Apply for registry code

A non-resident needs an Estonian registry code to declare income in Estonia. In order to apply the tax rates arising from tax treaties, which are more favourable than those provided for in the Income Tax Act, the payer has to submit also a certificate of residency of the non-resident recipient of income to the Tax and Customs Board. The certificate must be confirmed by the tax authority of the non-resident's country of residence.

     

On 1 June 2022 we updated the service “Registration of a non-resident” in the e-service environment e-MTA.

You can view the previously submitted applications for registration of non-residents (form R3) and the requested codes in the e-MTA by selecting Registers and inquiriesRegistration of a non-resident until 01.06.2022 from the menu.
The possibility to submit applications on paper and by e-mail will also remain.

A non-resident must have an Estonian registry code to declare income in Estonia, which means:

  • an Estonian personal identification code or
  • a code of the register of taxable persons (non-resident code) issued by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

One of the above codes is sufficient to declare income. If a person already has an Estonian personal identification (ID) code or a non-resident code issued by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, it is not necessary to apply for a new code to submit a tax return.

Estonian personal ID code can be applied for at the Police and Border Guard Board, from a local government if the applicant is also registering his/her residence in Estonia, or from Estonian foreign representations, in case registering a residence in Estonia is not intended.

Applying for a non-resident code

If a person does not have an Estonian personal ID code, it is possible to apply for the non-resident code from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Both a non-resident and a person who makes payments to non-residents, for example an employer, can apply for the code.

To avoid double-issuance of codes, we suggest checking beforehand if you already have a registry code issued by the Estonian Tax and Customs Board through the inquiry of non-residency.

Through the inquiry it is also possible to check whether the Estonian Tax and Customs Board's register includes a non-resident's certificate of residency issued by the tax authority of a foreign country. If no persons are found as a result of the inquiry, the person's data is not in the database of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board or he or she is listed there as an Estonian resident.

NB! If there is a need to check the tax residency of many persons at the same time, this can be done conveniently by using the X-tee service “Public inquiry for non-residency data”.

Public inquiry for non-residency data (in Estonian)

In order to use the service, you must conclude an agreement with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

In order to get a registry code, it is necessary to apply for the registration of a non-resident with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

The application can be submitted:

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board will issue the non-resident code within 10 days.

The non-resident code given to a non-resident does not change the person’s residence. A person cannot become a resident of Estonia with a non-resident code; neither does the code confirm tax residency of a foreign country. Non-residents must still declare their income on the non-resident's income tax return (Forms A1, E1 and V1). Persons who make payments to non-residents have to declare taxable payments on Annex 2 of Form TSD.

The non-resident code is not sufficient to apply preferential tax treaty rates. For this purpose, it is necessary to submit to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board also a certificate of residency approved by a foreign tax authority on Form TM 3 or a certificate from a foreign tax authority containing the same data.

Last updated: 03.06.2022

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