Graph: Tax receipts in the first nine months of 2025 and 2026 (in million euros)
VAT receipts in September amounted to over €400 million, which is €41 million more than in September last year. The retail and wholesale trade and energy sectors were the greatest contributors to VAT revenue. VAT receipts in September this year were higher due to VAT collected on the retail sale of motor fuel and motor vehicles. VAT paid on the import of goods also increased, primarily because of imports for national defence purposes.
Personal income tax revenue has remained stable over recent months, totalling over €232 million in September, which is €28 million less than in the same month last year. The lower revenue was influenced by the change in the system for calculating basic exemption at the beginning of the year. The wage fund grew by 6% year on year, increasing social tax revenue in September to €450 million – up by €21.5 million from September last year.
Corporate income tax revenue in September amounted to approximately €77 million, which is over €2.6 million less than in last September. The lower revenue was due to decreased dividend payments in the public sector. In September this year, the largest amounts of income tax on dividends were declared in the wholesale and retail trade and finance and insurance sectors.
Fuel excise duty revenue in September amounted to approximately €47 million, which is nearly €2 million less than in September of last year. In September, 96.6 million litres of petrol and diesel were released for consumption – 4.5 million litres less than a year earlier. Fuel excise duty revenue has remained stable over the past few months.
Tobacco excise duty revenue in September was about €21 million, or approximately €0.6 million less than in September last year. Compared with last September, around 17 million fewer cigarettes were released for consumption. Excise duty of approximately 17 million euros was declared on cigarettes, which is nearly 2 million euros less than in the previous year. However, compared with last September, nearly €1.4 million more in excise duty was declared on other tobacco products – primarily solid tobacco substitutes, e-cigarette liquids, and smoking tobacco – as more of these products were released for consumption.
Alcohol excise duty revenue in September was approximately €19 million – about €0.6 million less than a year ago. The large-scale stockpiling of spirits and beer that took place at the end of 2025, ahead of the excise duty increase, still affects the quantities released for consumption. In 2026, the quantities of alcohol released for consumption were lower year on year, and less alcohol excise duty was collected. The lower quantities released for consumption suggest that fewer alcoholic beverages than last year are being purchased in Estonia.
Graph: Tax receipts in September 2026 compared with September 2025 for selected taxes (in million euros)
As at 1 October 2026, total tax arrears amounted to €363.4 million, of which €47.3 million consisted of deferred tax arrears. Tax arrears increased by €12.4 million in September – arrears of natural persons rose by €0.3 million over the month, while those of legal persons grew by just over €12 million.
The largest increases in tax arrears were seen in VAT (€10.9 million), social tax (€1.2 million), and special income tax (€371,100), and these were primarily attributable to the liabilities of legal persons. The largest decreases in tax arrears, however, were observed in motor vehicle tax (€189,300), personal income tax (€165,100), and land tax (€36,200), which were mainly due to the settlement of liabilities by natural persons. Changes in other tax categories were less significant.
Overall tax discipline remains at a good level – nearly 89% of all tax obligations due in September were paid on time, and tax discipline remained similar to that seen in August. Compared with September last year, the share of payments made on time has remained stable.
In September, the bulk of the tax arrears was again concentrated in the wholesale and retail trade, construction, and manufacturing sectors. Tax arrears in these sectors consistently account for more than half – or approximately 56.7% – of the total arrears. Most of the arrears in these sectors are related to VAT, special income tax, and labour taxes.
At the end of September, there were close to 57,100 persons with tax arrears, which is nearly 1,700 persons fewer than at the end of August. The number of debtors decreased among natural persons, while increasing slightly among legal persons. The number of natural persons with tax arrears fell by approximately 2,200 during the month, whereas the number of legal persons with tax debt rose by about 470. The decrease in the number of debtors was mainly due to the settlement of motor vehicle tax liabilities by approximately 2,300 individuals, land tax liabilities by around 730 persons, and heavy goods vehicles tax liabilities by nearly 50 individuals. The number of debtors rose most significantly over the month due to approximately 570 individuals failing to pay VAT, around 410 failing to pay social tax, and about 130 persons failing to pay withheld income tax.
Graph: Tax debt balance by sector as at 1 October 2026
The Tax and Customs Board is available to assist taxpayers with fulfilling and deferring their tax obligations. In case of temporary payment difficulties, the ETCB recommends applying for a deferral of tax debt through the e-MTA e-services environment. When deferring a liability, payments can be made in instalments over a period of 2 to 24 months, but interest will be added.
More information on payment of tax arrears in instalments for private clients and business clients is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board. Instructions and FAQs can also be accessed by logging into the e-services environment e-MTA and selecting “Payments of tax liabilities in instalments” in the Help center section.
Overview of tax receipts is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board.
