İstanbul BarosuBar Registration No. 74199
Practice Areas
As an English-speaking tax lawyer in Istanbul, Turkey, our office represents local and foreign taxpayers in disputes with the Turkish tax administration. Tax law governs the relationship between the state's power to tax and the rights and obligations of taxpayers. Its principal procedural rules are in the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 (Vergi Usul Kanunu, VUK), while each tax has its own law, such as the Income Tax Law No. 193 (Gelir Vergisi Kanunu, GVK). Where a tax inspection results in an additional assessment and a penalty, the taxpayer has both administrative and judicial avenues to challenge these measures.
As an administrative avenue, settlement (uzlaşma) can be requested before or after the assessment. Since an amendment made by Law No. 7524 in 2024, settlement concerns penalties only; the tax itself is no longer negotiated. If no settlement is requested, or none is reached, an action can be brought before the tax court within 30 days of service of the tax or penalty notice (Article 7 of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, İYUK), and bringing that action stops collection of the disputed part of the assessed tax and penalty (Art. 27/4).
This page answers the questions foreigners and expats ask most often: when a foreigner becomes tax resident in Turkey, how the 20-year exemption for new residents works, how rent and property sales are taxed, what the title deed fee and inheritance tax look like in 2026, and what happens in an inspection, a penalty dispute or the collection of an unpaid tax debt. It describes the general legal framework as of October 2026. Tax law changes often, and the answer in a particular case depends on the documents and dates in the file.
A tax lawyer in Turkey represents taxpayers during tax inspections, pursues settlement with the tax administration, and litigates tax assessments, penalties and collection steps before the tax courts. For a foreign investor or company, a tax lawyer in Istanbul also typically advises on how a Turkish tax assessment interacts with obligations in the client's home jurisdiction, including under any applicable double taxation treaty.
In practice the work falls into three stages. Before a dispute arises, questions about tax residence, rental income, a planned property sale or an inheritance are examined so that returns are filed on time. During an inspection, the taxpayer's explanations and documents are prepared and recorded. After a notice, a payment order or a bank attachment, the available routes (settlement, penalty reduction, correction, tax court action) are compared against their time limits, which are short and run from the date of service.
A tax lawyer usually works alongside a certified public accountant (mali müşavir), who keeps the books and files returns. The two roles are different and do not replace each other: the accountant deals with bookkeeping and filings, the lawyer with disputes, notices, court actions and the legal assessment of the file.
Yes, where there is a Turkish connection. Turkish tax law does not depend on nationality; it depends on tax residence and on where the income or property is. A foreign national who earns income in Turkey, owns property there, inherits Turkish assets or runs a business is subject to the same Tax Procedure Law and the same inspection, settlement and tax court procedures as a Turkish taxpayer.
The taxes foreigners meet most often are income tax (on wages, rent, business income and some capital gains), the title deed fee when property changes hands, the annual building and land tax (emlak vergisi) paid to the municipality, value added tax (VAT, KDV) built into prices, and inheritance and gift tax. Companies pay corporate tax. The first table further down this page sets them side by side.
In practice, a tax identification number (vergi kimlik numarası) is needed for most financial steps in Turkey, such as buying property, opening a bank account or signing a utility contract. Foreigners without a Turkish identity number usually obtain one from a tax office by presenting a passport. Holding a tax number does not by itself create a tax liability; liability depends on residence and on the income or property involved.
Each tax has its own law: the Income Tax Law No. 193, the Corporate Tax Law No. 5520, the VAT Law No. 3065, the Fees Law No. 492 for the title deed fee, the Property Tax Law No. 1319 and the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law No. 7338. Inspections, penalties and settlement are governed by the Tax Procedure Law No. 213; the collection of unpaid tax by Law No. 6183 on the Collection Procedure of Public Receivables; and tax court cases by the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577. Where a double taxation treaty applies, it can change how some of these rules work for residents of the other country.
Residents (full taxpayers) are taxed in Turkey on their worldwide income; non-residents (limited taxpayers) are taxed only on income earned in Turkey (Income Tax Law, Arts. 3 and 6). Under Article 4, two groups count as resident: people whose domicile (ikametgâh) is in Turkey within the meaning of the Civil Code, and people who stay in Turkey continuously for more than six months in a calendar year. Temporary absences do not interrupt the stay.
The six-month test is counted within a calendar year, not over any twelve months. Someone who arrives in September and stays until the following May does not pass the six-month test in either year, although domicile may still be examined. A person who moves to Turkey intending to stay permanently can be resident through domicile from the start. Which test applies, and from which date, depends on the facts of the move.
Article 5 lists foreigners who do not become resident even after more than six months in Turkey: business people, scientists, officials, press correspondents and similar persons who come for a specific and temporary assignment or job; people who come for study, medical treatment, rest or travel; and people kept in Turkey for reasons beyond their control, such as detention, a sentence or illness.
Not by itself. Tax residence and immigration status are separate questions. A short-term or long-term residence permit does not in itself make a person tax resident, and tax residence does not give a right to stay. Tax residence follows the domicile and six-month tests in the Income Tax Law, while residence permits follow the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.
Where a taxpayer leaves the country (memleketi terk) during a calendar year, the annual return is filed within the 15 days before departure (Income Tax Law, Art. 92), and the tax on that return is paid within the same filing period (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 112/2). Ending a lease or closing a bank account does not end obligations that have already arisen; returns and payments for income earned while in Turkey remain due.
Law No. 7582, in force since June 2026, added Article 20/D to the Income Tax Law. Individuals who become resident in Turkey are exempt from income tax on income earned outside Turkey for twenty years, provided they had neither a domicile nor a tax liability in Turkey in the last three calendar years before becoming resident. It applies to people deemed resident from 1 January 2026. The conditions and the official examples are explained in our guide to Turkey's 20-year tax exemption on foreign income.
Earlier tax liability in Turkey only because of Turkish rental income, securities income or capital gains does not block the exemption (Art. 20/D/2). Many foreigners who already owned and rented out an apartment in Turkey fall into this group. Turkish wages or business income within the three-year window, on the other hand, do block it.
