Estonian Company Run from Jersey: Tax Rules

Some people living in Jersey form or buy an Estonian private limited company (OÜ), often as e-residents, and run it from Jersey. The Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 looks at where a company is managed: a company incorporated outside Jersey is regarded as resident in Jersey if its business is managed and controlled in Jersey. An individual who resides in Jersey for six months in a year of assessment is chargeable as a person residing there. And the Estonia–Jersey tax agreement leaves a company resident in both to an agreement between the two tax authorities, which look at the place of effective management and the place of incorporation. This guide sets out these rules with the official texts, and what we do on the Estonian side.

The guide is general information, not tax advice. How your company and you are taxed depends on the facts of your case; ask a Jersey tax adviser before you form or buy the company. We read the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 in its official consolidated version current from 17 June 2026 on jerseylaw.je, published by the Jersey Legal Information Board, and the Estonia–Jersey agreement in Riigi Teataja, on 22 October 2026.

In Estonia: an Estonian company is Estonian

A company established under Estonian law is resident in Estonia for tax purposes (Income Tax Act § 6). Its profit is taxed when it is distributed, not while it stays in the company — the guide how Estonia taxes company profit explains the rule. The company keeps its Estonian duties wherever its owners live: accounts, an annual report to the commercial register and, if its address is abroad, a contact person in Estonia.

In Jersey: the company side

Resident. A company incorporated outside Jersey shall be regarded as resident in Jersey if its business is managed and controlled in Jersey (Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961, Article 123(1)(b)).
Telling the Comptroller. A body corporate that becomes regarded as resident under Article 123(1)(b) must notify the Comptroller in writing no later than 6 months after that (Article 123AA(1) and (2)).

An Estonian OÜ is a company incorporated outside Jersey. If you live in Jersey and manage and control the company's business from there, Jersey can regard it as resident. Your Jersey tax adviser answers that with the facts of your case.

In Jersey: the owner side

Residing in Jersey. A person in Jersey for a temporary purpose only, without the intent of establishing residence there, is not charged as a person residing in Jersey on profits from possessions or securities outside Jersey — unless the person has actually resided in Jersey for a period equal in the whole to 6 months in the year of assessment (Article 129).

How a dividend from the Estonian company is taxed in your hands in Jersey is a question for your Jersey tax adviser.

The Estonia–Jersey tax agreement

A company resident in both. The competent authorities shall settle the question by mutual agreement having regard to such factors as the place of effective management and the place of incorporation (Agreement signed in London on 21 December 2010, Article 4(3)).
Dividends. Dividends paid by a company resident in one party and beneficially owned by a resident of the other party are taxable only in that other party (Article 10(1)).
Directors' fees. Fees for a member of the board of a company resident in the other party may be taxed in that party (Article 15).

Whether the Multilateral Instrument changes these articles is a question for your Jersey tax adviser. We do not give that ruling.

What to decide before you form or buy the company

Where the company's business is managed and controlled. Management and control in Jersey make it resident there under Article 123(1)(b).
Who sits on the management board. A board that meets and decides in Jersey points the agreement's factors there too.
How you take money out. A dividend, a board fee and a salary fall under different articles of the agreement.

What we do on the Estonian side

online formation for an e-resident — €950 Registered address and contact person service for one year are included., or formation by power of attorney — €1,250;
a ready-made company bought remotely — €1,200 Registered address and contact person service for one year are included.;
accounting — from €150 / month and the annual report — from €450;
the registered address and contact person after the first 12 months — €350 / year.

Our accounting covers the Estonian company's Estonian obligations. Jersey tax returns and Jersey tax advice are not included. Owners in other countries: Estonian company run from abroad compares the rules side by side.

Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.

Ready to start? A new Estonian company — online for e-residents or by power of attorney; Jersey tax advice is not included. Order.

Official sources

The laws this article names, by the name of their official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

Income Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources are named in the text, without links. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.

Frequently asked questions

Is my Estonian company taxed in Jersey if I run it from Jersey?

It can be. Jersey regards a company incorporated outside Jersey as resident in Jersey if its business is managed and controlled in Jersey (Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961, Article 123(1)(b)). In Estonia the company stays resident because it was established under Estonian law (Income Tax Act § 6). Under the Estonia–Jersey tax agreement, the two tax authorities settle the residence of a company resident in both by mutual agreement, having regard to the place of effective management and the place of incorporation (Article 4(3)). Ask a Jersey tax adviser before you form or buy the company; we handle the Estonian side.

Estonian company run from Jersey: what is taxed where