As of 1 January 2025, the list of debtors of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (ETCB) includes 28 900 persons whose tax arrears have arisen or increased in 2024. Compared to the beginning of last year, there are 1154 more persons that have tax arrears.
The tax arrears of natural persons increased by almost 3.7 million euros in the fourth quarter. Mainly the income tax arrears. According to Liina Jõõts, Head of the Revenue Department of the ETCB, more than half of the large amounts of new tax liabilities are paid in instalments.
The number of natural persons that have tax arrears increased by 1304 in the previous quarter. “A year earlier, at the same time, the number of natural persons that had tax arrears increased by 951 persons. The number of debtors in the fourth quarter of last year was influenced by the due dates for the payment of land tax and income tax in October. 86.8 % of the claims due in October were paid on time,” said Jõõts.
The share of legal persons paying their claims on time in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 87.14%, compared with 87.75% a year earlier. As a result, the number of legal persons that have tax arrears also increased slightly, namely by 158 persons. The tax arrears of legal persons increased in the previous quarter by 14 million euros (VAT and special case income tax arrears).
“One of the reasons why the amount of tax arrears has increased are arrears with future due date given by notices of assessment. While at the beginning of last year the amount of arrears for which notices of assessment specified future due dates was 1.4 million euros, as of 1 January this year the arrears amount to 7.4 million euros,” commented Jõõts.
The tax arrears dynamics can be found on the website of the ETCB.