Under Income Tax General Communiqué No. 333 (Official Gazette, 4 July 2026), the exemption is used through an exemption certificate obtained from the responsible tax office. The person has to be resident on the application date. The application is made by the end of the calendar year in which the person became resident; for people who became resident in the last two months of a year, by the end of the second month of the following year. In one of the Communiqué's own examples, a person who became resident in March 2028 and applied in 2030 was refused.
Only foreign-source income is exempt. Rent from property in Turkey, dividends from Turkish companies and work performed in Turkey remain taxable in Turkey. No annual return is filed for the exempt income; its expenses are not deducted and foreign taxes paid on it are not credited (Art. 20/D/3-5). If the conditions later turn out not to have been met, the untaxed amount is treated as tax loss (Art. 20/D/6), which brings a tax loss penalty. Companies cannot use the exemption. Inheritances received during the exemption period are taxed at 1% (Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law, Art. 16).
Yes. Rent from property in Turkey is Turkish-source income, taxed as income from immovable property (gayrimenkul sermaye iradı) under Article 70 of the Income Tax Law, whether the owner lives in Turkey or abroad and whatever the owner's nationality. This also applies to people under the 20-year exemption, because that exemption covers only foreign income.
Rent for a calendar year is declared on the annual income tax return, filed from 1 to 25 March of the following year (Art. 92), and the tax is paid in two equal instalments in March and July (Art. 117). Income tax is progressive: under the 2026 tariff the rates run from 15% on the first TRY 190,000 of taxable income to 40% on the part above TRY 5,300,000, with brackets of 20%, 27% and 35% in between (Art. 103).
Rent from letting a building as a residence is exempt up to a yearly amount, TRY 58,000 for 2026 (Art. 21, as updated by General Communiqué No. 332). The exemption is lost if rent above that amount is not declared or is under-declared. It is also not available to people who have to declare business, agricultural or professional income, or whose gross wages, investment income, rental income and other income together exceed the amount of the third income bracket for wages (TRY 1,500,000 for 2026). Rent from offices and shops is outside this exemption, because it covers residential lettings only.
The taxable amount is the gross rent minus expenses. The owner can deduct the actual expenses listed in Article 74, such as repairs, insurance, depreciation, management costs and taxes paid on the property, or instead deduct a lump sum of 15% of the gross rent. An owner who chooses the lump sum cannot switch back before two years have passed. Tax penalties and fines are never deductible.
Where the tenant is a company or another business that is required to withhold, it withholds income tax from the rent it pays (Art. 94/5-a). A non-resident whose Turkish income has all been taxed by withholding does not file an annual return for it (Art. 86/2). A private individual renting a home is not among the persons who withhold, so rent from a private tenant is usually declared by the owner. Whether a return is needed in a given year therefore depends on who the tenants are and how much rent was received. Landlords dealing with a tenant who does not pay or leave may also find our landlord's guide to evicting a tenant in Turkey useful.
Under Law No. 7464 on the tourist rental of residences, renting a home for tourism purposes for periods of up to 100 days requires a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, obtained before any rental contract, with administrative fines for renting without one (Arts. 2-4). The permit rules, the neighbours' unanimous consent and the fines are explained in our guide to Airbnb and short-term rentals in Turkey.
On the tax side, rent from a home in Turkey is Turkish-source income in every case. Permit holders also have to present proof of payment of the tourism share (turizm payı) under Law No. 7183 within the period set by the Ministry and during inspections; an administrative fine applies if they do not (Law No. 7464, Art. 4/2-c). Whether short-term rental income is taxed as rental income or as business income depends on how the activity is organised, for example the number of units and the services offered with the stay, and can be assessed on the facts of each file.
Capital gains tax, called tax on a value increase gain (değer artışı kazancı), applies to a property sale only if the property is sold within five years of its acquisition, however it was acquired, except property acquired free of charge such as by inheritance or gift (Income Tax Law, repeated Art. 80/6). A sale after five full years from acquisition is outside this rule. The whole process, including selling through a power of attorney, is covered in our guide to selling property in Turkey as a foreigner.
The net gain is the sale price minus the acquisition cost, the expenses borne by the seller and the taxes and fees paid on the sale (repeated Art. 81). The acquisition cost is increased by the rise in the producer price index, excluding the month of sale, provided that rise is at least 10%. For 2026, TRY 150,000 of the value increase gains obtained in the year is exempt (repeated Art. 80, as updated by General Communiqué No. 332); the rest is added to taxable income and taxed at the progressive rates. Sold at a loss or with no gain, there is nothing to tax under this rule.
A non-resident seller who does not file an annual return declares the gain from selling property in Turkey with a separate return (münferit beyanname) at the tax office where the property is located, within 15 days of obtaining the gain (Art. 101). A resident seller includes a taxable gain in the annual return filed in March. A return filed late can bring an irregularity penalty and, where tax was lost, a tax loss penalty, which is halved for late returns filed before an inspection begins (Tax Procedure Law, Arts. 344, 352).
The title deed fee (tapu harcı) on a sale is 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer, calculated on the declared price, which may not be lower than the property's value for property tax purposes (Fees Law No. 492, Art. 63 and Tariff No. 4, as applied since Council of Ministers Decision 2012/3735). Our title deed fee calculator shows the amounts for a given price.
Declaring a lower price than the one actually paid is a frequent source of tax files. If it is found after the transaction that the fee was paid on less than the property tax value, or that the declared price did not reflect reality, the missing fee is assessed and a tax loss penalty of one times that amount is added (Art. 63). Law No. 7566 of 4 December 2025 raised this penalty from 25% to one times. A low declared price can also increase the buyer's own taxable gain on a sale within five years, because the gain is calculated from the declared cost.
