Estonian per diem calculator

The calculator works out the per diem (päevaraha) of a business trip abroad that a company may pay tax-free, and the part above the limit that is taxed as pay. Enter the day of departure and the day of return, whether those two days count, the days at the higher rate already used on other trips in the month of departure, whether free meals are provided, and, if you want, the per diem paid. It also shows the least the employer must pay.

The rules it applies

• The limits. The tax-free per diem of a foreign trip is 75 euros a day for the first 15 days of the trip, but for no more than 15 days in a calendar month, and 40 euros for each further day (Income Tax Act § 13 (3) p 1). These limits are in force from 01.01.2025.
• No domestic per diem. A trip inside Estonia has no tax-free per diem: only the documented travel, accommodation and other reasonable costs can be reimbursed tax-free (business trip regulation § 2, § 7).
• Who may receive it. An employee and a member of the management or supervisory board. A contractor under a contract for services may not; a per diem paid to one is part of the fee (Income Tax Act § 13 (3) p 1; regulation § 1).
• Which days count. The destination must be at least 50 km from the border of the settlement where the person normally works. The day of departure counts if the vehicle leaves at 21:00 or earlier, and the day of return if it arrives after 03:00. A return and a new departure on the same day count once (regulation § 4).
• The minimum. The employer must pay an employee or a board member at least 40 euros a day abroad. When meals are provided free, it may cut the per diem by up to 70 percent. This is a labour rule on what the employee is owed; it does not change the tax-free limit (regulation § 3, § 4 (4)).
• Above the limit. The excess is taxed as pay on TSD annex 1: income tax, social tax and the funded pension, plus unemployment insurance for an employee but not for a board member (regulation § 9 (1); Unemployment Insurance Act § 3 (2) p 3). Within the limit there is no income tax and no social tax (Social Tax Act § 3 p 1).

Worked examples

If the company pays 80 euros a day for the 10-day trip, it pays 800 euros: 750 euros are tax-free and 50 euros are taxed as pay.

What it does not cover

• A place of work abroad. When the person normally works in another country, a trip from there is tax-free only at the limits of that country, and the Estonian 75 and 40 euro limits cannot be used instead (Income Tax Act § 13 (3) p 1^1).
• Meals paid by the company on top of a full per diem, which are a fringe benefit (EMTA questions and answers).
• Per diems paid by a third party, such as a client, which count toward the same limit (regulation § 5, § 8).
• Travel, accommodation and other documented costs, and the compensation for a private car.
• A trip that starts before 01.01.2025.
• Other trips in a later month. For a trip that runs into the next month, the calculator counts only the days at the higher rate already used in the month of departure.

The guide on fringe benefits and travel covers business trips, meals and the documents a trip needs.

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