Find out your exact Estonia take-home pay. On a €30,000 salary, you'd take home about €2,014 a month after the flat 22% income tax, the €8,400 basic exemption, unemployment insurance, and a 2% II pillar pension contribution, an effective deduction rate of roughly 19.4%. Enter any gross salary below for your exact figures.
Income tax
22%
flat, no brackets
Basic exemption
€8,400/yr
universal, 2026
Unemployment ins.
1.6%
employee side
Social tax
33%
employer-paid only
Employee-side deductions only. Social tax (sotsiaalmaks, 33%) is paid entirely by your employer on top of your gross salary, it never reduces your take-home pay, so it's excluded from the deduction total below (see the employer cost panel further down).
2026 tax year
Flat 22% income tax. Universal basic exemption: €700/month (€8,400/year), the same for everyone regardless of income. Plus 1.6% unemployment insurance and your chosen II pillar pension rate.
II pillar funded pension (voluntary):
Common salaries:
Annual take-home pay
€24,168
Per month
€2,014
Per week
€465
Effective tax rate
19.4%
How your €30,000 is split
€24,168
80.6%
€4,752
15.8%
€480
1.6%
€600
2.0%
| Gross salary | €30,000 |
| Income tax (22%) | -€4,752 |
| Unemployment insurance (1.6%) | -€480 |
| II pillar pension (2%) | -€600 |
| Total deductions | -€5,832 |
| Net take-home (annual) | €24,168 |
Calculations use 2026 Estonian income tax (flat 22%), the universal €8,400/year basic exemption, and unemployment insurance figures. Models employee-side deductions only — social tax (33%) is paid by your employer on top of gross salary and is shown separately, not subtracted from your take-home. The funded pension (II pillar) contribution is voluntary; select 0% if you have opted out. Does not model pensionable-age residents (higher basic exemption) or non-employment income. For precise figures, consult the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) or a tax professional.
Estonia runs one of the simplest personal tax systems in Europe: a single flat 22% rate on all taxable income, no brackets to climb through. The only thing that shrinks your taxable income is the basic exemption (maksuvaba tulu), which from 2026 is a flat €700/month (€8,400/year) for everyone, regardless of how much you earn. That's a real simplification: previously this exemption phased down as income rose, but that "tax hump" mechanic has been abolished.
What actually comes off your paycheque is income tax (22% of taxable income), unemployment insurance (1.6% of gross, withheld from you), and, if you're enrolled and haven't opted out, your II pillar funded pension contribution (2%, 4%, or 6%, your choice). Social tax, at a hefty 33%, is entirely separate: your employer pays it on top of your gross salary to fund state pension and health insurance, and it never touches your payslip as a deduction.
That distinction matters a lot when comparing job offers or understanding your real cost to an employer: a €30,000 gross salary actually costs an Estonian employer roughly €40,000+ once social tax and employer unemployment insurance are added on top, even though your own deductions look much lighter.
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A flat 22%. Estonia has one of the simplest personal tax systems in Europe: there are no progressive brackets, everyone pays the same 22% rate on taxable income above the basic exemption. A planned increase to 24% for 2026 was cancelled by the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) in December 2025, so the rate stays at 22%.
From 1 January 2026, every resident taxpayer gets a flat €700/month (€8,400/year) basic exemption, tax-free, regardless of how much they earn. This is a major simplification: previously the exemption shrank as income rose (the so-called 'tax hump'), but that phase-out has been abolished for 2026. Pensionable-age residents get a higher €776/month (€9,312/year) exemption instead.
No. Social tax (sotsiaalmaks) is 33% of gross salary, but it's paid entirely by your employer on top of your salary, it never appears as a deduction on your payslip and doesn't reduce your net pay. It funds state pension and health insurance. What does reduce your take-home is income tax (22%), employee unemployment insurance (1.6%), and your optional II pillar pension contribution.
No, it's voluntary since a 2021 reform. If you're enrolled, you can choose a contribution rate of 2%, 4%, or 6% of gross salary, or opt out entirely (0%). This calculator defaults to 2% (the original base rate) but lets you toggle between all four options to see the effect on your take-home pay.
Both employees and employers pay unemployment insurance (töötuskindlustusmakse), but at different rates: employees pay 1.6% of gross salary (withheld from your pay), and employers pay an additional 0.8% on top (not deducted from your salary). Only the employee's 1.6% affects your take-home pay.
The calculator uses confirmed 2026 Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) rates: the flat 22% income tax, the universal €8,400/year basic exemption, and current unemployment insurance figures. It models standard employment income for non-pensionable-age residents only, and doesn't cover business income, rental income, capital gains, or dividends, which are all also taxed at 22% but with different rules. For precise figures, consult EMTA or a tax professional.
Related reading
Go deeper on the mechanics behind these numbers, or see how Estonia stacks up against the UK.
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