If you run an Estonian OÜ and travel abroad for business, your company can pay you up to EUR 75 per day completely free of income tax and social tax. No receipts needed for the per diem itself. For a 15-day trip, that is EUR 1,125 in your pocket with zero tax — compared to roughly EUR 860 net if the same amount were paid as a board member fee (see the worked example below).
Most OÜ owners either don't know about this allowance or assume the paperwork isn't worth it. The documentation is actually straightforward: one document (a travel order) and you're done.
The Rates (From 1 January 2025)
The tax-free daily allowance (päevaraha) rates increased significantly at the start of 2025:
| Days | Tax-Free Rate (2025+) | Previous Rate (until 31 Dec 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| First 15 days of a trip, at most 15 days per calendar month | EUR 75/day | EUR 50/day |
| Every other day | EUR 40/day | EUR 32/day |
The EUR 75 rate covers the first 15 days of each trip. A trip that runs into a new calendar month does not start a new count: a continuous 20-day trip gets 15 days at EUR 75 and 5 days at EUR 40, which is EUR 1,125 + EUR 200 = EUR 1,325 tax-free, whether it falls in one month or two.
On top of that, no calendar month can have more than 15 days at EUR 75. This matters when trips follow each other. In EMTA's example, a 15-day trip from 4 to 18 March uses up March's 15 days. On a second trip from 28 March to 14 April, the 4 days in March are paid at EUR 40, the next 11 days (1–11 April) at EUR 75, which completes that trip's first 15 days, and the last 3 days at EUR 40.
What Qualifies
Not every trip counts. The rules are specific:
Must be a foreign business trip. There is no tax-free daily allowance for domestic travel within Estonia. The destination must be outside Estonia.
50 km minimum. The destination must be at least 50 km from the border of the settlement (linn, vald) where your workplace is located. For most Estonian companies with a registered address in Tallinn, any foreign destination qualifies easily.
Day trips count. No overnight stay is required. A one-day trip abroad qualifies for one day's allowance. The departure day counts if your transport to the foreign country leaves by 21:00, and the return day counts if you arrive back after 03:00.
Legitimate business purpose. The trip must serve a genuine business purpose: client meetings, conferences, supplier visits, market research. "Working from a cafe in Lisbon" is not a business trip — that is remote work.
Documentation: The Travel Order
The key document is the travel order (lähetuskäsk or lähetuskorraldus). This is an internal company document — not a tax form you submit to EMTA. You keep it in your records.
The travel order must include:
- Employee or board member name
- Destination (city, country)
- Business purpose of the trip
- Travel dates (departure and return)
- Daily allowance amount per day
That is the entire requirement for the per diem. No meal receipts, no daily expense reports, no hotel breakfast tracking. The per diem is a flat daily rate and requires no receipts to justify.
However, other trip expenses — flights, accommodation, taxis — do need receipts. These are regular business expenses and are documented normally with invoices.
Sample Travel Order
A travel order can be as simple as a signed document stating:
Travel Order No. 2026-03
The company OÜ Example (registry code 12345678) sends board member [Name] on a business trip:
- Destination: Berlin, Germany
- Purpose: Client meetings and partnership discussions
- Dates: 10 March 2026 – 14 March 2026 (5 days)
- Daily allowance: EUR 75/day, total EUR 375
- Additional expenses (flights, accommodation) reimbursed against receipts
Signed: [Board member / authorised person], [Date]
There is no prescribed format. The document just needs to exist and contain the required information.
Meal Reduction Rule
If free meals are provided during the trip — for example, the conference includes catered lunches and dinners, or the client hosts all meals — the employer can reduce the daily allowance by up to 70%.
This is a can, not a must. The employer decides whether to apply the reduction. In practice, most small OÜ owners paying themselves do not apply it, since the company is simply paying the allowance to its own board member.
If applied, the reduced rate for a EUR 75 day would be EUR 75 x 30% = EUR 22.50/day.
Worked Example: Travel Allowance vs. Board Member Fee
Here is the comparison that matters. You travel abroad for 15 business days in a month and the company pays EUR 1,125 either way. What is the actual cost? Assumptions: the recipient makes 2% funded pension contributions and the basic exemption is not applied to this payment (for example, it is already used against other income).
