Frequently asked questions

Questions & answers

How is my net pay calculated?

Your employer starts from the gross salary and withholds, in order: the employee unemployment-insurance contribution (1,6%), your funded-pension contribution if you pay one, and then income tax of 22% on what remains after the basic exemption is subtracted. The amount left is your net pay, and it reaches your account already taxed. The calculator runs exactly these steps and also shows the employer cost alongside.

What is the basic exemption, and does it apply automatically?

The basic exemption (maksuvaba tulu) is an amount subtracted from taxable income before the 22% tax — 700,00 € per month for a standard resident employee. From 2026 it is the same for everyone and no longer depends on income; the earlier income-dependent taper has been abolished. It is not automatic: it applies only on a written application (avaldus) and at one employer at a time. A second employer therefore withholds 22% with no exemption applied.

How do I choose my II-pillar (funded pension) rate?

The funded pension is your choice. The default rate is 2% of the gross, and following the 2024 reform you can apply to the registrar to raise it to 4% or 6% for the 2025–2026 window. If you have not joined the pillar, nothing is withheld for it. The contribution comes off the gross and is excluded from the income-tax base, so a higher rate lowers your take-home pay by less than the headline percentage.

What changes once I reach old-age pension age?

Two things. Your basic exemption is higher — 776,00 € per month instead of 700,00 € — which lowers the income-tax base further. And you are exempt from the 1,6% employee unemployment-insurance contribution (the employer share still applies). Both raise your net pay compared with an employee below pension age on the same gross. The calculator has a pension-age toggle that applies both at once.

What is the minimum wage in 2026?

2026 has two periods: 886,00 € per month for the first part of the year, rising to 946,00 € per month later in the year. The amounts are corroborated by several sources, but the exact government regulation and its Riigi Teataja reference are still open, so we state the figures without citing a specific regulation as fact.

Why is the employer cost higher than my gross salary?

On top of the gross the employer pays social tax at 33% and an unemployment-insurance contribution of 0,8%. The social tax is charged on at least the monthly rate of 886,00 €, so it is never less than 292,38 € per month. These are the employer's costs, shown separately in the calculator — they do not reduce your net pay.

Is there a 13th salary, church tax or security tax?

No. A 13th or 14th salary is not statutory in Estonia — an annual bonus is ordinary employment income, taxed the same way. No church tax is withheld, and the temporary security tax that was once proposed was cancelled before it applied. Non-residents and fringe benefits are handled differently and sit outside this standard resident calculator.

Are the figures on this site official?

This is an independent calculator, not an official one. It uses the rates in force for 2026, each cited to its primary source; no model declares a rate correct on its own. The reviewer of record has not completed the site's sign-off sheet, and the result is an estimate rather than your actual withholding — for an official amount, check your payslip or the Tax and Customs Board.

Rates and amounts are those in force for 2026. The result is an estimate — for an official amount, check your payslip or the Tax and Customs Board.