Minimum wage

The statutory floor, as a monthly gross amount

The minimum wage (töötasu alammäär) is the lowest gross pay an employer may agree for full-time work. It is set nationally as a monthly gross figure, with an equivalent hourly rate, and it is reviewed every year — normally by agreement between the employers’ confederation and the trade unions, then fixed by a government regulation. The amounts shown here are those in force for 2026.

Two periods in 2026

Unusually, 2026 has two minimum-wage levels rather than one. For the first part of the year the monthly minimum is 886,00 €; from partway through the year it rises to 946,00 € per month. This mid-year uplift is corroborated by several independent sources, so the calculator reflects both periods. The exact government regulation number and its Riigi Teataja reference, however, are still open — so this page states the amounts but deliberately does not cite a specific regulation as fact.

Link to the social-tax monthly rate

The first-period minimum coincides with the monthly minimum social-tax base (kuumäär), 886,00 €. That link matters for low or part-time pay: if the gross falls below the monthly rate, the employer’s social tax is still charged on at least that base — a minimum of 292,38 € per month. That is an employer cost and does not reduce the employee’s net; it simply means the state receives a floor of social tax regardless of how small the salary is.

How it feeds the calculator

If you enter a gross at or near the minimum, the net-pay calculator applies the same steps as for any salary — the 1,6% unemployment contribution, the funded pension, the basic exemption and the 22% income tax — and shows the employer cost with the social-tax floor built in. The values remain the rates in force for 2026 until the reviewer of record signs them off; treat the result as an illustration, not an official figure.