One-off costs to get started
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| e-Residency application | €150 | State fee. The card is valid five years, with no annual fee. |
| Company registration | €265 | State fee for registering an OÜ (an Estonian private limited company) through the portal. |
| Share capital | From a low minimum | Payment can often be deferred, though deferring restricts dividends. |
| Formation support | €0 to a few hundred | Optional. You can register the company yourself with the card. |
What recurs every year
| Item | Typical range | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Contact person and legal address | €200 to €400 a year | Required if no board member lives in Estonia. |
| Accounting | €240 to €3,600 a year | Depends on employees and transaction volume, not on turnover. |
| Annual report | Included monthly, or from €190 standalone | Mandatory for every company, including dormant ones. |
| Business banking | €0 to €200 a year | EMI (electronic money institution) accounts are often free or nearly free; traditional banks charge more. |
Three costs people often forget to budget for
The dormant year that was not free
People assume a company with no activity costs nothing. It still needs a contact person, a legal address and an annual report. In practice that is €400 to €700 a year to keep an empty company alive and compliant.
That is cheap if you will use the company, and wasted money if you will not.
The catch-up bill
Skipping bookkeeping for a year does not save the fee. It delays it and makes it bigger. Rebuilding twelve months from bank exports and platform reports costs several times what monthly work would have. It is the largest unplanned cost we see.
The advice you needed in month two
A question about permanent establishment (a taxable presence in another country), or about where a board fee is taxed, costs a few hundred euros to answer properly. The same question raised by a foreign tax authority four years later costs a great deal more. Budget something for advice in the first year, even if you never spend it.
Two realistic annual figures
A dormant or very small company without VAT registration, run remotely, costs roughly €500 to €700 a year all in. That covers the contact person, the address and a small accounting plan that includes the annual report.
An active VAT-registered company with one person on payroll and a normal flow of documents costs roughly €1,000 to €1,600 a year. Most of that is accounting, plus the contact person and address.
Note what is missing from both figures: corporate income tax. There is none until you distribute profit. That is the real saving of the Estonian system, and it is far larger than the running costs. So saving €10 a month on an accounting plan is rarely the thing to focus on.
What actually drives your accounting price
Not turnover. Two things:
- How many people you pay. Every person means a line on the TSD (the monthly payroll tax return) every month, an employment register entry, holiday tracking and year-end data.
- How many documents move. Twenty bank lines and four invoices is a different job from six hundred marketplace settlements in three currencies.
This is why an e-commerce company turning over €80,000 can cost more to service than a consultancy turning over €300,000. When you compare quotes, ask what each price is based on. A quote that reflects your payroll and document volume will be closer to the real cost than one based on revenue alone.
Where you can really save
- Register the company yourself with your e-Residency card rather than paying a formation agent.
- Use an EMI account rather than a traditional bank if your business does not need a bank.
- Send documents digitally from day one, so nobody is paid to type them in.
- Do not register for VAT before you have to, if you sell to consumers.
- Do not keep a company you have stopped using. Liquidate it, or accept the annual cost deliberately.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an Estonian company cost per year?
Roughly €500 to €700 a year for a dormant or very small company without VAT registration. An active VAT-registered company with one person on payroll costs roughly €1,000 to €1,600. Accounting is the largest part.
What are the one-off costs of starting?
€150 for the e-Residency application and €265 for registering the company, both state fees. Add share capital and any optional formation support.
Does a company with no activity still cost money?
Yes. If no board member lives in Estonia, it still needs a contact person and legal address. It also has to file an annual report, so budget €400 to €700 a year.
Tagscost of Estonian companye-Residency costannual feesOÜ
This page is for general information. For a better answer, get in touch and receive a personal recommendation.