Last week's overview
12 Oct 2026–18 Oct 2026
News
- Social tax from 01.01.2027: on fees received from a private individual, the recipient pays the tax
From 01.01.2027, a natural person who is not a sole proprietor (FIE) no longer has to pay social tax on a fee they pay another natural person under a…
Changes that entered into force
- Maksukorralduse seadus (MKS)
17 Oct 2026; 1 changed; MKS § 29
- Küberturvalisuse seadus (KüTS)
16 Oct 2026; 11 changed; KüTS § 2, KüTS § 13, KüTS § 7, KüTS § 16, KüTS § 17, KüTS § 8¹
- All changes →
Changes published that enter into force later
- Eestisse lähetatud töötajate töötingimuste seadus (ELTTS)
in force from 26 Oct 2026; 1 provision
- Maksukorralduse seadus (MKS)
in force from 26 Oct 2026; 5 provisions
- Töötervishoiu ja tööohutuse seadus (TTOS)
in force from 26 Oct 2026; 15 provisions
- Kogumispensionide seadus (KoPS)
in force from 1 Nov 2026; 3 provisions
- Maksukorralduse seadus (MKS)
in force from 1 Nov 2026; 1 provision
- Kogumispensionide seadus (KoPS)
in force from 1 Jan 2027; 2 provisions
- Maksukorralduse seadus (MKS)
in force from 1 Jan 2027; 2 provisions
- Kogumispensionide seadus (KoPS)
in force from 1 Jan 2028; 5 provisions
- Maksukorralduse seadus (MKS)
in force from 1 Jan 2028; 1 provision
Supreme Court decisions
- RKKKo 15.10.2026, 4-26-693/11
Toimingupiirangu kohaldamine revisjonikomisjoni liikmele
- RKTKo 14.10.2026, 2-21-19798/92
Civil case · VÕS § 113, PankrS § 55, PankrS § 63
- RKTKo 14.10.2026, 2-23-5185/59
Civil case · TsMS § 423, TsMS § 456, TsMS § 692
- RKHKo 12.10.2026, 3-23-2349/48
Elu ja tervise kaitse vanglas ning halduskohtumenetluse teovõime
- Decisions also published: administrative courts 2; county courts 25; circuit courts 5; Chancellor of Justice 4; Industrial Property Board of Appeal 1; Public Procurement Review Committee 5
- All latest decisions →
New and updated guides
- Right of residence of EU citizens in Estonia
Under the European Union Citizen Act (Euroopa Liidu kodaniku seadus, ELKS), an EU citizen may stay in Estonia on the basis of a valid travel document or…
- Short-term employment in Estonia
Under the Aliens Act (välismaalaste seadus, VMS), a foreign national staying in Estonia temporarily may work here if the employer has registered their…
- Processing personal data in a business (GDPR)
A business may process personal data only if it has at least one of the legal bases listed in the General Data Protection Regulation (isikuandmete kaitse…
- Selling a share in an OÜ
As a rule, the disposal transaction by which a share in a private limited company (osaühing, OÜ) is transferred must be notarised (ÄS § 149 lg 4), and…
- Cross-border inheritance: which country's law applies
If the deceased died on or after 17 August 2015, the rules on cross-border succession are set by the EU Succession Regulation (EU) No 650/2012…
- Custody and contact with a child after separation
Separation does not in itself end the parents' joint custody: if parents with joint custody live permanently apart, they decide important matters…
- Building and renovation work: contracts for work
When you order building or renovation work, you enter into a contract for work (töövõtuleping): under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS)…
- The Consumer Disputes Committee
The Consumer Disputes Committee (tarbijavaidluste komisjon) is an independent and impartial body that resolves consumer disputes and operates at the…
- Package holidays: your rights
Under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS), the organiser of a package travel (reisikorraldaja) is liable to the traveller for performance…
- Non-compete agreements in employment contracts
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), an employer may not prohibit an employee from working for another employer unless the…
- Challenging a fine for a misdemeanour
How you challenge a fine depends on the procedure in which it was imposed. A fine notice (warning fine, hoiatustrahv) for a traffic offence recorded by a…
- Taking a claim to the labour dispute committee
The labour dispute committee (töövaidluskomisjon) is an out-of-court body for resolving labour disputes attached to the Labour Inspectorate…
- Tax on rental income in Estonia
Under the Income Tax Act (tulumaksuseadus, TuMS), rental income of a resident natural person, including rent, is taxable income (TuMS § 12 lg 1 p 4; TuMS…
- Defects and repairs in a rented flat
Under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS), the landlord must hand over the flat in a condition suitable for use under the contract and keep…
- Applying for Estonian citizenship