Under conditions, yes. Article 13/i of the VAT Law No. 3065 exempts from VAT the first delivery of a building constructed as a residence or workplace when the price is brought into Turkey in foreign currency and the buyer is a foreign individual who is not resident in Turkey, a foreign company whose legal seat and business centre are outside Turkey and which earns no income in Turkey through a workplace or permanent representative, or a Turkish citizen who has lived abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit.
The exemption covers only the first sale of a newly built unit, not resales. If it is later found that the conditions were not met, the buyer is jointly liable with the seller for the VAT not collected, the tax loss penalty and late payment interest. If the unit is disposed of within three years, the VAT not collected has to be paid by the person disposing of it, with instalment interest under Law No. 6183, before the title deed transfer. The general steps of a purchase are explained in our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner.
Yes. Owners of buildings and land in Turkey pay building tax and land tax, together called emlak vergisi, to the municipality where the property is located (Property Tax Law No. 1319). The law sets the building tax at 0.1% of the tax value for residences and 0.2% for other buildings, and the land tax at 0.1% for land and 0.3% for building plots; within metropolitan municipalities these rates are doubled (Arts. 8, 18). The tax is paid in two equal instalments, the first in March, April or May and the second in November (Art. 30).
The property tax value matters elsewhere too: the title deed fee cannot be calculated on a price below it. Voluntary disclosure under the Tax Procedure Law does not apply to property tax (Art. 371), so late payments are dealt with under the general collection rules.
Inheritance and gift tax (veraset ve intikal vergisi) applies to transfers by inheritance, or free of charge, of property belonging to Turkish citizens and of property located in Turkey (Law No. 7338, Art. 1). A foreign heir who inherits an apartment or a bank account in Turkey is therefore within its scope, whatever the deceased's nationality. A foreigner with no domicile in Turkey who inherits property located abroad from a Turkish citizen is not taxed.
Who inherits, and under which country's law, is a separate question explained in our guide to inheritance in Turkey for foreigners, and our inheritance share calculator shows the shares under Turkish law.
For 2026, each descendant (including adopted children) and the spouse can receive inheritance shares worth TRY 2,907,136 without tax; where there are no descendants, the spouse's exempt amount is TRY 5,817,845 (Art. 4/b, as updated by General Communiqué No. 57). Gifts and other free transfers are exempt up to TRY 66,935 (Art. 4/d). Household goods and the deceased's personal belongings passing by inheritance are also exempt (Art. 4/a).
The rates are progressive: 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 10% for inheritances, and 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% for gifts. In 2026 the first bracket covers the first TRY 3,000,000, followed by the next TRY 7,000,000, the next TRY 15,000,000 and the next TRY 30,000,000, with 10% (30% for gifts) on the part above TRY 55,000,000 (Art. 16). The TRY 3,000,000 figure sometimes described as tax-free is the first rate bracket; the exemptions are the separate amounts above. Gifts from parents, a spouse or children are taxed at half the gift rates.
If the death occurred in Turkey, the return is filed within four months by heirs in Turkey and within six months by heirs abroad. If the death occurred abroad, the period is six months for heirs in Turkey, four months for heirs in the country where the death occurred, and eight months for heirs in another foreign country (Art. 9). The tax is paid over three years, in two equal instalments each year in May and November (Art. 19). Inherited property can be registered in the heirs' names before the tax is assessed, but it cannot be transferred to a buyer until the tax attributable to it is paid or security is given.
A tax inspection (vergi incelemesi) checks whether a taxpayer's returns and records are correct. It is carried out by tax inspectors and other officials authorised by the law. Producing the requested books and documents on time, and making sure that the minutes record the taxpayer's explanations accurately and completely, directly affect any later settlement or court case.
The inspector notifies the taxpayer in writing of the subject of the inspection and that it has begun (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 140/1). The law aims for a full inspection to be completed within one year, a limited inspection within six months and a VAT refund inspection within three months. If more time is needed, an extension of up to six months (two months for VAT refund inspections) can be given, and the reasons are notified to the taxpayer in writing (Art. 140/6).
Where the inspection is carried out at the workplace, it cannot be conducted outside official working hours without the taxpayer's consent, and security measures are taken in a way that does not disrupt the business (Art. 140/3). Facts can be recorded in minutes; the taxpayer's objections and comments are written into them and a copy is left with the taxpayer (Art. 141). At the end, a document showing that the inspection took place is handed over (Art. 140/4). Ensuring statements are accurately recorded can prove decisive later.
Reports drawn up by tax inspectors are reviewed by report evaluation commissions before they are sent to the tax office (Art. 140). The report then forms the basis for the tax and penalty notice (vergi/ceza ihbarnamesi) served on the taxpayer. Where pre-assessment settlement is available, it is requested at this stage, before the assessment is made. The taxpayer may present views both during the inspection and while the report is under review.
Before an inspection starts, the administration can send an invitation to explain (izaha davet) where it has preliminary findings suggesting a tax loss (Art. 370). The taxpayer has 30 days from service to explain. If the explanation shows that there was no tax loss, the matter is not referred to inspection. If it is found insufficient, the taxpayer can, within 30 days of the evaluation letter, file the missing return or correct the incorrect one and pay the tax with a surcharge; the tax loss penalty is then applied at 20% of the tax lost.
A taxpayer who has received such an invitation can no longer use voluntary disclosure for the matter it covers. Invitations are not used where the findings point to the evasion conduct in Article 359, apart from limited cases involving false or misleading documents below a set amount.
Turkish law has two main administrative tax penalties. The tax loss penalty (vergi ziyaı cezası) applies where tax is assessed late or too low because obligations were not fulfilled on time or fully (Art. 341). As a rule it equals one times the tax lost; it is three times where the loss was caused by the evasion conduct in Article 359 (Art. 344).
The tax loss penalty is halved for returns filed late but before an inspection begins or the matter is referred to an assessment commission. Since Law No. 7524 of 2024, it is increased by 50% where the tax loss results from business, agricultural or professional activity carried on without registering with the tax office (Art. 344).
