Before applying for payment in instalments, please make sure that:
- you have no prior applications under processing at the same time;
- you have submitted all mandatory declarations and returns;
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non-compliance levies and fines imposed by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board have been paid.
You can find the reference number required for payment of fines and non-compliance levies in the document imposing the claim.
We recommend checking whether the amount paid to the prepayment account has been transferred to cover the claims before submitting an application for payment in instalments. The amounts on the prepayment account are automatically transferred to cover claims three times a day – at 01:00, 10:30 and 18:30. You cannot transfer them manually.
If these conditions are not met, you will automatically receive a decision of denial of the application after submitting it.
Application for payment in instalments
The fastest way to apply for deferral of tax liabilities is to submit an application together with a payment schedule plan in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board’s e-services environment e-MTA.
- You can submit an application for payment in instalments for a period of 2 to 24 months.
- It is possible to apply for a schedule with both regular and irregular instalments. When applying for a schedule with irregular instalments, the last instalment may not exceed 50% of the total debt covered by the schedule.
- It is not possible to apply for a grace period, but the tax burden can be spread using a schedule with irregular instalments.
- Instructions on submitting an application for payment in instalments in e-MTA | pdf
- You can find more information on using the e-service of payment in instalments and answers to frequently asked questions in the e-services environment e-MTA, where after signing in, select Help center – Payment of tax arrears in instalments from the menu.
Other options for submitting an application for payment in instalments
You can also submit the application in the following ways:
- by sending a digitally signed application by e-mail at [email protected]
- by sending it by post at Lõõtsa 8a, 15176 Tallinn
- in all service bureaus
Please submit the application form Payment by instalments application.
We have the right to make an automatic decision on your application submitted in the e-services environment e-MTA if:
- tax liabilities are within the range of 10–100 000 euros;
- the requested duration of the schedule is up to 18 months;
- at the time of submitting the application, there are no tax returns that have not been submitted by the deadline;
- at the time of submitting the application, there are no outstanding liabilities, which cannot be paid in instalments under the Taxation Act (e.g. public claims arising as a result of judicial proceedings – fine, compensation levy, pecuniary punishment, case costs etc.);
- there is no valid payment schedule, regardless of the first approved automatic schedule for the same debt, which is not in arrears;
- no decision to invalidate the payment in instalments has been made regarding the deferred arrears;
- there is no solidary liability (i.e. liability subject to payment by multiple persons on a joint and several basis);
- regarding the tax arrears, there are no court-approved compromise schedules;
- you do not not have unfulfilled orders to pay the tax arrears within 48 hours of the day of receiving the order;
- no bankruptcy or debt restructuring proceedings have been initiated against the company;
- there are no disputes on any tax liabilities;
- tax arrears have not been handed over to bailiffs for compulsory enforcement;
Delivery of decision on payment in instalments
Based on the data provided in the application, the following are generated:
- an automatic decision on payment in instalments, and
- an automatic interest claim, which is prepared for the payment of calculated interest (calculated interest on tax arrears) as of the moment of approval of the decision. The interest claim amount is included in the approved schedule and does not have to be paid separately.
We will send the documents to the e-services environment e-MTA immediately after the decision is generated. In the e-services environment e-MTA, select Communication – Documents from the menu to view the documents. The documents are certified with the digital stamp of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
If the application does not meet the conditions for automatic deferral, the application will be reviewed by an official.
If the submitted application does not meet the conditions for receiving an automatic deferral decision, the application will be reviewed by an official who will make a decision on the approval or denial of the application within 20 days of receiving the application (Chapter 10 of the Taxation Act).
When making a decision, we consider:
- your prior performance of payment obligations, including whether you have filed your tax returns on a timely basis, the duration of the tax arrears, etc.;
- your financial situation;
- your business performance indicators;
- the viability of being able to meet the schedule of payments and new liabilities;
- if security is required, then the reliability and adequacy of the security.
Provision of security
In certain cases, we may request the provision of a security to ensure payment of tax liabilities. As a security, we prefer a registered security over movables or a mortgage. To place a mortgage on a registered immovable, you must submit an expert assessment, which may not be older than three months.
NB! If the tax arrears included in the application have already been previously deferred twice, for your application to be reviewed, you must provide us with a security (within the meaning of clause 1 of subsection 1 of § 120 of the Taxation Act).
If you do not provide a security, your application will be automatically denied.
Delivery of decision on payment in instalments
Based on the data provided in the application, the following are generated:
- a decision on payment in instalments, and
- an automatic interest claim, which is prepared for the payment of calculated interest (calculated interest on tax arrears) as of the moment of approval of the decision. The interest claim amount is included in the approved schedule and does not have to be paid separately.