A foreign national obtains Estonian citizenship by naturalisation (KodS § 2 lg 1 p 2). Under the Citizenship Act (kodakondsuse seadus, KodS) the…
- Accepting or renouncing an inheritance
Under the Law of Succession Act (pärimisseadus, PärS), a succession opens on a person's death and on opening the estate passes to the heir (PärS § 3 lg…
- Paying dividends from an OÜ
Under the Commercial Code (äriseadustik, ÄS), the shareholders of a private limited company (osaühing, OÜ) decide on the distribution of profit (ÄS § 168…
- Consumer credit and quick loans in Estonia
Under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS), when a business lends money or gives credit to a consumer, including a quick loan, it is a…
- Apartment associations: rights and duties of flat owners
Under the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act (korteriomandi- ja korteriühistuseadus, KrtS), the members of an apartment association…
- Dismissal for reasons related to the employee
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), an employer may terminate an employment contract extraordinarily for a good reason arising…
- Child leave in Estonia
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), each parent is entitled to child leave (lapsepuhkus) of ten working days per child until the…
- Minors working in Estonia
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), an employer may not conclude an employment contract with a minor under 15 or a minor who is…
- Per diem for business trips in Estonia
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), an employee sent on a business trip (töölähetus) may claim compensation of the costs of the…
- Drink driving in Estonia: limits and penalties
Under the Traffic Act (liiklusseadus, LS), a motor vehicle driver may not have 0.20 milligrams or more of alcohol in one gram of blood or 0.10 milligrams…
- Speeding fines in Estonia
For speeding detected by a camera, the vehicle's owner is sent a fine notice with a warning fine (hoiatustrahv) whose amount in euros is the number of…
- Retirement age in Estonia
Under the State Pension Insurance Act currently in force (riikliku pensionikindlustuse seadus, RPKS), a person who has reached 65 and has at least 15…
- Unemployment insurance benefit in Estonia
Under the Unemployment Insurance Act (töötuskindlustuse seadus, TKindlS) there are two kinds of unemployment insurance benefit (töötuskindlustushüvitis).…
- Parental benefit and paternity benefit
Under the Family Benefits Act (perehüvitiste seadus, PHS), parental benefit (vanemahüvitis) is paid for a child for up to 605 calendar days in total…
- Child allowance and large family allowance
Under the Family Benefits Act (perehüvitiste seadus, PHS), child allowance (lapsetoetus) is 80 euros for the first and second child of a family and 100…
- Public holidays in Estonia: days off and pay
Under the Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act (pühade ja tähtpäevade seadus, PTS), Estonia's national holiday and day off is 24 February…
- Minimum wage in Estonia
Since 1 April 2026 the minimum wage (töötasu alammäär) for full-time work is 946 euros a month and the minimum hourly wage is 5.67 euros (Töötasu…
- Alcohol sale hours and restrictions in Estonia
A shop may sell alcohol from 10.00 to 22.00 (AS § 40 lg 1¹). Selling alcohol to take away is prohibited from 22.00 to 10.00 in bars, restaurants and…
- Bailiffs and enforcement proceedings
Under the Code of Enforcement Procedure (täitemenetluse seadustik, TMS), a bailiff (kohtutäitur) conducts enforcement proceedings on the basis of the…
- Flight delays and cancellations: compensation
The EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (in Estonian Lennureisijate määrus) entitles a passenger whose flight is cancelled to…
- Long-term resident's residence permit in Estonia
A long-term resident's residence permit gives a foreign national the right to live in Estonia permanently (VMS § 230). Under the Aliens Act…
- Compulsory share of an inheritance
Under the Law of Succession Act (pärimisseadus, PärS), the compulsory share (sundosa) is half of the value of the share of the estate you would have…
- Liability of a management board member in Estonia
Under the Commercial Code (äriseadustik, ÄS), a management board member of a private limited company (osaühing, OÜ) must perform their duties with the…
- Buying a used car in Estonia
If you buy a used car from a trader, it is a consumer sale under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS) (VÕS § 208 lg 4): the seller is liable…
- Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Estonia
