Unemployment Insurance in Estonia
A clear guide to unemployment insurance in Estonia, including who pays, contribution rates, deadlines, and rules for employers and FIEs.
What is unemployment insurance?
The aim of the unemployment insurance premium is to provide protection in case of job loss, collective redundancies, or employer insolvency.
Who must pay?
- Employees – pay a portion of the premium (withheld from salary)
- Employers – pay their share and withhold the employee’s portion
- Old-age pensioners and members of the management or supervisory board are exempt
- Employers are required to pay premiums for all employees
Contribution rates
- Employer’s share: 0.8% of the employee’s gross earnings
(e.g., €8 on a €1,000 salary) - Employee’s share: 1.6% of gross earnings (withheld)
Total contribution: 2.4% of gross salary
Declaration and deadlines
- Based on monthly disbursements
- Deadline to declare and pay: by the 10th of the following month
- Returns can be submitted via the e-MTA portal or regional tax centre
Supervision
The Tax and Customs Board:
- Verifies proper payment
- May correct the premium amount due or refundable
- Recovers unpaid premiums if necessary
Sole Proprietors (FIEs)
- Sole proprietors are not required to pay premiums for themselves
- If they have employees, they must pay unemployment insurance premiums:
- 0.8% as employer contribution
- 1.6% withheld from the employee’s salary