Accounts for investing

Opening accounts for investing is simple and free of charge

Holding a portfolio in a bank can indeed be convenient and beneficial.

Opening investment account and securities account is free of charge.
Transactions with Baltic securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) and Robur funds are free for you. Holding them is also free regardless of the amount.
Transaction fees for securities outside the Baltic countries (such as Europe, USA, etc.) start at 9.90 euros. Holding them up to a value of 100,000 euros is also free.

News for the investors! From August 28th to September 9th at 16:00, an offering of Estonian government bonds will take place.

Which accounts should I open for investing?

	Investment account + securities account Recommended!	Only securities account
A useful choice, also for the beginner investor
Investments are conveniently separated from your daily transactions
Income from investments is subject to declaration
All profits are subject to declaration next year and income tax (20%) has to be paid
You can defer income tax and re-invest your profits tax-free
Filling in your annual tax return is convenient and easy By using the investment account report, which sends the information to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board on your behalf.

Securities account can be opened also for children, without visiting a branch.

Open a securities account for child

An investment account is a current account that holds money you use to make transactions in securities (e.g. shares, funds).
With us, your investment account is free of charge.
You can hold any currency in the investment account and use it to perform transactions as well. One person can have more than one investment account.
The investment account allows you to defer your income tax liability if you acquire securities for the money in the investment account and the amount gained from the sales of securities is immediately transferred to the investment account. To defer income tax liability, you need to declare your investments annually. For that, you can use the investment account report.

Read more about declaring your investment account here.

Open a new current account in the Internet Bank and name it the ‘investment account’. That way, you will always know which account is for investing.
Then open a securities account in the Internet Bank as well. If you already have a securities account and you would like to open an investment account, please call us at 613 1606.
The investment account and the securities account must be linked, as transactions cannot be made without a securities account.

To start investing, you need a securities account to purchase and sell securities.
In a securities account, you can hold various securities, such as shares, funds, and bonds, instead of cash.
When you open a securities account, you need to choose a specific current account, which will hold the money you sell and purchase securities for, and from which fees will be deducted. We recommend using an investment account as the current account.

Before opening a securities account, it is reasonable for you to also open an investment account – this way you can conveniently link them when opening a securities account. When using an investment account, you only pay income tax once your payouts are bigger than contributions.
You can conveniently open a securities account in our Internet bank.
Congratulations, you're the owner of a new securities account and you can start investing!
You can always keep an eye on your securities portfolio and stock market in the Internet bank.

You can collect money on your own or child’s securities account.
Using your own account, you are in full control and the process is simple: you simply need an additional securities account.
In case of using a child’s account, the child will gain full control on 18th birthday. There are restrictions to using the money until that as well.

Declaration using investment account and securities account

When using an investment account, you have to send an investment account report to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board each year. In the investment account report, you report the amounts you have deposited and withdrawn during the calendar year. This has to be done each year during the income declaration period. The report has to be sent to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board even if you have not made any securities transactions.

If nothing has happened on your account (i.e. you haven't added or withdrawn money or bought/sold securities or received dividends), then in section 6.5 of the income tax return, mark that the investment account is in use and no transactions have taken place.

The easiest way to declare investment income is to complete an investment account report in the Internet Bank.
Once you have filled in the report, send it to the Tax and Customs Board via the Internet Bank on the same report page.
Next, when declaring your other income on the website of the Tax and Customs Board, also take a look at section 6.5 where you have to confirm that you have an investment account and where you should see the money you have deposited to and withdrawn from your investment account.
If you have received dividends, Estonian dividends are automatically included in your income tax return under 5.1 and 7.1 and cannot be deleted. Untaxed dividends received from abroad must be marked in Investment account report as transaction with financial asset. Taxed dividends received from abroad must be manually included in your income tax return under 8.8 and marked in Investment account report as contribution. You can find necessary information by opening the statement of the current account or investment account linked to the securities account. To do this, we recommend you use the search: tick the box ‘payee/payer and explanation’ and enter ‘dividend’ in the search box.

All cash deposits and withdrawals must be declared in the investment account report. If withdrawals exceed contributions, 20% income tax is payable on the excess amount.

The report must reflect all the amounts you have deposited to or withdrawn from the account during the previous calendar year. For example, if you fill in an investment account report in 2024, you will need to indicate the transactions you made during the whole of 2023.