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), a woman is entitled to maternity leave (emapuhkus) of up to 100 calendar days if a maternity…
- Rent arrears and eviction of a tenant
Under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS), a landlord may terminate a lease if on two consecutive payment dates the tenant is in arrears…
- Matrimonial property and dividing assets
If the spouses-to-be choose no property regime and conclude no marital property contract (abieluvaraleping), the Family Law Act (perekonnaseadus, PKS)…
- Income tax return and tax refund in Estonia
Under the Income Tax Act (tulumaksuseadus, TuMS), the taxation period of income tax is the calendar year (TuMS § 3 lg 1). The income tax return for the…
- Late-payment interest and unpaid invoices
If a payment is late, the creditor may claim late-payment interest (viivis) from the debtor from the moment the obligation fell due until it is properly…
- Rent increases for residential leases
Under the Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS), for an open-ended lease of immovable property the landlord is presumed to be able to raise the…
- Overtime and how it is compensated in Estonia
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), overtime (ületunnitöö) is work beyond the agreed working time, and as a rule it is done by…
- Income tax and the tax-free allowance in Estonia
Under the Income Tax Act (tulumaksuseadus, TuMS), the income tax rate is 22% (TuMS § 4 lg 1). A tax-free allowance (maksuvaba tulu) of 8400 euros is…
- Working time and rest periods
Under the Employment Contracts Act (töölepingu seadus, TLS), an employee is presumed to work 40 hours in a seven-day period and 8 hours a day (TLS § 43…
- Making a will in Estonia
Under the Law of Succession Act (pärimisseadus, PärS), a will may be notarial or private ("home") (PärS § 20 lg 1). A private will is written from…
- Buying property in Estonia: notarised contract and land register
A contract for the sale of an immovable or an apartment ownership must be notarially authenticated (AÕS § 119 lg 1; KrtS § 1 lg 3). The buyer becomes the…
- Warranty versus the seller's legal liability
A guarantee and the seller's liability under the law are two different things. In a consumer sale, the seller is liable by law for a lack of conformity…
- Sole proprietor (FIE) in Estonia
Under the Commercial Code (äriseadustik, ÄS), any natural person may be a sole proprietor (füüsilisest isikust ettevõtja, FIE), but before starting…
- Temporary residence permit for employment in Estonia
Under the Aliens Act (välismaalaste seadus, VMS), a temporary residence permit for employment gives a foreigner the right to stay in Estonia and work for…
- Fixed-term employment contracts in Estonia
An employment contract is presumed to be entered into for an unspecified term; a fixed-term contract may be concluded for up to five years if justified…
- Faulty goods: repair, replacement or refund
In a consumer sale, the seller is liable for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within two years of delivery (VÕS § 218 lg 2); for a defect that…
- Inheritance under Estonian law without a will
Succession is by law if the deceased left no valid will or succession contract (PärS § 10 lg 1). The legal heirs are the spouse, the registered partner…
- Setting up a private limited company (OÜ) in Estonia
A private limited company (osaühing, OÜ) has share capital divided into shares, and a shareholder is not personally liable for the company's obligations…
- Expedited payment order procedure
Expedited payment order proceedings (maksekäsu kiirmenetlus) are a simplified court procedure for recovering a fixed sum of money arising from a…
- Utility and service charges in a tenancy
Besides the rent, a tenant must bear additional costs (kõrvalkulud) – such as fees for utilities and other services connected with use – only if this has…
- Sick leave in Estonia: sickness benefit and the employer's duties
In case of illness, injury or quarantine, the employer pays the employee sickness benefit (haigushüvitis) for the fourth to eighth calendar day at 70…
- Child maintenance in Estonia
A parent must maintain their child; a parent living apart from a minor child fulfils this duty mainly by paying maintenance (elatis) (PKS § 96 lg 1; PKS…
- Limitation periods for claims in Estonia
The limitation period for a claim arising from a transaction, such as a contract, is three years, or ten years if the obligation was breached…
- Divorce in Estonia: fees, procedure and time limits
If the spouses agree on the divorce and related matters, the vital statistics office (perekonnaseisuasutus) dissolves the marriage on their joint written…