Estonia moves VAT returns to data-based filing from April 2027

Estonia moves VAT returns to data-based filing from April 2027

15 October 2026: Estonia's Tax and Customs Board (MTA) will accept VAT returns only in its new data-based format from the April 2027 tax period, the second step in a shift that has already ended XML uploads for the main payroll annexes. Accounting and ERP vendors serving Estonian companies have until spring to build support for the XBRL GL standard the board now uses.

Not yet independently verified. The board's page was last updated on 15 October and is in Estonian, apart from the testing page; we have not read the underlying legislation or the size of the state support for software makers. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The first step took effect on 1 October 2026. Annexes 1 and 2 of the TSD return, which carry payroll payments, can no longer be sent or uploaded as XML, because XBRL GL replaces that format. As a transition, the board accepts CSV files in today's layout until the end of 2027.

What changes for the VAT return

From the April 2027 tax period, the KMD return can be uploaded only as XML or CSV built on the new taxonomy; today's CSV and XML layouts stop working except for corrections to periods before April 2027. The KMD and the VD report of intra-community supplies can then travel together in one file or one declaration, and the form accountants know from e-MTA gives way to a simpler report view.

Developers can test the data-based KMD and the new X-tee services in the board's training environment from 1 January 2027. Access is not automatic: an authorised representative of the company has to send the board a digitally signed application first. The board is also holding an information day on the data-based KMD for business-software providers on 18 November.

Payroll annexes and the labour register

The payroll change cuts the number of payment types in TSD annex 1 from 51 to 38, drops the split between resident and non-resident annexes, and ends the separate A part for payments and B part for refunds. Annexes 3 to 7 stay on the old route for now and move over in stages during 2027 and 2028.

The employment register report (TÖR) follows the same path, with technical documentation promised for 2027. The existing X-tee service stays during the transition, but without new optional fields or corrections of history.

What the board asks of software makers

The board is clear that companies cannot do this alone: their accounting software has to send XBRL GL, so it tells businesses to ask their vendor whether that support exists and, if not, when it will. Data-based reporting is voluntary for the company, the board says, the data stay in the company's own system, and nothing reaches the MTA until an accountant confirms the submission there.

It puts the saving at "at least 4 million working hours" compared with today's e-MTA sessions, and says the state has set aside support to cover software makers' one-off development costs, with details on the economy ministry's real-time economy pages. Our catalogue lists 9 accounting software products and 13 payroll products.

Related on TrustList:

• Ireland lifts PRSI by 0.15 points for payrolls from 1 October
• Hong Kong starts MPF Full Portability for newer staff on 21 December
• BambooHR went offline for six hours to patch PHP, halting payroll work

Sources

• Maksu- ja Tolliamet: Andmepõhine aruandlus (data-based reporting), last updated 15 October 2026, 15 October 2026
• Estonian Tax and Customs Board: Testing the data-based VAT return form KMD (read 3 November 2026), 3 November 2026
• Maksu- ja Tolliamet: e-teenuste tehniline info, last updated 30 October 2026, 30 October 2026