Türkiye: personal tax guide

What the tax system covers

Individuals with full tax liability are within worldwide taxation. Citizenship alone is not the residence test. Specified exported services may qualify for a deduction only where the listed activity, foreign use and required payment conditions are satisfied.

When you become tax resident

The Income Tax Law distinguishes full liability from limited liability. Domicile in Türkiye or a continuous stay of more than six months in a calendar year can establish the relevant residence connection; temporary departures do not necessarily interrupt that period. Article 5 contains exceptions for specified temporary purposes, which must be applied to the facts. A Turkish citizen living abroad is not automatically in the same position as a person settled in Türkiye. Equally, a foreign passport does not prevent resident taxation. Record homes, duties, travel and family arrangements and examine any applicable treaty. Keep employment, business, investment and property income separate; a foreign payer or bank account does not by itself determine source.

Rates and the tax base

15%–40% progressive income tax. The 2026 tariff starts at 15% through TRY190,000 and reaches 40% above TRY5.3 million. The 27% band ceiling differs for employment and other income. Deductions, separately taxed investment income and the conditional foreign-income exemption must be assessed independently.

Private investment gains and business trading

Turkey taxes specified gains on disposing of assets and rights, with exclusions and holding-period rules depending on the asset. Securities subject to withholding, private property disposals and business trading require different analysis. The new article 20/D foreign-income exemption for qualifying arrivals is a separate status-dependent regime.

Asset cost basis on arrival

The arrival cost-basis treatment for this country has not yet been established in this comparison. Do not assume either an arrival-value reset or retention of original cost.

• The treatment needs to be checked separately for ordinary shares, funds, property, business interests and assets acquired by gift or inheritance.

The 100% services deduction is conditional, not a blanket exemption

The current GIB article 89 text records the 100% rate under Decision 11257 for the specified service deduction. Covered fields include software, design, engineering and several other listed activities. The rules address overseas customers, exclusive overseas benefit for the relevant service categories, and transfer of the eligible earnings to Türkiye by the applicable annual-return deadline.

Identify the precise statutory activity, contract, invoice recipient and use of the service. Keep bank evidence linking the earnings to the required transfer and allocate costs consistently. A deduction against eligible profit is not a waiver of every tax, employment charge or company obligation. Before comparing effective costs, test corporate minimum-tax rules where relevant, VAT, payroll, distributions and nonqualifying receipts. Do not apply an old 80% headline or a new 100% headline without reading the conditions.

Document the change in your life

Review domicile, days, household arrangements and remaining business activity under current residence rules. A second citizenship or a residence card elsewhere is not alone evidence that Turkish residence has ended. Keep the chronology and supporting documents consistent across tax, immigration and banking.

Determine which residence connection actually ends

Document the final local work, disposal or retention of the home, family move and expected return visits. The domicile and continuous-stay rules require more than a departure stamp. Obtain destination residence evidence and review the treaty where both countries may claim the same period. A Turkish passport does not mean that every future foreign receipt has the same Turkish treatment.

Identify rental, business and investment income that will continue to arise locally. Decide who prepares returns, receives notices and maintains the records. Nonresident treatment and withholding depend on the income category, so avoid one general instruction to close every account or stop every filing on the date of travel.

A move can create worldwide taxation independently of nationality

The Income Tax Law uses domicile and a more-than-six-month continuous stay in a calendar year, subject to statutory exceptions; temporary absences do not automatically break the stay. Nonresidents have a different scope tied to Turkish-source income. Obtaining citizenship alone is therefore neither proof that a person has moved nor proof that their foreign income becomes exempt.

Document housing, family, duties and travel, and review the former country’s departure rules before arrival. A founder who continues managing a foreign company from Türkiye also needs a company-level analysis. GIB describes full corporate liability where either the legal centre or business centre is in Türkiye. Foreign incorporation by itself does not remove the place where operations are actually directed.

Foreign companies and income attribution

The cited corporate CFC framework must not automatically be applied to an individual shareholder. At least 50% aggregated control plus passive-income, foreign-tax-burden and revenue conditions; identify owners counted for control separately from corporate profit attribution. Personal anti-avoidance, foreign-entity classification and distribution rules need a separate owner-level review.

Departure, migration and continuing obligations

No blanket no-exit-tax conclusion; company, property and ongoing source income require review.

Special regimes and elections

Article 20/D foreign-income exemption: Qualifying new resident individuals can obtain a 20-year exemption for foreign-source income, with a three-calendar-year look-back, specified prior-income exceptions, an exemption certificate and filing deadline. Turkish-source activity and company-level obligations remain separate.