Income Tax Law No. 193 (Gelir Vergisi Kanunu)

What It Governs

Law No. 193, the Income Tax Law (Gelir Vergisi Kanunu), governs the taxation of the income of natural persons. It covers the categories of income recognised in Turkish tax law — employment, business, agricultural, self-employment, immovable-property (rental), movable-capital (investment) and other earnings including certain capital gains — and sets the rules on who is taxed, on what income, and at what rate.

Key Provisions for Foreign Nationals

Turkish income tax turns first on residence. Under Articles 3 and 4, persons settled in Turkey are full taxpayers, taxed on their worldwide income; those treated as settled include persons domiciled in Turkey and those who stay in Turkey continuously for more than six months in a calendar year — and temporary absences do not interrupt the count. Persons not settled in Turkey are limited taxpayers, taxed only on their Turkish-source income.

Article 5 excludes certain people from being treated as settled even where their stay exceeds six months — notably business people, experts, officials and press correspondents present for a specific and temporary assignment, and those who come to Turkey for education, medical treatment, rest or travel.

Several wage exemptions matter to foreign nationals. Under Article 23/14, salaries paid in foreign currency to an employee of a non-resident employer, out of the employer's earnings obtained abroad, are exempt from income tax. Under Article 23/13, pensions paid by foreign social-security institutions are exempt.

Article 89/13 grants individuals a deduction for qualifying services exported from Turkey — software, design, engineering, medical reporting, bookkeeping and others — provided to non-residents and benefited exclusively abroad. The statutory rate is 80 percent, raised to 100 percent for 2026 income of individual taxpayers by Presidential Decree No. 11257.

Gains from the sale of immovable property held for more than five years fall outside income tax under the repeated Article 80. Where wages are not subject to withholding — as with a foreign employer that is not a Turkish withholding agent — they are declared by the employee on an annual return under Article 95, taxed at the progressive rates of Article 103, which reach 40 percent in the top bracket.