The irregularity penalty (usulsüzlük cezası) applies to breaches of formal duties, such as not filing a return on time or not keeping required books (Art. 352). Special irregularity penalties apply, for example, to invoices and receipts that are not issued or not taken (Art. 353). Separately, late payment interest (gecikme faizi) is added to taxes assessed later, and a late payment surcharge (gecikme zammı) runs on unpaid tax and tax loss penalties after their due date (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 112; Law No. 6183, Art. 51).
Voluntary disclosure (pişmanlık) under Article 371 allows a taxpayer to report a tax loss before the administration acts. If the conditions are met, no tax loss penalty is imposed. The disclosure is made by a written petition, before any informant's report on the matter and before an inspection on that tax type has started or the matter has been referred to an assessment commission. Within 15 days of the petition, missing returns are filed or incorrect ones corrected, and the overdue tax is paid with a surcharge calculated at the late payment surcharge rate for each month of delay.
Where these conditions are met, the criminal provision on tax evasion (Art. 359) is not applied either. Timing is therefore decisive: once an inspection on that tax has started, or an invitation to explain has been served on the matter, voluntary disclosure is no longer available for it.
A tax and penalty notice (vergi/ceza ihbarnamesi) starts several time limits at once, all counted from the date of service: 30 days to request post-assessment settlement, 30 days to apply for the penalty reduction under Article 376, and 30 days to bring an action before the tax court. If none of these routes is used in time, the assessment generally becomes final and moves to collection. The first point checked is therefore the date of service, including the deemed date for electronic notices.
The routes cannot all be combined. While a settlement request on a penalty is pending, that penalty cannot be taken to court, and a case filed earlier waits until the settlement ends. Using the Article 376 reduction excludes settlement and requires that no court action is brought. A court action keeps the dispute open but gives up the reduction. Which route fits depends on the grounds in the file, for example a calculation error, a different reading of the law, or findings in the inspection report that are not supported by evidence, and the notice and the report are usually reviewed together by a tax lawyer in Turkey for that reason.
Settlement is a negotiation with a settlement commission of the tax administration. Since Law No. 7524 of 28 July 2024, it covers only penalties: tax loss penalties, and irregularity and special irregularity penalties above a threshold (TRY 40,000 for 2026). The tax itself is no longer subject to settlement. Settlement is available where the taxpayer argues that the loss resulted from insufficient understanding of the law, a misleading written explanation by the authorities, tax errors or other material errors, or a difference between court decisions and the administration's view on the disputed point (Tax Procedure Law, Additional Art. 1).
Penalties imposed for the evasion conduct in Article 359 cannot be settled. For irregularity penalties of TRY 40,000 or less, settlement is not available, but the reduction under Article 376 is applied at a rate increased by half.
Pre-assessment settlement (tarhiyat öncesi uzlaşma) is available for penalties to be imposed on taxes assessed following a tax inspection, and is requested before the assessment is made (Additional Art. 11). Post-assessment settlement (tarhiyat sonrası uzlaşma) is requested after the notice has been served. A taxpayer who requested pre-assessment settlement and did not reach agreement cannot request post-assessment settlement for the same penalty.
A request for post-assessment settlement is made within 30 days of service of the notice, and if settlement is not reached it cannot be requested again. The minutes record the administration's final offer, and the taxpayer can still accept that offer in writing until the end of the period for bringing a court action, in which case settlement is deemed reached (Additional Art. 1).
If no settlement is reached, the penalty can be taken to the tax court. The court period is not suspended during settlement: it keeps running, and where it has already ended or fewer than 15 days remain, it is extended to 15 days from service of the minutes (Additional Art. 7). Because this extension is now worded for penalties only, the 30-day period for challenging the tax itself runs from service of the notice.
The settlement minutes are final. No court action or complaint can be brought on the matters agreed and recorded in them (Additional Art. 6), and settled penalties receive no further reduction (Additional Art. 9). Settlement covers only what was agreed; matters in the notice left outside it remain open to the ordinary routes, subject to their own time limits.
Yes, under Article 376. A taxpayer who applies to the tax office within 30 days of service of the notice, and undertakes to pay the assessed tax together with half of the tax loss, irregularity and special irregularity penalties, obtains a 50% reduction of the penalty. Payment is due on the normal due date, or within three months after it if security under Law No. 6183 is given. If the payment is not made in time, or the matter is taken to court, the reduction is lost.
A second reduction that used to apply after a settlement was repealed by Law No. 7524 in 2024, so a settled penalty is no longer reduced further. Penalties to which the Article 376 reduction has been applied cannot be settled; a taxpayer who has requested settlement can, until the settlement minutes are signed, withdraw that request and ask for the Article 376 reduction instead (Additional Art. 9).
Taxpayers and persons on whom a tax penalty is imposed can bring an action against assessed taxes and penalties before the tax court (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 377). The case is brought before the tax court of the place where the tax office that assessed the tax or imposed the penalty is located; for a payment order, before the court where the tax office that issued the order is located (Administrative Procedure Law, Art. 37). Tax courts belong to the administrative judiciary; disputes with other public bodies, such as permit refusals, go to administrative courts and are explained on our administrative law page.
The period for bringing an action before a tax court is 30 days, compared with 60 days before administrative courts (Art. 7). For a tax notice, it runs from the day after service. Where service was made by public announcement, the date of service is set by the special rules on announcements described below. Where settlement was requested, the rules on the extended period in the settlement section apply to the penalty.
For an action against an assessed tax and its penalties, yes: bringing the action stops collection of the part of the tax and penalty that is challenged (Administrative Procedure Law, Art. 27/4). This automatic effect does not apply to actions against collection steps, such as a payment order, or to returns filed with reservation. In those cases a stay of execution can be requested; it can be granted where the act is clearly unlawful and its implementation would cause harm that is difficult or impossible to remedy, as a rule against security (Art. 27/2, 27/6). Where the tax is finally upheld, late payment interest runs on the unpaid part from the normal due date until the court decision is served (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 112/3).
