# E-residency benefits: Why and how to start a company in Estonia <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k0whs1m5OYQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Thumbnail ![[estonian-company-thumbnail.png]] ## Title 1. how to start an estonian company 2. Why start a company in Estonia 3. Why and how to start a company in Estonia 4. ==E-residency benefits: why and how to start a company in Estonia== ## Hook 85,000 people all over the world have signed up to be Estonian e-residents, and in 2018, I became one of them. In the last four years, I've registered an Estonian company and I've used it to do business with clients in the US and EU. In this video, I'm going to talk about why *I* started an Estonian company and, if you're also interested, how you can do it too. ## Structure - Why I started a company in Estonia - Taxes: NOT free, but it's SIMPLE and might be lower - Control: Freelancers get more control over how much they take as income, how much they invest back into their business, what gets classified as expenses - Remote: When I started a company in the Netherlands, I got sent (and still get sent) a LOT of physical documents that contain passwords or other unique IDs that I need to lodge various forms. In Estonia, everything's online. - Cool - My use case for Xolo - I usually like to do everything myself. Taxes in every country. With Estonia, it's different, and it's mainly because I discovered Xolo. - Referral link - Ethics statement: I never promote things I haven't used. Here's an email from 2018, when I first started my Xolo company (way before I had this YouTube channel). - 150 € for me, 265€ for you (they pay for the state fees to register your company) - Services they offer - Help with registering your company - They provide a physical address that your company can use, with mail forwarding - Help with applying for VAT, opening up a bank account - Taxes lodged for you every year, advice on company structure and tax rates for various taxable events, expenses - Everything in a cool web app where you just upload documents - I've never had to make a single phone call to the good folks at Xolo. - Pricing - 49 € a month, 79€ a month, or 199€ a month depending on the services. - When I inquired about accountancy services in the Netherlands, the quote was 250 € a month. - How to start a company in Estonia - 1. Sign up using the referral link in the description below BEFORE 31st of MARCH. You won't have to pay anything yet. - 2. Apply for e-residency. (3-4 weeks) - Fill out a form on the Estonian government website with ID, etc., including a fee of 120 € - Once it's approved, collect your digital ID card from your local embassy or consulate. - 3. Pay for a plan with Xolo BEFORE MAY 31st, 2022. They will help you register your company (265 € is free for you if you use the referral link) - That's it! Xolo can help you from there. ## Outro Having an Estonian company is part of my strategy for building the life I want and maximizing my freedom by moving aspects of my life to countries that are best suited for them. That practice is called flag theory, and if you think you could benefit from the same thing, check out this video on how I use it to improve my life. Thanks for watching, or as they say in Estonian, Aitäh! ## Description What are the benefits of Estonian e-residency? If you're a freelancer, you may be interested in finding out why I started a company in Estonia, and how to do it in the easiest way possible. One aspect of thier work that many productive engineers don't think about is money and company structure. Could you save on taxes by running your salary through a company in Estonia? In my case, the answer was yes. ## Related videos and resources XOLO REFERRAL LINK: https://www.xolo.io/ref/NICVAN2 STEPS FOR STARTING A COMPANY: 1. Click on this referral link to sign up to Xolo Leap (for free) before March 31st, 2022: https://www.xolo.io/ref/NICVAN2 2. Click on this link to apply for Estonian e-residency. Create an account and fill out the forms: https://eresident.politsei.ee/ 3. Pay for Xolo Leap before May 31st, 2022: https://xolo.io SITES SHOWN IN THE VIDEO: Estonian tax basics: https://learn.e-resident.gov.ee/hc/en-us/articles/360000721597-Estonian-tax-basics Deductions you can claim (Australia): https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/Deductions-you-can-claim/ Belastingaangifte (the Netherlands): https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/belastingaangifte/belastingaangifte OTHER RESOURCES: Xolo's blog post about the referral program: https://blog.xolo.io/refer-a-friend-to-xolo-leap-earn-2x-referral-reward-limited-time-only My referral code (150 € for me, 265€ for you): https://www.xolo.io/ref/NICVAN2 Estonian government on costs and fees for registering a company: https://learn.e-resident.gov.ee/hc/en-us/articles/360000625118-Costs-fees Xolo Pricing: https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/pricing Xolo's guide to applying for e-residency: https://blog.xolo.io/a-step-by-step-guide-to-applying-for-e-residency-8bfb2f6f4e96 Estonian government site all about e-residency: https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/ ## Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:23 Why start a company in Estonia? Reason #1: Taxes 0:57 Reason #2: Control 01:41 Reason #3: Remote-friendly 02:23 Reason #4: The Cool Factor 02:58 Logistics: should you pay someone to setup your company? 03:54 Features and benefits of Xolo 07:23 Xolo Leap Pricing 07:49 Summary: How to start an Estonian company ## Pre-production - [ ] Take a thumbnail photo and create one for YouTube (1280 x 720). - [ ] Add description. - [ ] Include the title and any keywords in the first few sentences, but in a natural way. - [ ] Add related videos and resources as links. - [ ] Add end screen. - [ ] Add cards if necessary. - [ ] Add video to relevant playlist(s), or create a playlist if necessary. - [ ] Create captions using Descript or using the script, then edit them. - [ ] Add chapters for YouTube if longer than 5 minutes. - [ ] Schedule on YouTube. ## Post-production - [ ] Promote on personal social media. - [ ] Twitter - [ ] LinkedIn - [ ] Create a blog post on [site](https://nicolevanderhoeven.com). - [ ] Add to weekly newsletter.