If you have received dividends, Estonian dividends are automatically included in your income tax return under 5.1 and 7.1 and cannot be deleted. Untaxed dividends received from abroad must be marked in Investment account report as transaction with financial asset. Taxed dividends received from abroad must be manually included in your income tax return under 8.8 and marked in Investment account report as contribution. You can find necessary information by opening the statement of the current account or investment account linked to the securities account. To do this, we recommend you use the search: tick the box ‘payee/payer and explanation’ and enter ‘dividend’ in the search box.

In the Internet Bank, you need to fill in an investment account report. Once the report is ready, send it to the Tax and Customs Board via the Internet Bank.

On the Tax and Customs Board page, you will complete your income tax return. If you are declaring other income on the website of the Tax and Customs Board, take a look also at section 6.5 where you have to confirm that you have an investment account and make sure that your report has been included in the tax return. Please also make sure that no transactions are automatically included in sections 6.1 and 8.2 – those fields must be empty when using an investment account. If you have any concerns, please contact the Tax and Customs Board.

Please also take a look at the Investment Account Guide of the Ministry of Finance (in Estonian) and the Information sheet of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

Declaration using securities account only

If you only use a securities account, you only need to declare income if you have sold securities in the previous calendar year. These must be reported on the page of the Tax and Customs Board during the declaration period of income in sections 6.1 (income received in Estonia) and 8.2 (income received abroad) of the income tax return. If your securities account has simply been unused for the entire year and you have made no transactions, there is also no obligation to report, except for foreign dividends (which you can report in sections 8.1 and 8.8). Dividends received from Estonian companies are added to the income tax return automatically in sections 5.1 and 7.1.

You have to declare your income to the Tax and Customs Board together with all other income.

If you have transferred (sold) securities in the previous calendar year, you must submit the cost, transfer costs and sales or market price (the ’transfer price’) of the transferred securities (e.g. shares, fund units, bonds). The difference between the cost (plus acquisition cost) and the transfer price (less transfer costs) is either the gain or loss on transfer of the securities. You can find the cost and other important information on the ‘My data’ page.

Loss on the transfer of securities in the same or previous periods may be deducted from the profit on transfer only if they do not exceed the profit. If the loss on the transfer of securities exceeds the profit, the loss may be carried forward to subsequent tax periods and deducted from future profits on transfer. Loss and profit are always reported in the period following the end of the taxation period, which is the year after the transactions took place.

If, during the year, you have exchanged a fund, while staying with the same management company, you do not have to pay income tax if no payouts have been made during the transfer.
If you have received dividends, Estonian dividends are automatically included in your income tax return under 5.1 and 7.1 and cannot be deleted. Dividends received from abroad must be manually included in items 8.1 (untaxed dividend) or 8.8 (taxed dividend). You can find this information by opening the statement of the current account or investment account linked to the securities account. To do this, we recommend you use the search: tick the box ‘payee/payer and explanation’ and enter ‘dividend’ in the search box.

In the Internet Bank, you can view the data you need to complete sections 6.1 and 8.2 of the income tax return on the page of the Tax and Customs Board. To do this, you can find the necessary information on the page ‘My data’.

On the Tax and Customs Board page, you will complete the income tax return. In the tax return, please review and, if necessary, complete also sections 5.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 8.8 of dividends. You will find information on dividends when you open the statement of the current account related to the securities account in the Internet Bank. For this purpose, we recommend using the search: tick the ‘beneficiary/remitter and explanation’ box and type the word ‘dividend’ in the search window.

More information is available on the information sheet of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

Frequently asked questions

Since 2011, Estonia has two parallel systems for the taxation of private individuals’ investment income:

the ordinary system, (if you only use a securities account), under which all securities sales transactions must be reported;
the investment account system, (if you use a securities account and a current account designated for investing), under which only cash deposits and withdrawals made on the account must be reported.

You can also declare income from securities under both systems.

If you use the ordinary system, all securities sales transactions made during the year will be declared. Income tax liability arises when you have made a profit on all your sales. Income tax must be paid under the tax return to be submitted in the following year (e.g. on the profit from the sale made in 2023, income tax must be paid on the basis of a return to be submitted in 2024). However, if you make a loss for the year, you can carry it over to the next year. Under the ordinary system, you can deduct service fees from the realised income, but not administration fees.

When you use the investment account system you declare deposits and withdrawals of funds made to a bank account designated as the investment account, not the securities transactions. You can also use several investment accounts with several banks at the same time. A tax liability only arises if the total of the payouts made from all investment accounts exceeds the total of the contributions made to all investment accounts.

Generally, profit or loss can arise in two ways.

When selling securities:
Profit or loss = sales price – cost of sales – acquisition cost
When exchanging securities:
Profit or loss = acquisition cost of the security to be exchanged – market price of the security received upon exchange

The acquisition cost is considered to be all documented costs incurred by the investor to acquire the asset.

