The section for anyone letting a home or business premises: the exemption, the expense method, joint ownership and filing thresholds.

• What does income from immovable property mean?

  It is the name the law gives to rental income. If you allow someone else the use of a property or a right of which you are the owner, possessor, usufructuary or tenant, and receive money or payment in kind in return, what you earn is income from immovable property. Residential and commercial rent are the two commonest examples; rent from land, shops, parking spaces, trademarks and business rights falls under the same heading.

• When must someone with only residential rent file a return?

  A return is filed when the total residential rent received during the year exceeds the exempt amount — 47.000 TL for 2025. No return is required for an amount below the exemption. However, someone already filing a return because of commercial, agricultural or professional earnings cannot use the exemption; the whole of the rent is declared.

• How much is the residential rent exemption for 2025?

  For residential rental income earned in 2025 the exemption is 47.000 TL. This amount is reset each year and applies only to residential rent — there is no exemption on commercial rent. Anyone who fails to declare the rent on time, and anyone whose income exceeds the exempt amount and who does not declare it, loses the benefit.

• Can I deduct the rent on the home I live in from the rental income I receive?

  Yes, if you choose the actual expense method. If you let a home you own and live in rented accommodation yourself, you may deduct the rent you pay as an expense. There are two conditions: the deduction is made only against residential rental income, and payments for employer-provided housing also fall within scope. Rent paid abroad by those living outside Türkiye is not deductible.

• Must I choose an expense method, and which should I choose?

  You choose one of two methods: actual expenses or the flat rate. Under the actual expense method you deduct your documented outgoings item by item; under the flat rate you deduct %15 of the income without any documentation. The choice is made for the whole of the income, not property by property — you cannot apply the actual method to one property and the flat rate to another. If your documented expenses exceed %15 of the income the actual method is better; if they fall short, the flat rate is.

• How is the deductible amount calculated under the actual expense method?

  Lighting, heating, water, lift and management charges, insurance premiums, interest on a loan taken out for the property, property tax, duties, depreciation and maintenance and repair costs are deducted against documents. Where the exemption has been used on residential rent, not the whole expense but a proportion is deducted, calculated by removing the part attributable to the exemption: expense × (income − exemption) ÷ income. Documents are kept for five years.

  Expense and receipt archive in property management
• If I choose the flat rate, how is the deduction calculated?

  The residential exemption is first deducted from the income, and %15 of the remainder is deducted as a flat-rate expense. No document, invoice or receipt is required. In return you may not separately deduct any actual outgoing; the two methods cannot be combined. Those letting rights cannot choose the flat rate.

• When can I move from the flat rate back to actual expenses?

  You cannot return to the actual expense method until two years have passed, including the year in which you chose the flat rate — the lock-in period is 2 years. There is no such restriction in the other direction: a taxpayer who chooses actual expenses may move straight to the flat rate the following year.

• When must someone with only commercial rent file a return?

  If the tenant withholds income tax on the commercial rent, no return is filed unless the gross rent exceeds 330.000 TL; the withholding becomes the final tax. If the total exceeds that amount, the whole of the rent is declared and the tax withheld during the year is credited against the tax calculated. If the tenant does not withhold (a taxpayer under the simplified regime, or a tenant who is not a taxpayer at all), the threshold is 18.000 TL.

• I have both residential and commercial rent — how do I work it out?

  First deduct the exemption from the residential rent; then add the remainder to the gross commercial rent. If that total exceeds 330.000 TL, both sources are declared. If it does not, only the residential rent above the exemption is declared and the commercial rent stays outside. It matters that the comparison is made on the amount after the exemption — this is the point most often missed.

• If several people own a home jointly, who files the return?

  Each co-owner files a separate return for the share of rental income falling to them; a single return is not filed for the joint ownership. The exemption is likewise applied per person, not per property. Where the shares are not stated on the title deed they are taken to be equal.

• What happens if I do not declare the rent at all, or under-declare it?

  If the authorities discover the income, the tax itself, a tax loss penalty and default interest are demanded together; an irregularity penalty applies in addition. On residential rent the most concrete loss is the exemption: anyone who fails to declare, or under-declares, loses the exempt amount for that year entirely. A return filed voluntarily before the authorities act prevents most of these consequences.

• I received the rent in cash with no bank record. Do I still have to declare it?

