How can I receive funds from my company (operating outside Estonia)?

If you own and run an Estonian company while operating outside Estonia and not being a tax resident in Estonia, there are 3 main options for receiving funds from your company:

1. receive salary
2. receive board member remuneration
3. receive dividends

It is reasonable to argue that when a business is still in its infancy, the company can’t afford to pay out anything. So you can start operating your company without receiving any salary. Similarly, you do not have to pay out any dividends even if you could.

You have the following combinations available:

• keep all the money in the company and reinvest to boost your business, or
• receive employee salary and/or board member remuneration only (exact rules on minimum employee salary may depend on the regulation of the country of your tax residency, which you should investigate yourself) or
• receive employee salary and/or board member remuneration, and dividends.