The FIFO method (first bought is sold first) or the weighted average method is used to calculate the acquisition cost of securities of the same name acquired at different prices and at different times. Losses on securities of the same or previous years can be deducted from the profit from a securities transaction. Losses can be carried forward indefinitely, but cannot be inherited, given as a gift, sold, etc.

No, you do not have to declare these exchanges or pay income tax when making the switch.

As it is not possible to distinguish whether you are using the ordinary system or the investment account system when submitting the data, this information reaches the Tax and Customs Board automatically.

When completing the tax return, make sure that no transactions are automatically included in sections 6.1 and 8.2 – these fields must be left blank when using an investment account. However, if there are any records of your transfer of Estonian or non-Estonian securities, delete them.

In addition, review section 6.5 of the Tax and Customs Board’s tax return, where you must confirm that you have an investment account, and make sure that your report is included in the tax return.

An investment account is a current account used exclusively for investments and transactions with financial assets.

If you happen to make a single transfer from your investment account, for example, when paying online, there is nothing to worry about. When completing the investment account report in the future, mark this transaction as just a payout. If, for example, someone accidentally transfers funds to your investment account, mark it as a contribution in the investment account report. The report must normally be sent to the Tax and Customs Board during the income declaration period. In the future, just try to be more attentive.

There’s nothing wrong with that. You can send the investment account report also afterwards. To do this, please contact the Tax and Customs Board.

Unfortunately, you can no longer change it. For help, contact us by calling +372 613 1606 (weekdays from 9.00-17.00).

An investor can have several securities accounts with the same bank or with different banks.

If you use an investment account with a securities account, fill in the investment account report in each bank separately and submit it to the Tax and Customs Board.

If you only use a securities account, these transactions will be recorded in the Tax and Customs Board’s tax return under sections 6.1 and 8.2. In this case, make sure that the transactions made with all banks are recorded correctly.

Documentary evidence of an expense directly attributable to the acquisition and transfer of a financial asset will be treated as a contribution to an investment account if the expense is not incurred on account of the contribution. When considering expenses, follow the rule that expenses incurred on account of a contribution cannot be declared again as a contribution.

Example 1

Investor A has 0 currency units in his/her investment account and a contribution balance of 0 currency units. He/she transfers 228 currency units to his/her investment account. His/her investment account now has 228 currency units and his/her contribution balance is 228 currency units.

He/she buys shares in AS ABC for 225 currency units and pays a transaction fee of 3 currency units from his/her investment account.

In such a case, it is not allowed to declare the transaction fee as a contribution, as the same amount cannot be treated as a contribution twice.

Example 2

Investor B has 228 currency units in his/her investment account and a contribution balance of 200 currency units. He/she withdraws 200 currency units from his/her investment account. His/her investment account now has 28 currency units and his/her contribution balance is 0 currency units.

The investor transfers an additional 200 currency units to the investment account.

He/she buys shares in AS ABC for 225 currency units and pays a transaction fee of 3 currency units from his/her investment account.

In such a case, it is allowed to declare the transaction fee as a contribution, as the amount of the transaction fee has not been previously included as part of the contribution.

Declaring income on behalf of a child depends on the child’s age; whether they have Internet Bank; and whether you only use a securities account or also an investment account to invest on their behalf.

If you use an investment account and a securities account to invest on behalf of your child:

a) the child is up to 5 years of age (incl.) or does not have an Internet Bank: declare the contributions and payments manually on the page of the Tax and Customs Board using the statement of your child’s investment account.

b) the child is at least 6 years of age and has an Internet Bank: generate an investment account report in the Internet Bank and send it to the Tax and Customs Board, then confirm it with the Tax and Customs Board and submit an income tax return there on behalf of the child.

If you only use a securities account to invest on behalf of your child:

a) the child is up to 5 years of age (incl.) or does not have an Internet Bank: declare all sales transactions manually on the page of the Tax and Customs Board using the statement of the child’s securities account.

b) the child is at least 6 years of age and has an Internet Bank: transaction data is generated in the child’s Internet Bank on the ‘My data’ page and you can use the data when filling in the income tax return on the page of the Tax and Customs Board.

The child cannot submit the tax return, but this must be done by the child’s parent or guardian on the page of the Tax and Customs Board.

If you have received dividends, they must in any case be shown in the income tax return.

Estonian dividends

Dividends are added to the income tax return automatically (sections 5.1 and 7.1).
These may not be deleted from the tax return (even, if you use the investment account system).
These will be included in annual income.

