Tere tere! My friend has a UK company and would like to open a branch in the EU to operate in the EU market (mostly as a lot of clients want to be invoiced via an EU office rather than UK). He has proposed for me to join him on his EU adventure.

My question is, I have recently moved to Portugal (where I am a tax resident) so we are debating whether to try open a branch here, or somewhere like Estonia. With me possibly owning 50% of the EU branch would this be do-able? Or would I be taxed in Estonia and Portugal? I am currently registered as self employed in Portugal.

I filled in application for e-Residency about a month ago.

I now received an email from the police asking me to: 1. Provide all my contacts in Estonia; 2. Upload a video talking about my plans; and 3. Provide links to my achievements and articles.

They have given me three days to do this.

I don’t have any contacts in Estonia. I provided my LinkedIn during the application. And I cannot describe how much I do not want to film myself and upload a video.

Is this a normal part of the application?

If filming a video of myself is required I would rather not bother. Can I just get a refund?

Hey there! Two weeks ago I stumbled upon the possibility of becoming an e-resident through the e-residency in Estonia. It sounds very interesting and I'm thinking about moving my freelance-business from Germany to Estonia.

But before I (maybe) do it, I want to get more informations. So I'm asking you, if anybody created and runs a Freelance business through Estonia? If so, I wanted to ask:
- Will I have to pay any other costs in addition to the application fee?
- What do I need to pay particular attention to when setting up a company? (e.g Legal form of Freelance business)
- What bank-account do you use? - Is there any kind of source to gather informations or to get an Consulting via online-call etc?

Looking forward to hearing form you!

Hello,

I am literally paying 80€ a month for an accountant when I am only making 2 or 3 transactions a month worth 20$ or less. Is there any tutorial that would show me how to do my own accounting, VAT declaration etc ?

I imagine it isn't really complicated and it gets really frustrating to pay that much money for something I would like to do myself.

Thank you

Has anyone opened a company in estonia being minor?

Hi everyone, I am setting up a new business and came across the e-residency in Estonia where you can remotely run a company there while living in the UK, and save on corporation tax.

If i live in the UK would I also need to pay corporation tax in the UK or would it just be income tax?

Hello everyone first of all I am minor and wondering if I can open a company on Estonia and then about banks, what are the best banks for shopify sync?

I created an Estonian OÜ for operating an online school for which I needed Stripe integration. No bank wanted to open a bank account, because local banks such as LHV require a 'strong connection' to Estonia, and digital ones, like Revolut, end up requiring a legal permit or Visa emitted by Estonia, which is basically the same. In short, I couldn't open a Revolut account for the Estonian OÜ, because they don't accept the e-residency as a valid document. Therefore, all the process was a waste of time and resources. Without a bank account that integrates with Stripe the OÜ is useless. I'm not saying it doesn't work in some cases, but do your research so it won't happen the same to you. For me it was pure BS.

https://preview.redd.it/f2qo09j9bmsd1.png?width=1232&format=png&auto=webp&s=f4b4a5647fe60359d3f9e3791c8cdcccc9f910dc

That is Revolut disclaimer that I discover doing the verification process.

PS- I wanted to change the title and replace 'scam' for 'uselss', as some people have rightly pointed that out.

I would appreciate your advice on how to proceed in this situation, as well as any recommendations you may have regarding the drafting of contracts and the management of transactions. We are a company who just start their business in drop shipping (intermediary) field. we will start selling/invoicing soon and need your best advice guys. Of course we already asked for legal advice but just want to know if you guys had the same experience on this.

1. Current Activity:

I am currently working with large companies as both a supplier and a client. However, my company cannot make direct purchases or sales, nor can it have a warehouse as e-business. Therefore, I do not have the capacity to import or export products.

2. Sales Structure: I have been proposed to facilitate sales directly between the supplier and the client, acting as an intermediary. My intention is to formalize an intermediary contract that defines my role in the process, but I do not want it to reflect that there is a commission involved in the transaction, as this might not be well received by clients.

3. Invoicing: Although it has been suggested that I should not invoice directly due to the lack of insurance—so that both companies can ensure the transaction between themselves and I avoid the risk of non-payments—I still want my company to invoice because it is necessary. I need guidance on how to navigate this situation legally while ensuring my company can issue invoices.

4. Insurance: Additionally, I would like to know if it is advisable for me to have insurance to cover potential risks related to my role as an intermediary since I currently do not have an insurer.

Thank you for your assistance.

