We are actively engaged in the development of data-based reporting, which will enable economic operators to submit labour and wage data and VAT transaction data in a standardised format directly from their accounting software in the future.
More information on the development projects of real-time economy, the institutions participating in the project and related fields is available on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
How data is submitted currently
How data is submitted in the future
What changes?
- We free up time for economic operators and accountants and minimise economic operators’ contact with the ETCB.
- Submission and correction of data and verification of the status of reports does not require logging in to the e-services environment e-MTA, data moves in machine-to-machine readable form between the ETCB and economic operators’ software.
- Compared to the current number of e-MTA sessions, we will save the Estonian business sector at least 4 million working hours and significantly reduce the administrative burden related to compliance with tax obligations.
Timeline
Information materials (in Estonian)
TSD: reporting of payroll data on a transaction-by-transaction basis
KMD (VAT return): reporting of VAT data on a transaction-by-transaction basis
TÖR (employment register): submission of employee data
How to prepare for the introduction of new data-based solutions
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Learn about the principles of data-based reporting, including the logic and objectives of standardised data and technical formats (XBRL GL) agreed upon at the national level.
More information is available on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Real-Time Economy.
- Plan the development of your software solution to comply with the data-based reporting standard (taxonomy and XBRL GL format).
- In order for nationally standardised data to be used in the financial accounting processes of businesses, accounting software developers must also make additional developments to their software, in addition to government agencies.
- As a result of additional development work, we will be able to significantly reduce the administrative burden associated with the fulfilment of tax and reporting obligations for businesses, as data-based solutions will enable businesses to submit basic tax data to the ETCB on a transaction-by-transaction basis, without having to compile the data separately for tax returns. The declaration or report is compiled by the ETCB on the basis of the submitted basic data.
- To cover the one-time development costs associated with the developments work, apply for funds from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications' support measures. More information on the support measures is available on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Real-Time Economy.
- Read the ETCB’s guidelines and technical specifications for data-based reporting, which contain development requirements and guidelines for the introduction of a standardised taxonomy of data-based labour and wage data in XBRL GL format:
- technical guidelines for data-based TSD (in Estonian);
- prepayment account balance request over X-tee data exchange layer, technical guidelines (in Estonian);
- data-based employment register (TÖR) and VAT return (KMD) guidelines and specifications (available in early 2026).
- For further information, please attend the briefings organised by the ETCB. We publish registration information on the ETCB data-based reporting page (in Estonian).
- You can get regular updates from the ETCB's quarterly newsletter on data-based reporting. Subscribe to the newsletter (in Estonian)
- If you submit data related to monthly tax and reporting obligations (TSD, KMD, TÖR) to the ETCB via accounting software created in Estonia, your software provider will take care of a smooth transition to data-based reporting in cooperation with the ETCB.
- If you use software created in Estonia but submit data to the ETCB in the e-services environment e-MTA by uploading a file or entering data manually, contact your software provider and inquire about the possibilities of switching to a data-based reporting solution.
- If you use foreign business software, contact your software provider's administration and development team and find out what their readiness and capabilities are for implementing data-based solutions based on the ETCB's technical specifications and guidelines.
Technical guidelines for data-based TSD (in Estonian) - If you are a micro or small business owner and use Excel-based or other similar solutions, check out the options offered by software providers specialising in small businesses. Data-based solutions significantly reduce the administrative burden, especially in the case of large volumes, but the state is also working on innovative solutions for small businesses. It is definitely worth familiarising yourself with the solutions offered by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (e.g., e-Financials). More information: e-Financials.
- Subscribe to the list of ETCB followers, as we are also working on innovative solutions that will enable small businesses to transmit data to government agencies in a cost-effective, secure, and automated manner in the future. Subscribe to the newsletter (in Estonian)
- If you use a software solution developed in-house for financial accounting, please refer to the guidelines in the section „For accounting software developers“.
Additional information
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Maarika Kirikmäe
Project manager for data-based reporting
- [email protected]
Last updated: 24.03.2026