A tax court judgment can be appealed (istinaf) to the regional administrative court within 30 days of service; judgments on amounts below a threshold revised every year are final (Art. 45). The regional court's decision can be appealed to the Council of State (Danıştay) in Ankara within 30 days in tax cases above a separate, higher threshold, and, after amendments by Law No. 7589 in July 2026, in certain cases where the regional court overturned the tax court's judgment and gave a new decision (Art. 46). Both remedies are subject to short, strict time limits.
The Tax Procedure Law has a separate route for tax errors (vergi hatası): calculation errors in the tax base or amount, taxing the same base twice, and errors in the person, the taxable item or the period (Arts. 116-118). A taxpayer can ask the tax office in writing to correct such an error (Art. 122), and clear and undisputed errors are corrected by the office of its own motion (Art. 121). If an error is corrected in the taxpayer's favour, the overpaid tax is refunded; the refund is claimed within one year of service of the correction slip (Art. 120).
Where the court deadline has passed and a correction request is rejected, the taxpayer can file a complaint (şikâyet) with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance (Art. 124). The law sets no specific time limit for this complaint, but errors discovered after the limitation period in Article 114 can no longer be corrected (Art. 126). Errors can be corrected even in matters that went through the courts, provided the courts did not rule on that specific error (Art. 125).
Companies, individuals taxed on actual business income and some other groups, including people in whose name certain motor vehicles are registered for the first time, are required to use the tax administration's electronic notification system (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 107/A, as amended in June 2026). Others can join voluntarily. An electronic notice is deemed served at the end of the fifth day after it is delivered to the taxpayer's electronic mailbox, whether or not it is opened, so time limits can start without anyone reading the notice.
For people abroad, notices are sent to known addresses; where service abroad is not possible, service can be made by public announcement (Art. 103). In that case, copies are also sent by post to the known address abroad (Art. 104), and if the person neither contacts the tax office nor gives an address within one month of the announcement, service is deemed made at the end of that month (Art. 106). Foreigners who have left Turkey can therefore learn of an assessment only when a bank attachment or another collection step appears, by which time the court periods may have passed.
Tax that is not paid on time is collected under Law No. 6183. A late payment surcharge is added for each month at a rate set by Presidential decision (Art. 51). If the debt remains unpaid, the tax office serves a payment order (ödeme emri) giving 15 days to pay or to declare assets (Art. 55).
A person served with a payment order can bring an action before the tax court within 15 days of service, on the grounds that there is no such debt, that it was partly paid, or that it is time-barred (Art. 58). As a rule, the merits of an assessment that has already become final are not re-examined at this stage; a defect in the service of the underlying notice, however, can be raised under the 'no such debt' ground. An action against a payment order does not by itself stop collection; a stay of execution can be requested (Administrative Procedure Law, Art. 27/4).
If the debt is not paid, the tax office can attach the debtor's movable and immovable property, receivables and rights (Art. 62). Bank accounts are attached by an attachment notice served on banks, often electronically; after service, the bank may pay the funds only to the tax office, and a bank that holds nothing for the debtor has 7 days to state this in writing (Art. 79). In situations listed in the law, such as a debtor without a fixed address or a risk of assets being hidden, a precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz) can be imposed before the debt is final (Art. 13). Other reasons for frozen accounts, such as criminal investigations, are covered in our guide to frozen bank accounts in Turkey.
Where paying on time, or the enforcement of an attachment, would put the debtor in serious difficulty, the debt can be deferred and paid in instalments with interest on a written application (tecil, Art. 48). Law No. 7582 extended the maximum period from 36 to 72 months in 2026. Security is not required up to an amount set in the law (TRY 1 million), which a Presidential decision of June 2026 applies as TRY 10 million; above it, security covering part of the debt is required. Instalments do not automatically release attachments: attached property counts as security, and attachments are released in proportion to payments. A separate route for compliant business taxpayers allows up to 36 months for debts not older than one year (Art. 48/A).
Not under the current law. The Passport Law once denied passports to people reported to the passport authorities as tax debtors, but that wording was removed by Law No. 5766 in 2008, and the exit restriction rule added to Law No. 6183 at the same time (Art. 36/A) was repealed in 2011. Today, Article 22 of the Passport Law refers, among others, to people whom a court has banned from leaving the country, and an unpaid tax debt is collected through attachment rather than a travel ban.
The position differs where a tax file turns into a criminal case. In a tax evasion investigation, a judge can impose a ban on leaving the country as a judicial control measure under the Code of Criminal Procedure. How to check for a ban and how such measures are challenged is explained in our guide to exit bans in Turkey.
A company's tax debts are first collected from the company. Where they cannot be collected from it, Law No. 6183 extends liability. Partners of a limited company are directly liable for public receivables that cannot be collected from the company, in proportion to their capital shares; when shares are transferred, the transferor and the transferee are jointly liable for debts from before the transfer (Art. 35).
Legal representatives, such as the managers of a limited company or the board members of a joint stock company, can be pursued with their personal assets for public receivables that cannot be collected from the company, and the same rule applies to the representatives in Turkey of foreign persons and companies. The company going into liquidation, or being liquidated, does not remove the representatives' liability for the periods before liquidation (repeated Art. 35). Share transfers, exits and the closing of a company are covered on our corporate law page.
Two separate limitation periods apply. Under the assessment limitation, tax that is not assessed and served within five years from the beginning of the year following the year in which the tax claim arose becomes time-barred (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 114). Referral to an assessment commission stops this period for at most one year, and for conditional exemptions the period starts from the year after the conditions were breached.
Under the collection limitation, a public receivable that is not collected within five years from the beginning of the calendar year following its due date becomes time-barred (Law No. 6183, Art. 102). This period is interrupted by events such as payment, attachment, service of a payment order, a declaration of assets, the provision of security, or an application to pay under a special restructuring law, and then starts again from the beginning of the following year (Art. 103). Because both periods depend on exact dates of service and collection steps, an old debt is examined against the records in the file.
