§ 4¹](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **The payment** is 50 percent by 15 June and 50 percent by 15 December ([§ 7(4)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **A car first registered in Estonia during the year** pays a pro rata amount from the day after registration, in one payment: by 15 December if it was registered by 30 September, otherwise by 15 June of the next year ([§ 8](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). The notice comes within 15 working days of the register entry ([§ 9(2)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).

In the books, the tax is an expense of the year. It is not part of the cost of the car, because only costs directly linked to the acquisition are capitalised ([Accounting Standards Board guideline RTJ 5, paragraphs 11 and 12](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/124072026006)).

## Selling, scrapping or deregistering the car

- **Sale during the year.** The seller still owes the full year's tax and gets nothing back; the buyer pays nothing for that year ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 10(2)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). Agree in the sale contract whether the price covers a share of the tax.
- **Scrapping, other permanent deletion, or a stolen car.** The tax is cut in proportion to the days left in the year, counted from the day after the deletion entry. The same applies when the car is temporarily deleted because the police declared it wanted. The Board decides within 15 working days and refunds the excess to the prepayment account ([§ 7¹](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004), [§ 10(1)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)).
- **Temporary deletion.** From 01.01.2027 temporarily deleted vehicles and vehicles with a suspended registration are also taxed ([§ 3](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004), [§ 25(5)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)). To avoid the 2027 tax, a car must be deleted for good before 01.01.2027.

## Late payment and objections

Late tax carries interest of 0.06 percent per day from the day after the due date ([Taxation Act § 115, § 117](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/511082026003)). The Board makes no interest claim when the interest is below 10 euros ([§ 119](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/511082026003)), but the interest still arises.

A notice can be challenged by an objection within 30 days of delivery ([Motor Vehicle Tax Act § 4¹](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004); [Taxation Act § 138](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/511082026003)), for example when the vehicle data are wrong. An objection does not help when the register still showed the car in the company's name on 1 January.

For instalments and the routine of a fleet, see [late payment and fleet notices](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/vehicle-tax-fleet-insurance#late-payment-and-fleet-notices). The Tax and Customs Board also explains the tax on its [motor vehicle tax page](https://emta.ee/en/business-client/taxes-and-payment/other-taxes-and-claims/motor-vehicle-tax).

General information, not advice for your situation. The law as in force on 30.09.2026.

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## Sources

- [Motor Vehicle Tax Act (English translation, Riigi Teataja)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/506012026004)
- [Law of Obligations Act § 361 (English translation, Riigi Teataja)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/510092026001)
- [Accounting Standards Board guideline RTJ 5 (Riigi Teataja, Estonian)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/124072026006)
- [Taxation Act §§ 115, 117, 119, 138 (English translation, Riigi Teataja)](https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/akt/511082026003)
- [Tax and Customs Board: motor vehicle tax (business client)](https://emta.ee/en/business-client/taxes-and-payment/other-taxes-and-claims/motor-vehicle-tax)

## Related pages

- [Company cars in Estonia: motor vehicle tax, registration fee, fleets and insurance](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/vehicle-tax-fleet-insurance): What an Estonian company that owns or leases cars and vans must know: the annual motor vehicle tax, the registration fee, late payment, deregistration, a sale or scrapping, the Traffic Insurance Fund, parking and camera fines and how fines are taxed.
- [The Estonian car registration fee: when it is due, how much, and how to book it](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/vehicle-tax-fleet-insurance/registration-fee): The registration fee on passenger cars and vans in Estonia: when it arises (first registration, or the first change of owner of an older car), who pays, the rates, the age factor, the refund on export, and why a company adds it to the cost of the car.
- [Company cars and private cars: fringe benefit and car compensation in Estonia](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/guides/cars-private-use): How Estonia taxes private use of a company car (per kW a month), and how to pay tax-free compensation for a private car with a trip log.
- [Estonian car tax calculator](https://oscaraccountant.com/en/tools/car-tax-calculator): Work out the annual motor vehicle tax (mootorsõidukimaks) and the one-time registration fee (registreerimistasu) of a passenger car or van in Estonia, from its CO2, mass and age.

Reviewed on 10 Oct 2026. Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.

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