Aune Maria Marjapuu, leading specialist at the ETCB’s Income Tax Department, reminds taxpayers that income tax return can be submitted until 30 April. “There is no need to rush. In the first few days, our e-services environment may experience high traffic due to a large number of users. In such cases, we ask for your patience and suggest trying to sign in again after a short while," Marjapuu said.
Due to an increase in scam messages, the ETCB recommends signing in to the e-services environment e-MTA only through the ETCB’s official website emta.ee by selecting “E-services”.
Part of your income tax return has been pre-filled on the basis of the data available to the ETCB. However, it is important to double-check that the pre-filled data is correct. The ETCB asks you to add any income data that is not pre-filled on the tax return yourself.
"If the pre-filled data is incomplete or contains inaccuracies, we ask individuals to delete the relevant line themselves – for example, when a tax return includes the sale of real estate that is exempt from tax. If, for example, rental income, income earned through a platform, or income earned abroad is missing from the tax return, individuals must enter this information themselves,” said Marjapuu.
In the income tax return to be submitted for 2025 this year, the tax rate is 22%. Last year, the so-called tax hump was still in effect, which means that the calculation of basic exemption remains unchanged for the current income tax return. This means that the basic exemption is up to 7,848 euros per year, but the exact amount depends on the taxpayer’s total income. If the annual income exceeds 25 200 euros, the basic exemption is 0 euros. For people at pensionable age, basic exemption remains at 9,312 euros per year, regardless of income level.
Training expenses, gifts and donations in the amount of up to 1200 euros can still be deducted from income. Contributions to the supplementary funded pension, i.e. the third pension pillar, can also be deducted from taxable income to the extent of up to 15% of taxable income, but not more than 6000 euros per year.
If the data on training expenses is not pre-filled on the tax return or differs from information available to you, it is worth contacting the educational institution and asking for the data to be submitted to the ETCB or corrected.
Vehicle owners can submit their income tax return in e-MTA after they have opened their motor vehicle tax notice. This allows them to check their tax liability. If based on your income tax return you are entitled to an income tax refund, you can choose to keep the amount in your prepayment account to cover future obligations, such as motor vehicle tax or land tax.
Heli Kullamaa, Head of the Customer Service Department of the ETCB, points out that during the first weeks of the tax filing period, the ETCB’s customer support lines and service offices may have longer waiting times than usual. “Most people do not need to come to our offices in person to file their income tax return. Online channels are conveniently accessible without having to leave home. Where possible, we ask people to assist their relatives who are not accustomed to using e-services when submitting their income tax return,” said Kullamaa. The locations and opening hours of service bureaus can be found on the website of the ETCB, where it is also possible to book an appointment for visiting a service bureau, if necessary.
Individuals whose income tax has been accurately withheld are not required to file the tax return. Furthermore, persons whose income does not exceed the basic exemption of 7,848 euros per year, or 9,312 euros per year in the case of persons of pensionable age, are not required to file the income tax return.
On 5 March, the ETCB will start refunding overpaid income tax to customers who file the tax return in the e-services environment. When the refund is made does not depend on the time of submission of the tax return. The refunding of overpaid income tax to customers who submit the tax return on paper form starts on 18 March. The final deadline for refunds is 1 October, the same as the deadline for paying additional income tax.
More information about the 2025 income tax return is available on the web site of the ETCB.
Who do we expect to file their tax return?
We expect the following individuals to file their tax return:
- individuals who have received income from employment or service fees through a platform from which income tax has not been withheld;
- individuals who have received more basic exemption than permitted, or less;
- individuals who have made securities transactions or received income from financial assets (including crypto-assets);
- individuals who have used investment accounts;
- individuals who have received income from employment or other income (e.g. interest, dividend) abroad;
- individuals who have sold real estate or received income from rent and no income tax has been withheld;
- individuals who have sold timber or cutting rights;
- individuals who are self-employed;
- individuals who have paid training expenses and made contributions to supplementary funded pension (III pillar).
