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.
Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.
The calculator turns a gross monthly amount into the net pay of the person and the total cost to the company. It works for a salary under an employment contract and for a board member fee (juhatuse liikme tasu), which are taxed differently. You can also enter the net pay or the total cost, and the calculator finds the gross amount. Choose the year and the month: each rate comes from a dated row with its source. The calculator covers 2026.
What it computes
| Line | Employee (salary) | Board member (fee) |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment insurance, withheld | 1.6 percent | none |
| Funded pension, withheld | 2, 4 or 6 percent, if the person has joined | 2, 4 or 6 percent, if the person has joined |
| Basic exemption | Up to 700 euros, if the person asked for it | Up to 700 euros, if the person asked for it |
| Income tax, withheld | 22 percent of what is left | 22 percent of what is left |
| Social tax, paid by the company | 33 percent, on at least 886 euros | 33 percent of the actual fee |
| Unemployment insurance, paid by the company | 0.8 percent | none |
The rules it applies
- Income tax: 22 percent from 01.01.2025 (20 percent before), and 22 percent in 2026 (Income Tax Act § 4 (1)).
- Basic exemption: 700 euros a month (8 400 euros a year) from 01.01.2026, the same at every income level, deducted only on the person's written application to one payer (Income Tax Act § 23 (1), § 42 (1)). In 2025 the amount still depended on the person's income (act of 20.06.2023).
- Order of the calculation: gross, minus the employee's unemployment insurance, minus the funded pension, minus the exemption, then 22 percent (Income Tax Act § 42 (1), (5), (6)).
- Social tax: 33 percent, paid by the company (Social Tax Act § 7 (1)). For an employee it is due on at least the monthly base: 886 euros in 2026, 820 euros in 2025 (Social Tax Act § 2 (2), § 2^1; 2026 State Budget Act § 2 (6)). A board member fee has no minimum.
- Unemployment insurance: 1.6 percent from the employee and 0.8 percent from the employer, in 2026 (Government regulation nr 78) and from 2027 to 2030 (Government regulation nr 87). A board member is not insured, so neither is charged on a fee (Unemployment Insurance Act § 3 (2) p 3).
- Funded pension: 2 percent, or 4 or 6 percent when the person chose that rate (Funded Pensions Act § 9). Only an Estonian resident who has joined the second pillar pays it.
- Minimum wage: a full-time employee must get at least 946 euros a month from 01.04.2026 (886 euros before), or 5.67 euros an hour (Government regulation nr 36). The calculator warns below it. A board member fee has no minimum wage.
Worked example: an employee in 2026
Gross salary 946 euros, with the basic exemption and a 2 percent pension:
| Line | Amount (euros) |
|---|---|
| Unemployment insurance, 1.6% | 15.14 |
| Funded pension, 2% | 18.92 |
| Income tax: (946 - 15.14 - 18.92 - 700) x 22% | 46.63 |
| Net pay | 865.31 |
| Social tax, 33% | 312.18 |
| Employer unemployment insurance, 0.8% | 7.57 |
| Total cost to the company | 1 265.75 |
Worked example: a fee against a salary
1 000 euros gross in 2026, 2 percent pension, the full 700 euro exemption:
| Line | Board fee | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment insurance (employee) | 0 | 16.00 |
| Funded pension | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Income tax 22% | 61.60 | 58.08 |
| Net to the person | 918.40 | 905.92 |
| Social tax 33% | 330.00 | 330.00 |
| Unemployment insurance (employer) | 0 | 8.00 |
| Total cost to the company | 1 330.00 | 1 338.00 |
A board member is covered by Estonian health insurance only in a month when social tax of at least the minimum (292.38 euros in 2026) is paid for that person, so a fee below 886 euros, counted over all the companies that pay the person, gives no cover through the board role (Health Insurance Act § 5 (2) p 4). The guide on founder remuneration explains the choice.
What it does not cover
- 2025 and earlier years: the basic exemption then depended on the person's income, and the calculator says that it does not cover the year.
- A person of pension age: the 1.6 percent stops and a higher exemption of 776 euros a month applies, deducted first by the Social Insurance Board.
- A month in which work starts or ends, or with holiday or sick leave: the social tax minimum is then pro rata.
- A person with several employers, or exempt from the social tax minimum (for example a state pensioner).
- Non-residents, a person who works under the A1 certificate of another state, fringe benefits, holiday pay and sick pay.
- Years after 2026: the social tax base for 2027 comes with the 2027 State Budget Act.
For these cases see hiring employees, the minimum wage and Estonian tax rates. The company declares every line on the monthly TSD by the 10th of the next month.
General information, not advice for your situation. The law as in force on 30.09.2026.
Sources
- Income Tax Act (Tulumaksuseadus) § 4, § 23, § 42
- Social Tax Act (Sotsiaalmaksuseadus) § 2, § 2^1, § 7
- Unemployment Insurance Act (Töötuskindlustuse seadus) § 3, § 40 to § 42
- Government regulation nr 78 of 25.09.2025 on the unemployment insurance rates
- Government regulation nr 87 of 18.09.2026 on the unemployment insurance rates 2027 to 2030
- Funded Pensions Act (Kogumispensionide seadus) § 9
- 2026 State Budget Act § 2 (6)
- Government regulation nr 36 of 23.03.2026 on the minimum wage
- Health Insurance Act (Ravikindlustuse seadus) § 5
- EMTA: Tax rates
Related pages
- 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.
- 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.
- Basic exemption (maksuvaba tulu)
What maksuvaba tulu is: the tax-free part of a person's income in Estonia, 700 euros a month from 01.01.2026, and how an employer applies it.
- 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.
- 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.
Reviewed on 10 Oct 2026. Law as of 30 Sept 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.