Some conduct is a crime rather than only a ground for administrative penalties (Art. 359). Accounting tricks, recording transactions in other books so as to reduce the tax base, falsifying or hiding books and records, and issuing or using documents that are misleading in content are punished by imprisonment from 18 months to five years. Destroying records, or issuing or using fake documents for transactions that never happened, is punished by three to eight years.
The criminal case runs before the criminal courts, independently of the tax court case on the assessment, although findings in one often affect the other. If the tax, interest and half of the penalties are paid during the investigation, the sentence is reduced by half; if paid during the prosecution before judgment, by one third. Voluntary disclosure that meets the conditions of Article 371 excludes the offence. A tax lawyer in Turkey handling this type of file generally coordinates the administrative and criminal defence; the criminal side is also covered on our criminal law page.
Turkey has double taxation treaties with a large number of countries. Where a treaty applies, it can allocate the right to tax certain income to one country, or require the country of residence to give relief for tax paid in the other. Whether a treaty exists with a particular country, and what it says about rent, property gains, pensions or salaries, is checked in the text of that specific treaty; the general rules on this page do not replace it.
Where a taxpayer considers that Turkish taxation breaches a treaty, an application can be made to the Revenue Administration under the treaty's mutual agreement procedure (Tax Procedure Law, Additional Art. 14). It is made within the period in the treaty, or within three years if the treaty sets none. The application stops the period for bringing a tax court action on the taxes concerned (Additional Art. 15), but does not stop collection (Additional Art. 18).
Where the tax treatment of a situation is unclear, a taxpayer can ask the Revenue Administration in writing for an explanation, which is answered with an advance ruling (özelge) (Art. 413). If the authorities gave the taxpayer a wrong written explanation, no tax penalty is imposed and no late payment interest is calculated for having followed it (Art. 369).
A tax case is heard by the tax court of the place where the tax office that assessed the tax, imposed the penalty or issued the payment order is located (Article 37 of the Administrative Procedure Act). An assessment made by an Ankara tax office therefore goes to the Ankara tax courts, even if the taxpayer now lives in Istanbul or abroad. A tax lawyer in Turkey registered with a Turkish bar can act before the tax courts in every city, and appeals to the Council of State are heard in Ankara.
We act as a tax lawyer in Istanbul and before the tax courts in Ankara for tax assessments, penalties and payment orders. The office is in Istanbul; files in Ankara and other cities are followed through the electronic UYAP system and e-filing, and by attending hearings where needed. Clients living abroad can act through a power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate. Tax questions that arise from a property purchase or an inheritance are often handled together with our real estate law and inheritance law work.
| Tax | What It Covers | Collected By | Key Point (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax | Wages, rent, business income and some capital gains of individuals | Tax office | Residents on worldwide income, non-residents on Turkish income; progressive rates from 15% to 40% |
| Corporate tax | Profits of companies | Tax office | Turkish subsidiaries of foreign groups are corporate taxpayers |
| Value added tax (KDV) | Supplies of goods and services, borne by the end consumer | Tax office, through sellers | First sale of a new residence or workplace to qualifying non-residents can be exempt |
| Special consumption tax (ÖTV) | Fuel, motor vehicles, alcohol and tobacco and some other goods | Tax office, through sellers | Built into the price of cars and some other goods |
| Title deed fee (tapu harcı) | Transfer of real estate | Land registry | 2% for the seller and 2% for the buyer on the declared price |
| Building and land tax (emlak vergisi) | Ownership of buildings and land | Municipality | 0.1% for residences, 0.2% for other buildings; doubled in metropolitan municipalities |
| Inheritance and gift tax | Free transfers of property in Turkey or of Turkish citizens | Tax office | Exemption of TRY 2,907,136 per descendant and for the spouse |
| Step | Time Limit | Counted From | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Request for post-assessment settlement | 30 days | Service of the notice | VUK Add. Art. 1 |
| Application for the penalty reduction | 30 days | Service of the notice | VUK Art. 376 |
| Tax court action against a notice | 30 days | Day after service | İYUK Art. 7 |
| Court action on a penalty after failed settlement | Remaining period, extended to 15 days if less is left | Service of the settlement minutes | VUK Add. Art. 7 |
| Action against a payment order | 15 days | Service of the payment order | Law 6183 Art. 58 |
| Paying or declaring assets after a payment order | 15 days | Service of the payment order | Law 6183 Art. 55 |
| Reply to an invitation to explain | 30 days | Service of the invitation | VUK Art. 370 |
| Non-resident's return on a property gain | 15 days | Date the gain is obtained | GVK Art. 101 |
| Appeal to the regional administrative court | 30 days | Service of the judgment | İYUK Art. 45 |
| Bank's statement that it holds nothing for the debtor | 7 days | Service of the attachment notice | Law 6183 Art. 79 |
| Electronic notice deemed served | End of the 5th day | Delivery to the e-mailbox | VUK Art. 107/A |
| Assessment limitation | 5 years | Start of the year after the tax arose | VUK Art. 114 |
| Collection limitation | 5 years | Start of the year after the due date | Law 6183 Art. 102 |
| Situation | Penalty or Result | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Tax lost through late or incomplete compliance | Tax loss penalty of one times the tax lost | VUK Arts. 341, 344 |
| Tax lost through evasion conduct | Three times the tax lost; settlement not available | VUK Art. 344, Add. Art. 1 |
| Late return filed before any inspection | Tax loss penalty halved | VUK Art. 344 |
| Activity carried on without registering | Tax loss penalty increased by 50% | VUK Art. 344 (Law 7524) |
| Formal breaches, such as a late return or books not kept | Irregularity penalty | VUK Art. 352 |
| Invoice or receipt not issued or not taken | Special irregularity penalty | VUK Art. 353 |
| Voluntary disclosure before any action | No tax loss penalty if the conditions are met | VUK Art. 371 |