- If you submit the application for payment in instalments in the e-services environment e-MTA, we will also send the documents to you in e-MTA, where please select from the menu Communication – Documents. The documents are certified with the digital stamp of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. We will notify you about issuing documents either by e-mail or text message.
- We consider the documents delivered to you as of the moment of issue in the e-services environment e-MTA.
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If only your postal address is known to us, we will send the documents by post and the delivery of documents is conducted pursuant to the procedure provided for in Chapter 4 of the Taxation Act.
More information: Delivery of documents (in Estonian)
The Estonian Tax and Customs Board has the right to deny an application for payment of tax liabilities in instalments in the following cases:
- you have an unpaid non-deferrable claim (non-compliance levy or fine);
- all mandatory tax returns have not been submitted on time;
- the tax arrears included in the application have already been previously deferred twice and, when submitting the application, you have not given a consent to provide a security on the basis of § 42 of the Taxation Act;
- you have failed to post adequate or reliable security by an assigned deadline;
- the necessity for payment in instalments is not sufficiently justified;
- you have been issued an order to pay the tax arrears within 48 hours;
- other reasons arise that render the payment of tax liabilities in instalments unproductive, for example, in reality you are able to meet the liabilities without a schedule of instalments.
Compliance with payment schedule
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It is also possible to pay the deferred tax arrears ahead of time.
The reference number indicated in the decision on payment in instalments must be used for early payment of the debt. If future obligations are included in the schedule, these cannot be paid in advance.
- It is possible to use the money on the prepayment account to pay the schedule payments. To do this, follow these steps:
- in the e-services environment e-MTA, select Accounting – Payment of claim with reference number from the menu;
- in the line “Pay from prepayment account”, enter the desired amount in the cell;
- in the line “Pay by bank transfer”, delete the amount automatically entered in the cell and mark “0”;
- click Pay.
The amount indicated will then be transferred from the prepayment account to cover the payments of the schedule.
Until full payment of tax arrears, the arrears are subject to a daily interest rate of 0.06% (i.e. 21.9% per year).
In the case of paying tax arrears in instalments, it is possible to apply for an interest rate reduction of up to 50% as of the decision to satisfy the application for the payment of tax arrears in instalments. The request must be indicated in the application. The interest rate discount does not apply to the interest calculated until the decision is confirmed.
If the company's deferral application meets the conditions for automatic payment in instalments, the interest rate reduction of 50% is automatically calculated.
The conditions for the validity of the payment schedule are:
- performance of the approved payment schedule;
- the timely payment of non-scheduled liabilities during the period of validity of the payment schedule;
- submission of all mandatory tax returns;
- keeping a thing encumbered with a pledge in order to secure tax arrears pursuant to the Law of Property Act;
- submission of an acceptable replacement security to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board in the event of a decrease in the value of the security.
If you do not comply with these conditions, we will revoke the deferral decision and the interest rate reduction.
We will send the decision of cancellation of the payment schedule to e-MTA, where select Communication – Documents from the menu.
We will notify you about issuing the decision either by e-mail or text message.
After the cancellation of the payment schedule, bank accounts are seized without additional warning for the collection of claims concerning which an administrative act has been issued (e.g. compulsory enforcement warning, interest claim, tax decision, etc.).
What will happen to the schedule if the motor vehicle tax is deferred and a child is born into the family, or if the vehicle is deleted from the motor register?
During the taxation period, the Tax and Customs Board will continuously verify, on the basis of entries in the population register concerning full legal custody of a child, whether persons who have received a motor vehicle tax notice are entitled to a reduction in tax liability for the child. If yes, the Tax and Customs Board revokes the previously submitted tax notice and, if necessary, issues a new tax notice.
If a vehicle is deleted from the motor register, or temporarily deleted from the motor register on the basis of a certificate of the Police and Border Guard Board upon the vehicle being declared wanted, the tax period is shortened and the tax notice is invalidated.
Rules for deferring motor vehicle tax if the tax notice is repealed:
- If the payment of the motor vehicle tax determined on the basis of the original tax notice was deferred and the entire motor vehicle tax claim was repealed and a new tax notice was not prepared, the payment schedule may end if other claims were not included in the schedule. The Tax and Customs Board will transfer the previously paid instalments to your prepayment account, the balance of which you can check in e-MTA.
- If the payment of the motor vehicle tax determined on the basis of the original tax notice was deferred and the motor vehicle tax claim was repealed, but a new tax notice with a reduced motor vehicle tax claim was issued, the motor vehicle tax is no longer included in the valid payment schedule. Accordingly, we ask you to check whether the current schedule still meets your expectations. If you still wish to defer your motor vehicle tax payment, please submit a new application for payment in instalments in e-MTA.
Last updated: 06.02.2026
