EN
UAInvoices to clients abroad
A service to a business in another EU country usually carries no Estonian VAT: the invoice says “reverse charge” and shows your client’s VAT number. We check your template before the first one goes out.
For IT freelancers
An Estonian OÜ for IT freelancers: tax and VAT
An Estonian OÜ lets you invoice clients anywhere and leave profit in the company untaxed until you pay it out. What you pay yourself is taxed where you are tax resident — and a board fee in Estonia too. We do the books, the VAT and every filing — and help you find the right way to pay yourself.
- 0%Estonian tax on profit kept in the company
- 22%when profit is paid out as a dividend
What does Estonia’s 0% mean — and what doesn’t it?
The headline is true: profit your company keeps isn’t taxed. It’s also where most freelancers’ plans go wrong.
What it means
- No corporate tax while profit stays in the company
- Profit you reinvest, or keep as a buffer, stays whole
- Tax only when profit leaves: 22% of the gross on a dividend
- Nothing more withheld in Estonia from your dividend as a person
What it doesn’t
- Tax-free income — what you pay yourself is taxed
- A way around tax in your own country — it taxes you as a person
- Private costs on the company card — those are taxed in Estonia
- A loan to yourself — the law forbids it once you own more than 5% or sit on the board
Source: the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, the Income Tax Act and the Commercial Code.
Where is each part of your income taxed?
Your clients pay the OÜ; the OÜ pays you. Estonia taxes the company and any board fee; the country where you are tax resident taxes you as a person — on a dividend, and it may tax a board fee too.
Estonia
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Your OÜ 0% / 22%
Keeps profit at 0% tax and pays 22% of the gross when profit goes out as a dividend. A client in another EU country usually accounts for the VAT itself — the reverse charge.
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A board fee
Payroll, taxed in Estonia wherever you live.
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Us
Your books, VAT and filings, every month — and a check of each new client contract and supplier.
dividend / salary
Where you are tax resident
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You
Taxed as a person where you are tax resident. Estonia counts only if you live there or stay 183 days in 12 months.
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Where you work from
Run the company from home, and your country may tax its profit too — a permanent establishment. Worth checking before you assume Estonia is the whole story.
How do you pay yourself?
Two usual ways. A dividend: the company pays Estonian tax on what goes out, and Estonia withholds nothing more from you. A board fee: that’s payroll, declared monthly and taxed in Estonia even if you live abroad.
Estonia: on the profit paid out as a dividend
Your country taxes you as a person either way, so which mix costs less depends on your numbers and where you are tax resident. Run a payout through the calculator, then let us check the plan.
What else should a contractor get right?
Six things that catch out freelancers running an Estonian company — and what we do about each.
Tools from abroad can mean VAT
Software, cloud services or ads billed by a business abroad that isn’t VAT-registered in Estonia can mean a limited VAT registration, whatever your turnover. What each contract supplies decides — we check every new supplier.
Payouts in many currencies
Platforms and payment services pay out net of fees, often in another currency. We match every payout to its invoice, so your books show what you actually earned.
Getting paid: a bank or an EMI
e-Residency doesn’t guarantee an account, and each bank or EMI decides for itself. We help you choose one that fits your clients, your currencies and the country you live in.
Clients who want an EU supplier
An invoice from a company in the Estonian register, with a VAT number a client can check in VIES, answers a procurement team’s first question.
Quiet months still count
Between projects? If the company is registered for VAT in full, it still files a return every period — an empty one, on time. And the annual report is due every year, busy or not.
Payouts we match to their invoices
- EUR
- USD
- GBP
- CHF
- PLN
- Payment platforms
- Freelance marketplaces
Tools billed from abroad we check for VAT
- Cloud and hosting
- Software subscriptions
- Online ads
- AI and API services
What do we do for freelancers?
The books, the VAT and the filings of a one-person company — remotely, every month, with a named accountant.
Which plan do freelancers start with?
A one-person company with a handful of invoices a month usually fits Confident starter: full bookkeeping, VAT and monthly filings, with a named accountant. More documents or accounts? We’ll name the right plan before you pay anything.
Prices are in euro, before VAT. Whether VAT is added depends on our VAT status and where your company is established — your quote shows it before you sign.
Confident starter
A young OÜ finding its feet
€75 /month
- Documents a month: up to 20
- Bank accounts: up to 2
- Full bookkeeping, VAT and monthly filings
- A named accountant, not a call centre
- Annual report, filed before 1 June: €150
−50% after 2 years with us
What do clients say?
Reviews our clients left on Fiverr, shown word for word.
Our tag: Annual report
I was overwhelmed with the annual report of my Estonian company and Olena did it competently and patiently. Many thanks once again.
What do freelancers ask us?
Do I charge VAT to my clients?
It depends on who they are. A service to a business in another EU country usually carries no Estonian VAT — your invoice says “reverse charge” and shows the client’s VAT number. Registered for VAT and invoicing a client in Estonia: yes, at the rate for what you sell. Consumers abroad and customers outside the EU depend on what you sell, so we check your invoice template before the first one goes out. More in the VAT and OSS guide.
My clients are all abroad. Do I still need a VAT number?
Maybe not for your sales: a service to a business abroad usually doesn’t count towards the Estonian €40,000 threshold. Your purchases can still bring one. Software, cloud services or ads billed from abroad by a business not VAT-registered in Estonia can mean a limited registration whatever your turnover. The VAT quiz tests both in two minutes.
Should I take dividends or a board fee?
A dividend carries 22% corporate income tax on the gross amount, and Estonia withholds nothing more from you as a person. A board fee is payroll instead, declared monthly and taxed in Estonia even if you live abroad. The Tax and Customs Board looks at substance, so board work is a board fee however it’s invoiced. Your own country taxes you as a person too, so the right mix depends on where you are tax resident. Read dividend, salary or board fee in the corporate tax guide.
Does working from abroad change where my OÜ pays tax?
It can. Estonia taxes your OÜ as an Estonian company. But if you run it from another country, that country may tax the profit too: the Estonian Tax and Customs Board says a company an e-resident manages from abroad will probably have a permanent establishment there. Check your country’s rules — we’ll help you frame the question. Where your company pays tax.
Can the company pay for my laptop and software?
Yes, when they’re for the business — that’s an ordinary business cost. What the company pays for your private life is different: non-business expenses are taxed in Estonia. Send us the receipts and we’ll book each where it belongs.
Official sources: 13 · checked 22 September 2026
- Tax liabilities of companies established by e-residents
- Income and social taxes
- Income Tax Act (in Estonian)
- Commercial Code (in Estonian)
- Commercial Code (official English translation)
- Obligation to register as taxable person
- Threshold calculation from 1 January 2025
- Value Added Tax Act (in Estonian)
- Other references and notes
- Information included on invoices
- Registration as a person liable to VAT with limited liability
- Taxable person with limited liability
- What is e-Residency
Tell us where you live and who you work for
Your clients, your country, how you’d like to be paid. We’ll tell you what applies — here and at home — and what a year of accounting costs. No commitment.
We reply within one working day