| Insufficient reply to an invitation to explain, then correction and payment | Tax loss penalty of 20% of the tax lost | VUK Art. 370 |
| Reduction application within 30 days | Penalty reduced by half; no court action | VUK Art. 376 |
| Irregularity penalties of TRY 40,000 or less (2026) | No settlement; reduction rate increased by half | VUK Add. Art. 1 |
| Settlement reached | Penalty fixed at the agreed amount; no further reduction | VUK Add. Arts. 1, 6, 9 |
| Item | Amount or Rule | Who Pays | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title deed fee on a sale | 2% of the declared price, not below the property tax value | Seller | Fees Law Art. 63, Tariff 4 |
| Title deed fee on a purchase | 2% of the declared price | Buyer | Fees Law Tariff 4 |
| Under-declared price | Missing fee plus a tax loss penalty of one times | Buyer and seller, each for their own fee | Fees Law Art. 63 (Law 7566) |
| VAT on the first sale of a new unit | Exempt for qualifying non-residents paying in foreign currency | Buyer jointly liable if the conditions fail | VAT Law Art. 13/i |
| Building tax | 0.1% residences, 0.2% other buildings; doubled in metropolitan areas | Owner | Law 1319 Art. 8 |
| Residential rent | Exempt up to TRY 58,000; taxed at 15%-40% above | Owner | GVK Arts. 21, 103 |
| Gain on a sale | Taxed only within 5 years; TRY 150,000 annual exemption; indexation | Seller | GVK rep. Arts. 80, 81 |
| Inheritance of property | TRY 2,907,136 exempt per descendant and spouse; rates 1%-10% | Heirs | Law 7338 Arts. 4, 16 |
| Step | What Happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Due date passes | Late payment surcharge added for each month | Art. 51 |
| Payment order | 15 days to pay or to declare assets | Art. 55 |
| Action against the payment order | 15 days; no debt, partly paid or time-barred; no automatic stop of collection | Art. 58; İYUK Art. 27/4 |
| Precautionary attachment | Possible before the debt is final in listed risk situations | Art. 13 |
| Attachment | Movable and immovable property, receivables and rights | Art. 62 |
| Bank attachment notice | Funds payable only to the tax office; 7 days for the bank's statement | Art. 79 |
| Instalments (tecil) | Up to 72 months with interest; attachments released in proportion to payments | Art. 48 |
| Liability of others | Limited company partners by share; legal representatives, including those of foreign entities | Arts. 35, rep. 35 |
| Limitation | 5 years from the year after the due date; interrupted by collection steps | Arts. 102, 103 |
Yes. A foreign national or foreign-owned company that earns income, owns property, inherits Turkish assets or operates a business in Turkey is subject to Turkish tax law on that income or activity, under the same Tax Procedure Law that applies to Turkish taxpayers. Whether worldwide income or only Turkish-source income is taxed depends on tax residence.
When the person's domicile is in Turkey, or when the person stays in Turkey continuously for more than six months in a calendar year; temporary absences do not interrupt the stay (Income Tax Law, Art. 4). Foreigners who come for a specific temporary assignment, or for study, treatment, rest or travel, do not become resident even after six months (Art. 5).
Not by itself. Tax residence follows the domicile and six-month tests of the Income Tax Law, while residence permits follow immigration law. The two are assessed separately.
Article 20/D of the Income Tax Law, added by Law No. 7582 in 2026, exempts for twenty years the income earned outside Turkey by individuals who become resident in Turkey after having no domicile and no tax liability there in the previous three calendar years. It applies to people deemed resident from 1 January 2026. Turkish-source income stays taxable.
Under Communiqué No. 333, the certificate is obtained by the end of the calendar year in which the person becomes resident; for people who become resident in the last two months of the year, by the end of February of the following year. The person has to be resident on the application date.
Yes. Rent from property in Turkey is Turkish-source income and is taxed in Turkey whatever the owner's residence or nationality. A non-resident whose Turkish income has all been taxed by withholding does not file an annual return for it; rent from a private tenant is not withheld and is usually declared by the owner.
TRY 58,000 of residential rent for 2026 (Income Tax Law, Art. 21). The exemption is lost if rent above that amount is not declared, and it is not available to people who must declare business income or whose total gross income exceeds the third income bracket for wages (TRY 1,500,000 for 2026). It does not apply to offices or shops.
From 1 to 25 March of the following year (Income Tax Law, Art. 92). The tax is paid in two equal instalments in March and July (Art. 117). A taxpayer leaving the country during the year files within the 15 days before departure.
Rent from a home in Turkey is Turkish-source income and is taxable. Short-term tourist rentals also need a permit under Law No. 7464, and permit holders have to document payment of the tourism share. Whether the income is treated as rental income or business income depends on how the rental is organised.
Only if the property is sold within five years of its acquisition (Income Tax Law, repeated Art. 80/6). Property acquired free of charge, such as by inheritance or gift, is outside this rule. After five years from acquisition the gain is not taxed under this rule.
TRY 150,000 of the value increase gains obtained in 2026 is exempt (General Communiqué No. 332). The acquisition cost is indexed for inflation when the producer price index rose by at least 10%, and the remaining gain is taxed at the progressive income tax rates.
2% of the declared price for the seller and 2% for the buyer. The declared price may not be lower than the property's value for property tax purposes (Fees Law, Art. 63 and Tariff No. 4).
If it is found that the declared price did not reflect reality, the missing fee is assessed with a tax loss penalty of one times that amount (Fees Law, Art. 63, as amended by Law No. 7566 in December 2025; it was 25% before). A low declared cost can also increase the buyer's taxable gain on a later sale within five years.
The first sale of a newly built residence or workplace to a foreign individual who is not resident in Turkey can be exempt from VAT if the price is brought into Turkey in foreign currency (VAT Law, Art. 13/i). If the unit is disposed of within three years, the VAT not collected is paid before the title deed transfer.
TRY 2,907,136 for each descendant and for the spouse; TRY 5,817,845 for the spouse where there are no descendants. Gifts are exempt up to TRY 66,935 (Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law, Art. 4, as updated by General Communiqué No. 57).