Hello everyone,

I’m a Portuguese citizen residing and working in Portugal, where I pay taxes through my full-time job. My business partner and I (we’re 50/50 partners) have developed software that we want to start selling. Currently, most of our customers will be Portuguese, but we don’t have an office. We’re exploring options to establish our company in a country with a simpler and more favorable fiscal system. Our goal is to reinvest profits back into the company and only pay taxes on dividends when we choose to distribute them.

We’ve been looking into Estonia’s e-Residency program and are intrigued by the potential benefits. As EU citizens, we’re curious about how tax treaties between Portugal and Estonia might affect us. Specifically:

•	Taxation: How does the taxation work if we set up an Estonian company but reside in Portugal? Will we pay corporate taxes in Estonia and personal taxes in Portugal when distributing dividends? How do the tax treaties between Portugal and Estonia influence this, especially concerning double taxation and tax rates?

•	Customers in Portugal: Given that most of our customers are in Portugal but we have no physical office, are there any legal or tax implications we should be aware of?

•	Benefits: What are the real advantages of having an Estonian company in our situation? Is it truly more straightforward and beneficial for reinvesting profits?

•	Legal and Fiscal Obligations: Are there any potential pitfalls, compliance issues, or additional obligations we should be aware of when operating an Estonian company from Portugal?

We’d greatly appreciate any insights, experiences, or advice from those who’ve been in a similar situation or have expertise in this area.

Thank you in advance!

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on structuring a company to maintain privacy while using Estonia's e-residency program. Estonia requires ownership and management details to be public, and nominee shareholders or directors are not allowed. However, I'm considering the following structure and wondering if anyone has implemented something similar:

U.S.-based Holding Company: Set up a holding company (LLC or Corporation) in a U.S. state like Delaware, Wyoming, or Nevada, which offers privacy for owners. This holding company would own and manage the Estonian company, so only the holding company's name appears in the Estonian business registry, not mine personally.

Privacy Protection: The holding company would act as both the shareholder and board member of the Estonian company. My name would only be associated with the U.S. holding company, limiting my public exposure in Estonia.

Professional Service Providers: I'm also considering using professional service providers to manage the company operations without appearing as formal "nominees."

Of course, my goal is not to hide my name from the Estonian authorities. The aim is solely to avoid being publicly exposed and to enhance asset protection.

Has anyone used a similar structure to maintain privacy with an Estonian company? What challenges did you face, and how effective was this setup?

Regards, TS

Can we create a developer account for Apple Developers Program or Google Play Console using eResidency?

Hi everyone,

I’m an Estonian e-resident and I own an OÜ company registered in Estonia. I conduct all my work outside of Estonia, mainly from various locations in Scandinavia. As a digital nomad, I also travel across Europe and often work from different countries while serving clients across the EU. I frequently visit customers around Europe as part of my work. Because of this, I could really use a car, and preferably one big enough to sleep in (van or smaller SUV).

From my understanding, it seems challenging for my e-resident company to buy a car directly. I’m exploring other options and wanted to seek advice from this community:

• Is it possible for my Estonian OÜ company to provide me with a car as part of my salary package, similar to how regular employees in Denmark receive company cars and are taxed on their value? I pay myself a regular fixed monthly salary, and pay income tax in Denmark.
• Are there legal and tax-compliant ways for an e-resident OÜ company to buy or lease a car that I can use for business (and possibly personal) purposes while in Europe?
• What are the best options for a digital nomad e-resident in my situation who needs a car for both business travel and everyday use?

Any insights, experiences, or resources you could share would be greatly appreciated!

Basically i have a mobile application where I will be reselling eSIMs that are obtained through partners. According to them I require some kind of license. Has anyone ever dealt with such situation?

1. Have you ever used Xolo.io? Does it handle like, everything? Do you need anything other than that service?
2. I want to form my company as Private limited company (OÜ), but I'm having a hard time knowing which activity code I should choose. How can I do it? Who can help me with it? Im working on an application that my users will be able to buy eSIMs from. I will partner with companies who will provide me the eSIMs through APIs and I will resell them in my app. I also want to create many different applications in the future.
3. Which bank do you prefer dealing with?
4. Who do you recommend to consult for Tax and Legal questions?

I need the Governance Structure (stakeholders) of my Estonian OÜ to be based in the EU until 2026, but I, as the only stakeholder, am based in the UK. Do I have a workaround? I thought:

1. Do not pay dividends nor salary to myself. Like this, I can tell I'm based in an European country (like France where I am a citizen). (I'm aware I won't have any income from this source).

