Invoicing from an Estonian Company: VAT Rules

Once an Estonian company is registered as a VAT payer, the Value Added Tax Act decides when its invoices must be issued and what they must contain — and for a service to a business in another EU country, the invoice carries no Estonian VAT but a "reverse charge" note. This guide sets out those rules with their sources, so that an owner who sells from an Estonian OÜ issues invoices that pass the accountant and the Tax and Customs Board.

The guide is general information, not tax advice for a particular transaction. It covers a company registered as a VAT payer; the special arrangements of the Act (margin schemes, distance selling, the OSS) are not covered.

When the invoice must be issued

Within seven days. A VAT payer issues the invoice within seven calendar days of the day the goods are dispatched or made available or the service is provided (Value Added Tax Act § 37(1)); when payment is received first, within seven days of the payment (§ 37(2)).
A service to a business in another EU country: by the 15th. For such a service the invoice is issued by the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the service was provided (§ 37(21)).
Paper or electronic. An electronic invoice is allowed if the buyer accepts it (§ 37(6)).

What every invoice must contain

a serial number and the date of issue;
your company's name, address and VAT number;
the buyer's name and address;
the buyer's VAT number when the buyer has the tax liability (for example under the reverse charge);
a name or description of the goods or services;
the quantity of the goods or the extent of the services;
the date of supply or of payment, where it differs from the date of issue;
the price without VAT and any discount not included in it;
the taxable amount by VAT rate, with the rates, or the amount of the exempt supply;
the amount of VAT payable, in euros, except where the law says otherwise.

Source: Value Added Tax Act § 37(7). A credit invoice that refers to the original invoice is also an invoice (§ 37(4)).

Services to a business in another EU country

When an Estonian company provides a service to a business registered for VAT in another Member State, the place of supply is not Estonia, unless the service is one of the special cases the Act lists (such as services connected with immovable property, passenger transport or events) (Value Added Tax Act § 10(4) clause 9). In the usual case — consulting, software, design, marketing — the buyer accounts for the VAT in its own country:

check the buyer's VAT number — our free EU VAT number check does it against the EU's VIES system;
put the buyer's VAT number on the invoice (§ 37(7) clause 4);
write the note "reverse charge" on it (§ 37(8) clause 2);
charge no Estonian VAT, and issue the invoice by the 15th of the following month (§ 37(21)).

A sale of services to a private person, or a sale of goods, follows other rules; ask your accountant before you invoice them.

Before the first invoice

These rules apply to a company registered as a VAT payer. Registration is mandatory once the taxable supplies in Estonia exceed EUR 40,000 in a calendar year and voluntary before that for a company with real economic activity connected with Estonia; the Tax and Customs Board decides and may ask for evidence of the business — see Estonian VAT registration.

What we do

registration as a VAT payer — €250 (the decision is the Tax and Customs Board's);
monthly accounting — from €150 / month; the invoices you issue are booked in it.

Invoices are issued by your company; we do not issue them on its behalf. Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.

Ready to start? Ongoing bookkeeping for an Estonian company; the invoices you issue are booked in it. 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.

Value-Added Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
Value Added 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

What must an invoice from my Estonian company contain?

A company registered as a VAT payer issues the invoice within seven days of the supply, with its serial number and date, both parties' names and addresses, its VAT number, the goods or services and their quantity, the price without VAT, and the VAT rate and amount (Value Added Tax Act § 37). For a service to a VAT-registered business in another EU country it charges no Estonian VAT, adds the buyer's VAT number and the note "reverse charge", and issues the invoice by the 15th of the following month. Our guide lists every requirement.

Invoicing from an Estonian company