Losing your job in Estonia 2026: benefits and first steps

Step one: register as unemployed

Register in the Töötukassa e-service as soon as possible, ideally on your first day of unemployment - the benefit is paid from the registration day, not retroactively. Registration also secures health insurance: it continues 31 days after employment ends and resumes while you are registered.

Every day of delay is money lost. If your benefit is, say, 50 € a day and you register a week late, you miss 7 x 50 = 350 € gross that cannot be recovered.

How large is the benefit in 2026?

The income-based unemployment insurance benefit is 60% of your average wage for the first 100 days and 40% from day 101. The basis is 9 months of pay (excluding the last 3 months) divided by 270.

• 2026 minimum: 14.77 € per calendar day, about 443 € per month.
• Maximum for the first 100 days: 101.27 € per day, up to 3139 € per month (31 days).
• Maximum from day 101: 67.51 € per day.
• The benefit is gross - 22% income tax is withheld.

Which months of pay count

The reference period is not the last months before unemployment but the 9 months that precede the final three months of employment. The pay for those 9 months is divided by 270 to get the average calendar-day pay. For a steady salary that is simply the monthly salary divided by 30.

Example: employment ends on 30 September 2026. July, August and September 2026 are left out. The 9 months from October 2025 to June 2026 are used.

This has a practical consequence. A raise you received only in the last months of employment does not increase the benefit. Conversely, lower pay in the final months, for example from reduced hours, does not lower it if the 9 reference months were full-time.

Four examples by salary and insurance record

All examples assume a steady gross salary and a 30-day month, as the calculator does.

• Salary 1200 €, record under 5 years: daily basis 1200 / 30 = 40 €. Days 1-100: 40 x 60% = 24 € a day, 720 € a month. Days 101-180: 40 x 40% = 16 € a day, 480 € a month. Total for 180 days: 24 x 100 + 16 x 80 = 3680 € gross.
• Salary 2500 €, record 5-10 years: daily basis 83.33 €. Days 1-100: 50.00 € a day, 1500 € a month. Days 101-270: 33.33 € a day, 999.90 € a month. Total for 270 days: 10,666.10 €.
• Salary 6000 €, record over 10 years: daily basis 200 €. 60% would be 120 €, but the maximum is 101.27 €, so 3038.10 € a month. From day 101, 40% would be 80 €, capped at 67.51 €, so 2025.30 € a month. Total for 360 days: 101.27 x 100 + 67.51 x 260 = 27,679.60 €.
• Salary 700 € (part-time), record under 5 years: daily basis 23.33 €. 60% is 14.00 € and 40% is 9.33 €, both below the minimum, so 14.77 € a day, 443.10 € a month, is paid for the whole period.

What you actually receive after tax

22% income tax is withheld from the benefit. The basic exemption (700 € a month in 2026) is applied only if you submit an application for it. On a low benefit the difference is large.

• Benefit 720 € a month, exemption applied: taxable part 20 €, tax 4.40 €, you receive 715.60 €.
• Benefit 720 € a month, no application: tax 158.40 €, you receive 561.60 €. Skipping the application costs 154 € a month.
• Benefit 1500 € a month: 1324 € with the exemption, 1170 € without. From day 101, a 999.90 € benefit leaves 933.92 € or 779.92 € respectively.
• Base-rate benefit of 443.10 € a month: with the exemption no tax is due and you keep the full amount; without it, 345.62 €.
• When you find a new job and the benefit stops, give the exemption application to your new employer and make sure it is not applied to the benefit at the same time.

How long is it paid?

The duration depends on your insurance record: under 5 years gives 180 days, 5-10 years 270 days, and over 10 years 360 days of benefit.

In months that is roughly 6, 9 or 12. On 180 days, 100 are at the 60% rate and only 80 at 40%; on 360 days the 40% phase lasts 260 days. The longer your record, the more the lower phase weighs in the total.

Timeline: benefit starting 1 October 2026

Say employment ended on 30 September, you registered as unemployed and the benefit is paid continuously from 1 October.

• 1 October 2026: day 1 of the benefit, 60% rate. Health insurance continues.
• 8 January 2027: day 100, the last day at 60%.
• 9 January 2027: day 101, the rate drops to 40%. Prepare your budget for this month in advance: on a 2500 € salary, for example, the monthly benefit falls from 1500 € to 999.90 €.
• 29 March 2027: day 180, the benefit ends for a record under 5 years.
• 27 June 2027: day 270, the end for a 5-10 year record.
• 25 September 2027: day 360, the end for a record over 10 years.

The big 2026 change: a benefit for voluntary leavers too

Previously, leaving voluntarily or by mutual agreement meant no insurance benefit. From 2026, voluntary leavers get the base-rate benefit - 14.77 € per day - if they worked at least 8 of the last 36 months. Redundancy still qualifies for the income-based benefit.

The gap is large. Someone made redundant on a 2500 € salary receives 1500 € a month for the first 100 days; someone on the same salary who resigns receives 443.10 € a month. If the terms of your departure are still being negotiated, calculate both options before signing.

Common mistakes after losing a job

These errors reduce the benefit or delay it.

• Putting off registration. The benefit is paid from the registration day; missed days are not compensated.
• Basing the estimate on the last months' pay. The final 3 months of employment are excluded.
• Assuming 60% lasts the whole period. From day 101 the rate is 40% and the maximum 67.51 € a day.
• Forgetting the basic exemption application, which on a low benefit can take away more than a fifth of it.
• Expecting the income-based benefit after resigning. The base rate of 14.77 € a day applies instead.
• Using 30 days for a 31-day month. At 24 € a day, a 31-day month pays 744 €, not 720 €.

Action plan for the first days

An order of steps that avoids losing money or a gap in health insurance.

• On your last working day: keep the termination document and the final payslip, they help you check the amounts later.
• On the first day of unemployment: register in the Töötukassa e-service and submit the benefit application.
• At the same time: decide whether the basic exemption should apply to the benefit and submit that application.
• In the first week: use the unemployment benefit calculator to find your daily rate in both phases and the total, and build a budget on it.
• Every month: the benefit is paid monthly in arrears, so the first payment does not arrive right after registration.
• Before day 101: check that your budget survives the 40% rate, and when job hunting keep in mind which net salary beats the benefit.

Calculate your benefit in advance

Our unemployment benefit calculator shows your daily and monthly benefit in both phases and the total for the whole period - so you know what income to expect before making decisions.

To compare a new job offer, enter the offered gross salary in the salary calculator and see how much net it gives compared with the benefit you receive now.