2. Any other workaround? Is this possible? (Please note I'd have to provide financial statements, hence proving I don't pay anything outside the EU).

I have an eResidency in Estonia and I own an Estonian OÜ, that serves me to invoice my customer, and for which I provide professional services (that could be seen as a contractor).

1. I do NOT live in Estonia but in the UK.
2. I want to simplify the accountancy and do NOT submit TSD (used to report income tax, social tax, and other related payments), hence not paying myself any salary.
3. I only want to take out dividends from my Ltd Company. Does this make sense? Because if I pay salary, the company must pay social tax at a rate of 33% of the gross salary (but I do not live in Estonia!)

Could someone please bring me some guidance? Thank you!

I just spent a lot of time setting up Revolut Business for my new OU company.

My first payment of €25 was sent yesterday, but it did not show up in my account.

I contacted support and initially they said it takes 24 hours for payments to be settled. That's pretty surprising considering that Revolut Personal payments are delivered instantly.

And then I checked the pending section in the Revolut Business Merchant section that it says payment will not be delivered until 23rd of September, which is 14 days from the initial payment.

Now the Revolut support agent says that it was the "acquiring team" that extended the 24 hours to 14 days. And that they will review it again in two months!!!

He also says, conveniently, that he cannot cannot provide any more information. Typical bullshit answer. How dare they charge monthly fees and transaction fees for this service.

Why are they doing this? I am a small business and I don't have time to be waiting 14 days for no reason, especially after I've given them all the necessary documentation to prove why I'm legitimate.

I am extremely disappointed with Revolut and this abysmal service.

I would really appreciate it if I can get some tips on this process, or even suggest any alternative providers. For example, do Wise have problems like this.

I am not EU citizen and have no EU residency. I am single owner and director of Estonian company. Wondering which bank account provides multicurrency account (at least EUR and USD) and has no crazy high fees. I had wise but it's blocked my personal acc long time ago, so i can't use it anymore. Revolut is also not working for non-eu residents. Currently i have wamo (which provides only EUR and GBP) and payoneer which has USD but their fees make me frustrated (1% for incoming and 3% for outgoing transactions its crazy). Already asked LVH and Paysera - they not provide USD accounts. Is there some other options?

I started an Estonian company years ago. Never used it. Used xolo leap.

I want to close it. But my eresidency is now expired. Xolo says I can’t close it without renewing it.

Xolo is racking up fees everyday. Is there a simple way to end this ordeal?

Hello fellow Redditors !

If your want to ask a lawyer about legal residency, taxes, company regulations and other law related questions, access this google form https://forms.gle/AdNqra3F7f7pccgy5

Here you can ask any questions you’re interested in. It’s anonymous and absolutely free of charge.

Hi 👋

I'm seeking clarity on Estonian corporate tax laws, particularly regarding investments. My main question is:

How can an Estonian company invest its profits without triggering corporate tax? Specifically:

1. Can the company invest in the stock market without it being considered a taxable distribution?
2. Is investing in physical assets (like real estate or equipment) a way to use profits without triggering tax?
3. Are there other investment options that allow the company to use its profits without incurring immediate taxation?

I understand Estonia only taxes distributed profits, but I'm unclear on how they treat various types of investments. Any insights from those familiar with Estonian business regulations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help.

It's frustrating to hear everywhere that the Estonian corporate tax rate is 20%. It's not. It's 25%. How so? Because you pay 25% taxes, not 20%.

It's based on the grossed up amount. So you have to pretend that your taxes (20%) are part of the amount you want to pay out, and then pay taxes on this fictional amount.

Yes, the tax you have to pay, is included in the number to get the taxes you have to pay. So you pay taxes on your taxes.

So how can it be ''Estonia has been #1 on the Tax Competitiveness Index for the last 9 years''

Lithuania literally has a 15% tax rate (soon to be 16%)

I understand they only tax distributed income, but 25% tax rate is crazy.

I'm an e-resident with an Estonian OÜ and I'm looking for a accountant or accounting company. I don't live in Estonia, so I need someone who can work with me remotely.

Ideally, I'm looking for an accountant who has experience with e-residents and non-resident company owners, understands international tax stuff, and can communicate well in English.

If you've had a good experience with an accountant for your Estonian company, I'd really appreciate it if you could share their name or company.

Also, I'm curious about the costs. How much should I expect to pay monthly for this kind of accounting service?

Thanks for any suggestions and info!