No. TRY 3,000,000 is the first rate bracket for 2026, taxed at 1% for inheritances and 10% for gifts. The tax-free amounts are the separate exemptions of TRY 2,907,136 per descendant and spouse, or TRY 5,817,845 for a spouse without descendants.
The law aims for a full inspection to end within one year, a limited inspection within six months and a VAT refund inspection within three months. An extension of up to six months (two months for VAT refunds) can be given, and the reasons are notified to the taxpayer in writing (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 140).
As a rule, one times the tax lost; three times where the loss was caused by evasion conduct such as fake documents (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 344). It is halved for late returns filed before an inspection begins and increased by 50% for unregistered business activity.
Voluntary disclosure under Article 371 removes the tax loss penalty if a written petition is filed before any inspection on that tax or any informant's report, and the return is filed or corrected and the tax paid with a surcharge within 15 days. It is not available once an invitation to explain has been served on the matter.
An action may be brought before the tax court within 30 days of service of the notice (Administrative Procedure Law, Art. 7). If settlement is requested for the penalty and not reached, the court period is not suspended; where it has ended or fewer than 15 days remain, it is extended to 15 days from service of the settlement minutes (Tax Procedure Law, Additional Art. 7).
Not since Law No. 7524 of 2024. Settlement now covers only tax loss penalties and irregularity penalties above TRY 40,000 (2026); the tax itself is not negotiated. Penalties for evasion conduct cannot be settled.
The right to litigate the settled penalty is lost and the settlement minutes are final. Settlement, however, covers only the settled matters; the ordinary routes may remain open for matters in the notice that were not part of the settlement, subject to their own time limits.
Yes. Under Article 376, a taxpayer who applies within 30 days of service of the notice and pays the tax and half of the penalty on time, or within three months with security, has the penalty reduced by half. The reduction is lost if payment is not made or the matter is taken to court, and penalties reduced this way cannot be settled.
An action against an assessed tax and its penalties stops collection of the challenged part automatically (Administrative Procedure Law, Art. 27/4). An action against a payment order or another collection step does not; a stay of execution can be requested.
A payment order may be challenged before the tax court within 15 days of service, on the grounds that no such debt exists, that it has been partly paid, or that it is time-barred (Law No. 6183, Art. 58). As a rule, the amount of a tax debt that has become final cannot be disputed again at this stage.
Yes, for an unpaid tax debt. An attachment notice served on banks means the funds can be paid only to the tax office (Law No. 6183, Art. 79). In risk situations listed in the law, a precautionary attachment can be imposed even before the debt is final (Art. 13).
Yes, on a written application where paying at once would cause serious difficulty. Since Law No. 7582 of 2026, instalments can run for up to 72 months with interest (Law No. 6183, Art. 48). Security is not required up to TRY 10 million under a June 2026 Presidential decision, and existing attachments are released only in proportion to payments.
Not under the current law. The tax-debtor wording in the Passport Law was removed in 2008, and the exit restriction rule in Law No. 6183 was repealed in 2011. A travel ban can still arise in a criminal tax evasion case as a judicial control measure ordered by a judge.
Possibly. Limited company partners are liable in proportion to their shares for public debts that cannot be collected from the company, and legal representatives, including the representatives in Turkey of foreign companies, can be pursued with their personal assets (Law No. 6183, Arts. 35 and repeated 35).
Yes. A tax claim becomes time-barred for assessment if it is not assessed and served within five years of the start of the year following the year in which it arose (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 114). Once assessed, collection is time-barred five years from the start of the year following the due date (Law No. 6183, Art. 102), but steps such as attachment or a payment order interrupt that period.
Tax loss and irregularity penalties are administrative in nature, imposed by the tax office and litigated before the tax court. Tax evasion (Tax Procedure Law, Art. 359) covers more serious conduct, such as issuing or using fake or misleading documents, and is the subject of criminal proceedings carrying a prison sentence, conducted before the criminal courts independently of the administrative process.
Turkey has double taxation treaties with a large number of countries, which can prevent the same income from being taxed twice or provide a credit for tax already paid abroad. Whether a treaty applies to a specific person, and how relief is claimed, depends on the treaty with that person's country of residence. A mutual agreement procedure application can be made where taxation is considered contrary to a treaty.
Notices are sent to known addresses; where service abroad is not possible, service can be made by public announcement, with copies posted to the known foreign address, and it is deemed made one month after the announcement (Tax Procedure Law, Arts. 103, 104, 106). Electronic notices are deemed served at the end of the fifth day after delivery.
Legal fees in Turkey are subject to the minimum fee tariff prepared each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) under Article 168 of the Attorneys Act, and fees below the tariff are not allowed. The exact fee depends on the type of work (inspection, settlement, tax court action, appeal) and the amount in dispute, and is set out clearly before work begins.
Not necessarily. A foreign owner who rents out property in Turkey declares and pays Turkish income tax on that rent, often with the help of an accountant. A tax lawyer in Turkey is usually involved when a notice, an inspection, a penalty, a payment order or a bank attachment arises, particularly for an owner who does not live in Turkey.
Yes. Our office advises foreign investors, company owners and individual taxpayers on Turkish tax inspections, settlement and tax court proceedings in English as well as Turkish.
Av. Ömer Faruk Doğan holds an IELTS score of 7, pursued graduate legal studies and research in Italy and Poland, and has experience advising international companies and foreign individuals on Turkish tax matters. Clients can be advised in English as well as Turkish.
Yes. The case is heard by the tax court where that tax office is located (Article 37 of the Administrative Procedure Act), so in Ankara. A lawyer registered with a Turkish bar can appear before all courts, so a tax lawyer in Istanbul or a tax lawyer in Ankara can file it. A tax lawyer in Turkey based in Istanbul follows Ankara files through UYAP and e-filing, and attends hearings where needed.
Law No. 7582 and Communiqué No. 333 explained: who becomes tax resident in Turkey, the three-year look-back, the exemption certificate deadline, the official examples on rent, dividends and remote work, the 1% inheritance tax rate and the 2027 asset disclosure rule.
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