Dividends received from abroad

When using the ordinary system, dividends received from abroad must be added manually to the tax return: taxed dividend under section 8.8, untaxed dividend under 8.1.
When using investment account system, untaxed dividends received from abroad must be marked in Investment account report as transaction with financial asset. Taxed dividends received from abroad must be added manually to the tax return under section 8.8 and marked in Investment account report as contribution.

You will find necessary information about dividends from the statement of the current account related to the securities account, i.e. the investment account statement in the Internet Bank. For this purpose, we recommend using the search: tick the ‘beneficiary/remitter and explanation’ box and type the word ‘dividend’ in the search window.

Foreign dividends are either tax exempt in Estonia (if the profit or dividend is paid abroad) or taxed. In any case, foreign dividends must always be declared.

If you use an investment account in addition to a securities account, dividends received will be reflected in your investment account report. In the explanation line, you can see the ISIN code of the security, the name, the dividends, and the amount of income tax withheld. If income tax has not been withheld, the amount of income tax at the end of the explanation is 0 and the line should be reported as a transaction with a financial asset.

If income tax has been withheld, i.e., there is a non-zero figure at the end of the explanation, the line should be entered as a contribution.

This material has been prepared for information purposes only. Swedbank does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult legal or tax advisers before taking further steps.

Terms and conditions of providing investment services and other useful investor information

Further information on payable and paid charges is available from the Bank.
If the Bank is obliged to pay taxes, fees, interest, penalties or incur other costs (that are not covered in the Bank’s price list below) for the provision of securities safekeeping and transaction services to the Client, the Bank shall have the right to debit such amounts from the Client’s Current Account without Client consent.

Account opening

Effective as of 01.11.2023

Securities Account
Internet bank	free of charge
Branch office	free of charge
Joint securities account	65 €

Account closing

All securities account types	free of charge

Account statements

Bank account statements available free of charge from internet bank.

Statement fees are subject VAT.

For accounts opened with Estonian register of securities, account opening statement and statements of holdings and transactions for securities registered with the register are available at daily weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual frequency. Periodic statements are available free of charge at Nasdaq CSD Estonian branch Estonia webpage.

Bank statements
Securities account statement of holdings / transactions from branch office	2 €
Copy of transaction instruction	2 €
Nasdaq CSD Estonian branch statements	2 €

Trading of equities, bonds and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) shares

Percentage based trading fees calculated from trade amount, in certain cases transaction fee will be added.

Trading fee is charged in trading currency based on the Bank’s exchange rates.

Trading via brokerage is subject to the Master Agreement for Financial Transactions. Information on the agreement is available from the Bank.

Trading orders transmitted to the Bank can be cancelled until executed.

In case the order is not executed in full during a single trading day, the trading fee (including minimum trading fee) for partial order execution is charged in full for each trading day when part of the order is executed.

On certain markets, minimum transaction amounts may apply.

A stamp duty of 0,5% of transaction amount on buying UK securities and 1% on buying Irish securities is added to the transaction charges. In certain events, a higher rate (1,5%), a bonus rate or tax exemption may apply for UK securities.

If purchase transactions are subject to FTT according to local market regulations (e.g. France, Italy, Spain and Hungary), such tax is added to the transaction charges.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are treated as shares.

Trading via Swedbank brokerage on other markets is subject to prior agreement with the Bank.

Shares and ETF-s	Securities account in internet bank
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	free of charge
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, USA, Germany, UK, Canada, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Czech	0,14%, min 9,90 €

Shares and ETF-s	Branch office	Via brokerage
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Sweden	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 500 SEK
Finland	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Denmark	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 400 DKK
Norway	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 400 NOK
USA	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 USD
Germany	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
UK (London SE)	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 GBP
UK London International (Russian and other GDRs)	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 USD
Canada	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 CAD
Netherlands	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
France	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Belgium	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Ireland	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Italy	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Portugal	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Spain	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Switzerland	0,2%, min 50 €	0,2%, min 50 CHF
Austria	0,25%, min 50 €	0,25%, min 50 €
Poland	0,25%, min 50 €	0,25%, min 200 PLN
Hungary	0,25%, min 50 €	0,25%, min 15000 HUF
Czech	0,25%, min 50 €	0,25%, min 1300 CZK
Bulgaria	0,6%, min 50 €	0,6%, min 150 BGN

Bonds	Internet bank	Via brokerage
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	0,2%, min 3 €	0,2%, min 50 €
Trading in bonds in all other applicable markets via Swedbank brokerage	-	0,5%, min 50 €
Transaction fee (all instruments)	included in trading fee	3€ Baltic markets 4€ other markets

Transactions with investment fund units

Percentage based fees calculated from trade amount.