Scenario A: EUR 1,125 Paid as Board Member Fee
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross board fee | EUR 1,125.00 |
| Funded pension (2%) | -EUR 22.50 |
| Personal income tax (22% of EUR 1,102.50) | -EUR 242.55 |
| Net to board member | EUR 859.95 |
| Social tax (33% on gross) | EUR 371.25 |
| Total company cost | EUR 1,496.25 |
The company spends EUR 1,496.25. The board member receives EUR 859.95. (The funded pension contribution is deducted from the income tax base before the 22% is applied.)
Scenario B: EUR 1,125 Paid as Travel Allowance
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Daily allowance (15 days x EUR 75) | EUR 1,125.00 |
| Personal income tax | EUR 0 |
| Social tax | EUR 0 |
| Net to board member | EUR 1,125.00 |
| Total company cost | EUR 1,125.00 |
The company spends EUR 1,125.00. The board member receives EUR 1,125.00.
The Difference
| Board Fee | Travel Allowance | Saving | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net received | EUR 859.95 | EUR 1,125.00 | +EUR 265.05 |
| Company cost | EUR 1,496.25 | EUR 1,125.00 | -EUR 371.25 |
By using the travel allowance instead of a board member fee, the board member gets EUR 265.05 more in their pocket and the company saves EUR 371.25 in total cost. The difference in net comes from the income tax (EUR 242.55) and funded pension (EUR 22.50) withheld from a board fee but not from a travel allowance; the company-side saving is the social tax (EUR 371.25).
To frame it differently: if the company wanted the board member to receive EUR 1,125 net via a board fee, it would need a gross fee of approximately EUR 1,125 / 0.7644 = EUR 1,471.74 (with the 2% pension withheld and 22% income tax on the remainder, net is 76.44% of gross), plus 33% social tax of EUR 485.67 on that gross — a total company cost of roughly EUR 1,957.41. The travel allowance achieves the same net payment at EUR 1,125 company cost. That is a reduction of roughly 42% in total cost.
What Happens If You Exceed the Limits
If you pay a daily allowance above EUR 75 (or above EUR 40 on the days where that rate applies), the excess is taxed as wages, the same way as a salary or board member fee: income tax is withheld, social tax is due, and funded pension and unemployment insurance apply as they would to salary.
Example: EUR 100/day paid instead of EUR 75/day for 15 days (EUR 375 excess)
For one day of excess paid to a board member, with the same assumptions as above (2% funded pension, basic exemption not applied):
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Excess amount (gross) | EUR 25.00 |
| Funded pension (2%) | -EUR 0.50 |
| Personal income tax (22% of EUR 24.50) | -EUR 5.39 |
| Net to board member | EUR 19.11 |
| Social tax (33% on gross) | EUR 8.25 |
| Total company cost | EUR 33.25 |
Of each EUR 25 excess, EUR 19.11 reaches the board member and the company pays EUR 33.25. Over 15 days, that is EUR 498.75 of company cost for EUR 286.65 net. Board members are not covered by unemployment insurance; for an employee, 1.6% would also be withheld from the excess and the company would pay 0.8% on top.
The tax-free limits: EUR 75/day for the first 15 days of a trip (at most 15 such days in a calendar month), EUR 40/day for every other day.
The excess is declared on the TSD like any other salary payment, by the 10th of the month after it is paid: in the „Väljamaksed“ (Payments) part for payments from October 2026, or on Annex 1 for payments up to September 2026. It does not go on Annex 4, and no 22/78 corporate income tax applies to it.
Practical Tips
A new month doesn't restart a trip's count. The EUR 75 rate follows the trip's first 15 days. In EMTA's example, a 16-day trip from 28 January to 12 February gets EUR 75 for the 4 days in January and the first 11 days in February, and EUR 40 for 12 February.
The travel order can be created after the trip. There is no requirement to issue it before departure — though creating it beforehand is cleaner documentation practice.
Board members qualify. This allowance applies to both employees and board members. Solo OÜ owners who are their own board members can pay themselves the daily allowance.
Combine with other business expenses. Flights, accommodation, and other trip costs are separate business expenses — they are not limited by the daily allowance cap. The EUR 75/day covers meals and incidental expenses. Flights and hotels are reimbursed on top, with receipts.
Arvello's Business Trip Logger
Arvello tracks your business trips and calculates the tax-free daily allowance automatically. Log your trip dates and destination, and Arvello generates the travel order, calculates the correct per diem (the trip's first 15 days at EUR 75, at most 15 per calendar month across your trips), and includes the allowance in your monthly tax calculations.
When a trip passes either limit, Arvello prices the rest of the days at EUR 40/day and shows the breakdown, so nothing is missed.
