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Türkiye tax

3 special regimes for new residents: Foreign-source income exemption, Export of services deduction and Wages paid in foreign currency by a non-resident employer: exempt.

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Special regimes for new residents

Special regime

Foreign-source income exemption for new tax residents (Income Tax Law repeated Art. 20/D)

0% tax

Foreign-source income: New-resident relief (20 years)
Details
  • On: Foreign-source income and gains (kazanç ve iratlar) earned outside Türkiye
  • Who: Natural person treated as resident in Türkiye on or after 1 January 2026

Individuals who become Turkish tax residents and had no domicile or tax liability in Türkiye in the preceding three calendar years are exempt from income tax on income and gains earned outside Türkiye for twenty years. 1 2

Taxed on

Foreign-source income and gains (kazanç ve iratlar) earned outside Türkiye.

Who it applies to

  • Natural person treated as resident in Türkiye on or after 1 January 2026 (domicile in Türkiye or staying continuously more than six months in a calendar year, Art. 3-4).
  • No domicile and no tax liability in Türkiye during the three calendar years before becoming resident.
  • Earlier Türkiye-source rental, securities income or capital gains liability does not prevent the exemption; a salary or business taxed in Türkiye in those three years does.
  • An exemption certificate must be obtained from the tax office: the application is due by the end of the calendar year in which the person becomes resident, or by the end of February of the next year for those who become resident in November or December. A late application is refused.

Exclusions

  • Income earned in Türkiye is not covered.
  • Costs and expenses of exempt income are not deductible; foreign taxes paid on exempt income cannot be credited against Turkish income tax.
  • No annual return is filed for the exempt income; the exemption is lost with retroactive tax if the conditions were not met.

Tax residence

Applies from 1 January 2026 to persons who become resident; added by Law 7582 of 21 May 2026, published 4 June 2026. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance sets procedures.

Visas

Tax residence arises from presence or domicile, not from a particular residence permit.

Other taxes

Social security, VAT and local taxes are separate.

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Special regime

Export of services deduction (Income Tax Law Art. 89/13)

Tax relief

Details

For 2026 income, 100% of earnings from architecture, engineering, design, software, medical reporting, bookkeeping, call-centre, product testing, certification, data storage, processing and analysis, and designated vocational training services delivered to non-resident customers and used exclusively abroad is deducted from income. 1 3

Taxed on

Earnings from qualifying services supplied to customers with no residence or workplace in Türkiye and used solely abroad. The deduction is 100% of those earnings for tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2026 (Presidential Decision 11257); the statutory rate in the law is 80%, which applied to 2024 and 2025 income.

Who it applies to

  • Customer is a person not resident in Türkiye with workplace, legal and business centre abroad (including education and health businesses serving non-residents under ministry permits).
  • The invoice or similar document is issued in the name of the foreign customer.
  • All earnings from the activity are transferred to Türkiye by the due date of the annual income tax return for the year they were earned.

Exclusions

  • Services used in Türkiye; only the listed service categories qualify.

Tax residence

The law sets the rate at 80% and lets the President set it between 0 and 100 percent and set the share of earnings that must be transferred to Türkiye; procedures are set by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Presidential Decision 11257 of 29 April 2026 (Resmî Gazete 30 April 2026, no. 33239) set the rate at 100% for income of tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2026. The 80% rate and full-transfer condition replaced a 50% rate by Law 7491 of 27 December 2023.

Visas

Tax rule independent of immigration status, but a foreigner working in Türkiye needs a work permit or an independent work permit.

Other taxes

VAT export treatment, social security and other taxes are separate.

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Special regime

Wages paid in foreign currency by a non-resident employer: exempt

0% tax

Details

Wages paid in foreign currency to an employee by an employer with no legal or business centre in Türkiye, out of that employer's earnings abroad, are exempt from income tax. 1

Taxed on

Wages paid in foreign currency by a non-resident employer from its foreign earnings (Income Tax Law Art. 23(14)(a)).

Who it applies to

  • Employer has neither its legal nor its business centre in Türkiye and is subject to limited tax liability.
  • Wage is paid in foreign currency and comes from the employer's earnings outside Türkiye.

Exclusions

  • Wages from employers with a legal or business centre in Türkiye are taxed at the progressive rates.
  • Self-employed income is outside this exemption.