Fund orders submitted to the Bank cannot be cancelled.

Fund switch subject to the conditions specified in the fund terms, fee charged only on sell transaction.

Foreign fund transaction fee includes standard settlement fees charged by the Bank’s Custodians.

Other Estonian funds – subscription and redemption fee may be added subject to fund terms.

	Subscription	Regular investment	Redemption	Switch
Swedbank Group funds	free of charge	free of charge	free of charge	free of charge
Other foreign fixed income funds
Franklin Templeton funds	0,5% + 7 €	0,5%, min 0,75 €	7 €	7 €
Funds managed by other management companies	0,5% + 21 €	-	21 €	21 €
Other foreign equity and mixed funds
Franklin Templeton funds	1% + 7 €	1%, min 0,75 €	1% + 7 €	7 €
Funds managed by other management companies	1% + 21 €	-	1% + 21 €	21 €
Other Estonian funds	1,5 €	0,75 €	5 €	5 €

Other transactions with Estonian securities and fund units Fees charged from both parties of the transaction.
Free of payment transaction	4,8 €
Against payment transaction	3,2 €
Pledge registration / amendment / appropriation	15 €
Transfer of pledged securities	30 €
Pledge release	free of charge

Other transactions with foreign securities and foreign funds

Fees charged from both parties of the transaction.

Bank internal transactions are transactions between the securities accounts of the Bank’s clients.

Transaction fee includes standard settlement fees charged by the Bank’s Custodians.

Bank internal transactions	6 €
Bank external transaction
Latvia, Lithuania	10 €
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Eurobond, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK, USA	15 €
Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland	25 €
Bulgaria, Russia	45 €
Foreign funds	45 €

Other transaction fees Cancellation is allowed if instruction is not yet processed by the Bank.
Transaction cancellation	transaction fee
Other transactions based on bailiff’s instructions	transaction fee
Subscription to a new issue / Participating in an offer	transaction fee

Monthly Securities Safekeeping Fees

Safekeeping fees are subject VAT. VAT exemption applies if client safekeeps only units or shares of investment funds specified in the Investment Funds Act or investment/ exchange traded funds of the EEA member state.

Safekeeping fee is calculated based on the portfolio value on the last date of the calendar month. Securities are priced according to month end prices of the Bank’s local agents, market price or nominal value. Bonds are priced at nominal value. Fees are debited on the 20th or later date of the following month from the Client’s current account linked to the securities account.

ETF safekeeping fee equals to the safekeeping fee of its trading country.

Safekeeping on other countries is subject to prior agreement with the Bank.

Other investments: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA, Depositary Receipts, Poland, Czech, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, foreign funds

Swedbank Group funds	free of charge
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania	free of charge
Other investments, equities, bonds
Up to 100 000 €	free of charge
From the value above 100 000 €	0,008%, max 8 €
Safekeeping of Depositary Receipts (ADR, GDR) is subject to the respective DR Agent’s fees in addition to safekeeping fee.

Other Services

Fees for other services are subject VAT.

Tax relief at source / tax reclaim and general meeting services are subject to availability on each specific market.

Maintenance fee is charged in addition to monthly securities safekeeping fee. Actual cost amount depends on the costs of service on each specific market.

Tax reclaim fee will be debited as soon as the tax reclaim application is submitted by the client. The fee will be debited from clients cash Account which is linked to securities account. The fee will not be refunded in case the application is denied by third parties.

Mandatory corporate actions	free of charge
Participation through the bank / representing a client at a general meeting	120 € + actual costs
Processing of electronic voting instructions at general meeting	50 € + actual costs
Other corporate action	subject to prior agreement
Tax reclaim	60 € + actual costs
Tax relief at source	free of charge

Our blog

If interested in investing, we advise you to keep an eye on our blog (available in Estonian and Russian).

Read

The podcast of Investeerimisjutud

Listen to the weekly podcast of Investeerimisjutud (available in Estonian), where we talk about what’s happening on financial markets.

Listen the podcast

Book a consultation

If you have any questions related to investing, we are always there for you.

Book a time

Investment school, tutorial videos and other useful information

My Portfolio gives you a good overview of how your investments are doing.

Which saving and investment solutions suit you?

Accounts for investing

Opening accounts for investing is simple and free of charge

Which accounts should I open for investing?

Investment account + securities account

Only securities account

Declaration using investment account and securities account

Declaration using securities account only