Articles
Free webinar on Estonian e-Residency and Taxes in Estonia on 7 May 2024
E-Residency is a concept introduced by the government of Estonia in 2014 that offers a digital identity for non-residents to access Estonia’s business environment including such online services as company formation, business permits, and taxation. This revolutionary initiative has opened up new avenues for entrepreneurship, enabling individuals to access the European Union’s market without physically relocating. There have been more than 106 000 Estonian e-resident applications from 170+ countries.
How to pay dividends in Estonia?
As an e-resident founder, you’re probably unfamiliar with the basics of Estonian corporate dividend distribution. After building a profitable company, you would probably like to transfer some of the profits to your personal account in addition to the regular salary or director’s fee.
In this article, we explain the legalities and best practices for distributing dividends from Estonian companies to non-resident shareholders.
In a nutshell, shareholders have the sole right to distribute corporate profits, and while profit is an opinion based on accounting principles applied, cash is a fact. This means that even if your company had a profitable financial year, it needs to have enough free cash available to pay it to shareholders and also pay tax on it the next calendar month.
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What to do when your Estonian company gets deleted?
Every Estonian company has to submit annual accounts (annual report) to the Estonian Business Register 6 months after the end of the financial year. On 1 February 2023, a new Estonian Commercial Code and an entirely new law, the Commercial Register Act, came into force, making it easier for the court to delete a company that has not submitted annual accounts.
Before that, companies that did not submit their annual accounts managed to stay on the register for years without problems. This annoyed the Ministry of Justice and private sector stakeholders, who saw it as an unfair business environment with no sanctions for non-compliant companies. Now, it is nearly an automatic process, with fines imposed on board members who failed to perform their legal responsibility of submitting annual accounts.
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Accounting for e-resident founders: Comprehensive 2024 Guide
As an e-resident founder, you’re probably not so familiar with the accounting rules in Estonia. First-time founders may even be unaware of the rules in the country they currently live in. You have just registered your first company, and wonder what is the best way to organize accounting.
In this article, we explain the necessities and best practices for arranging your company finances with minimal effort.
Organizing accounting and paying taxes knowledge is the responsibility of the company board. For solopreneurs, it’s you; nobody else can do it in your company. Even if you have a service provider, their scope and liability are always limited to what you have previously agreed to and provided to the accounting team.
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What 2024 holds for Estonian e-residents?
In an engaging and forward-looking conversation with our Managing Director, Ivar Veskioja, we explore the horizon of opportunities and changes awaiting Estonian e-residents in upcoming years. Amidst the drive toward perfecting the Estonian digital ecosystem and regulatory shifts, Ivar unveils how Unicount is building an online platform to provide more integrated services to e-resident founders and refining its support for navigating all available opportunities.
This dialogue includes a sneak peek into forthcoming strategic leaps in Estonian e-services, an explanation of why we need enhanced KYC processes and adjustments to the list of supported countries, and a look back at the achievements of the e-residency program in 2023.
Director’s Fee vs Salary from your Estonian Company
Understanding your tax obligations in Estonia, including taxes payable on director’s fee or salary, is crucial for e-resident founders looking to receive a regular income from their Estonian company. This guide offers insights into the taxation of director’s fees and salaries.
In Estonia, a board member of a limited company doesn’t need to receive a director’s fee or a salary. However, if a director’s fee is paid, it’s subject to Estonia’s personal income and social tax. Social tax can be paid in your country of residence if your country has an agreement for social security with Estonia or you live in the EU, European Economic Area or Switzerland.
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Why Switching to Unicount is a Smart Move if you’re not Happy with Your Accountant
As an experienced e-resident founder, you’re probably already familiar with the basics of running a business in Estonia. You have a virtual office and accounting services provider you chose while registering your company, but are you getting the best out of your current provider?
At Unicount, we offer more than mandatory services for staying compliant – we deliver a partnership that helps you run your business effectively. This article explains why switching to Unicount is a strategic move for your established business.
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Estonian company formation for e-residents
You can establish and manage an EU company online from anywhere using an Estonian government-issued digital identity card. And wherever you are in the world, you can get one by applying for e-Residency of Estonia so that you can also run a company fully online from anywhere.
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Why e-residents should not register as sole proprietors in Estonia
In this article, I will explain the main differences between having a limited company versus registering as a sole proprietor in Estonia. We would also look into other possible forms of registering a business, and give our best advice to first-time founders wondering what is the best solution for running a remote business online.
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