Tax residence

Applies to the wage as an income item; tax residence follows domicile or more than six months of stay in a calendar year (Art. 3-4).

Visas

A foreigner working in Türkiye needs a work permit or an independent work permit; the tax exemption does not replace it.

Other taxes

Social security and local taxes are separate.

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Standard rules and foreign-source income

Standard rules

Personal income tax: residence test and 2026 progressive rates

Progressive rates

Details
  • On: Annual taxable income
  • Who: Resident: domicile in Türkiye
  • Limit: TRY 190k/yr ≈ $3,850

Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates of 15% to 40%; non-residents on Türkiye-source income. 1

Taxed on

Annual taxable income; residents on income earned in and outside Türkiye (Art. 3).

Who it applies to

  • Resident: domicile in Türkiye, or continuous stay of more than six months in a calendar year (temporary absences do not interrupt); certain foreigners on a defined temporary assignment, study, treatment or travel are not treated as resident (Art. 5).

Limits

  • TRY 190,000 a year (≈ $3,850) · 15% on taxable income up to this amount (2026 figure in Art. 103 parentheses).
  • TRY 400,000 a year (≈ $8,100) · 20% up to this amount.
  • TRY 1,000,000 a year (≈ $20,300) · 27% up to this amount (1,500,000 for wage income).
  • TRY 5,300,000 a year (≈ $107,000) · 35% up to this amount; 40% above.

Tax residence

Income tax residence is separate from immigration status.

Visas

None.

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Standard rules

Pensions paid by foreign social security institutions: exempt

0% tax

Details
  • On: Pensions paid by foreign social security institutions (Income Tax Law Art. 23(13))
  • Who: Pension is paid by a social security institution located in a foreign country

Retirement, disability, widow and orphan pensions paid by social security institutions abroad are exempt from Turkish income tax. 1

Taxed on

Pensions paid by foreign social security institutions (Income Tax Law Art. 23(13)).

Who it applies to

  • Pension is paid by a social security institution located in a foreign country.

Exclusions

  • Other foreign-source income of a Turkish tax resident (private pensions, rent, dividends, wages) is outside this exemption.

Tax residence

Exemption sits in the wage-exemption article of the Income Tax Law; tax residence follows domicile or more than six months of stay in a calendar year (Art. 3-4).

Visas

Independent of the residence permit held.

Other taxes

Social security and local taxes are separate.

Checked against official sources on Change log

VAT, social security and other taxes

Questions people ask

Who qualifies for Foreign-source income exemption?

Natural person treated as resident in Türkiye on or after 1 January 2026 (domicile in Türkiye or staying continuously more than six months in a calendar year, Art. Tax residence arises from presence or domicile, not from a particular residence permit.

Who qualifies for Export of services deduction?

Customer is a person not resident in Türkiye with workplace, legal and business centre abroad (including education and health businesses serving non-residents under ministry permits). Tax rule independent of immigration status, but a foreigner working in Türkiye needs a work permit or an independent work permit.

Who qualifies for Wages paid in foreign currency by a non-resident employer: exempt?

Employer has neither its legal nor its business centre in Türkiye and is subject to limited tax liability. A foreigner working in Türkiye needs a work permit or an independent work permit; the tax exemption does not replace it.

How are Digital nomad visa holders taxed in Türkiye?

No special regime in our records is tied to the Digital nomad visa. The standard rules apply: Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates of 15% to 40%; non-residents on Türkiye-source income.

≈ USD figures are approximate: daily reference rates from ExchangeRate-API, dated 12 Oct 2026, refreshed when the site is updated.

Sources (3)

Official sources

  1. Income Tax Law No. 193 (consolidated, including amendments to Law 7582 of 21 May 2026) · Presidency Legislation Information System (mevzuat.gov.tr) · checked 2026-10-11
  2. Guide: tax exemption for income earned abroad (Income Tax Law mükerrer Art. 20/D), publication no. 616, September 2026 · Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı) · checked 2026-10-12 · published 2026-09-01
  3. Presidential Decision No. 11257 re-setting certain rates in Income Tax Law Art. 22 and 89 and Corporate Tax Law Art. 5 and 10 (Resmî Gazete 30 April 2026, no. 33239) · Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye) · checked 2026-10-12 · published 2026-04-30