Blog · Rules update
What changes in our calculators on 1 October 2026
I compared seven forthcoming Estonian legal editions. The key finding concerns maternity parental benefit; no formula change was identified for the other ordinary calculations reviewed.
Seven editions, one important calculation case
I compared seven already published editions taking effect on 1 October: the laws on family benefits, VAT, traffic, health insurance, employment contracts, unemployment insurance and income tax. ChatGPT Astra 6, Claude and the local LLM Gemma assisted me. I checked the conclusions against Riigi Teataja and calculator behaviour.
The most consequential change for this site is in section 35 of the Family Benefits Act (Perehüvitiste seadus). It is an additional route to maternity parental benefit before birth, not a new payment rate.
What takes effect on 1 October
The exceptional prenatal route applies to a mother without entitlement to temporary incapacity benefit if the other parent has died or proceedings to locate the missing parent have begun, and she submits the handwritten confirmation required by law to Sotsiaalkindlustusamet. The Act allows up to 70 days before the expected birth and up to 100 consecutive calendar days in total. SKA determines individual entitlement and the number of days.
The parental benefit calculator has a separate choice for this scenario on applicable dates. It does not collect the other parent's personal details. If the 70-day window began before 1 October, it does not automatically estimate the transitional case; ask SKA for clarification.
Other calculators and the December review
Within the scope checked, the other six October editions did not require formula changes to ordinary scenarios in the linked calculators. For example, the new VAT edition does not change the rate used in our ordinary VAT calculation. This finding concerns the specific amended provisions, not a full legal certification of every situation.
I plan the next review of published editions in December, ahead of changes scheduled for 1 January 2027. Which calculators need updating will depend on checking the provisions, effective dates and examples. The 2027 rules will not be applied to 2026 calculations prematurely.
Official sources
Project blog
More to read
Estonian holidays and days off, now in the Arvutused.ee calendar
Our new Estonian holiday calendar brings together six years, shortened working days, long weekends, monthly totals, printing and calendar-file import.
Read the articleSocial tax and pillar II: what changes in autumn 2026?
I reviewed the new SMS and KoPS editions: when contributions can resume, how to approach board-member sickness compensation, and which rates stay the same.
Read the articleGross, net or total employer cost: which salary figure should you compare?
Three figures in a job offer answer different questions. We compare them using one example under Estonia’s 2026 rules.
Read the article