  Yes. The obligation to declare depends on the income having been earned, not on how it was collected. Moreover, because residential rent above a set amount must be collected through a bank or the post office, and because the same obligation applies to commercial rent with no amount threshold at all, collecting in cash also gives rise to a separate special irregularity penalty.

• Will it cause a problem if I declare a lower rent?

  It will, because of the deemed rental value rule. If the rent declared on a dwelling falls below a set proportion of its property tax value, the authorities assess the tax on that proportion instead. Allowing someone to live in a property rent-free is in principle within the same scope; apart from a short list of exceptions, such as a home left to a parent, child or sibling, declaration on the deemed rent is required.

  Market rent in your area
• What rate must I use for the rent increase?

  For residential and commercial tenancies alike, the increase at renewal cannot exceed the rate of change in the twelve-month average of the consumer price index for the preceding tenancy year. A higher rate written into the agreement does not change this; the excess is void.

  Rent increase calculator
• Alongside my rental income I also have salary, income from movable capital or other earnings. Can I use the Pre-Filled Return System?

  Yes. The Pre-Filled Return System covers rental income, salary, income from movable capital and other earnings and income together; you may report several of them on the same return. The only situation outside the system is having commercial, agricultural or professional earnings — in that case the return is filed under the general procedure.

When a single salary is declared, what changes with a second employer, and how the minimum wage exemption works.

• What is salary?

  It is the money, payment in kind and benefits capable of being expressed in money given to a person working for an employer at a particular workplace, in return for their service. The name of the payment, the way it is calculated or the absence of a partnership relationship do not change its character — paid monthly, weekly, daily or by percentage, it is all salary.

• Which payments count as salary under the law?

  Alongside the basic pay, retirement, widow's and orphan's pensions, sums given for services already rendered or to be rendered in the future, attendance fees paid to members of boards of directors and auditors, payments to sportspeople, and fees paid to expert witnesses, official mediators and loss adjusters all count as salary.

• Do I have to declare my retirement pension?

  No. Retirement, widow's, orphan's and disability pensions paid by the social security institutions are exempt from income tax and are not entered on the return. If you also work for a salary after retiring, the filing assessment is made on that salary alone.

• Is salary from a single employer declared?

  As a rule no — the tax has already been withheld at source. A return is filed only if the annual total of a single salary subject to withholding exceeds 4.300.000 TL, and the tax withheld during the year is then credited against the tax calculated.

• Are sportspeople's earnings declared?

  Payments to sportspeople are taxed at source at special rates. A return is filed once the annual total exceeds 4.300.000 TL; the tax withheld is credited against the tax calculated. Below that, the withholding is the final tax.

• Do those receiving salary without withholding file a return?

  Yes, whatever the amount. There is no lower threshold for salary paid without withholding. Salary received directly from an employer in a foreign country, and the salary of embassy and consulate staff falling outside the exemption, belong to this group.

• If my salary subject to withholding does not exceed 330.000 TL, must I declare it?

  This threshold does not apply to a single employer but to those receiving salary from more than one: if the total of the salaries from employers other than the first does not exceed 330.000 TL, and the overall salary is below 4.300.000 TL, no return is filed. Once either threshold is passed, the whole of the salary is declared.

• I receive salary from more than one employer — which ones go on the return?

  Once the threshold is passed, all of the salaries go on the return, not merely the part above the threshold. The comparison, however, is made on the total from employers other than the first. If that total does not exceed 330.000 TL and all the salaries together do not pass 4.300.000 TL, none of them is declared.

• Can I choose which employer counts as the first?

  Yes, you are free to decide which employer to treat as the first. The choice bears directly on whether the filing threshold is passed: treating the highest salary as the first shrinks the total of the rest and is in most cases to your advantage.

• Is there an exemption on salary income?

  The part corresponding to the minimum wage is exempt from income tax; for 2025 at most 45.151 TL a year may be deducted. Beyond that, the law provides separate exemptions for meal, travel and accommodation allowances provided to employees and for various forms of compensation.

• What can be deducted in taxing salary?

  In arriving at the net salary, pension and social security contributions, personal insurance premiums and trade union dues are deducted. Where a return is filed, education and health expenditure not exceeding a set proportion of the declared income, donations and aid listed in the law, and the disability deduction may also be taken.

• Do expenses that cannot be deducted carry forward as a loss to the following year?

  No. Salary income cannot produce a loss; if the deductions exceed the declared salary, the excess cannot be carried forward to a later year and cannot be set against other categories of income.

• Is there a filing threshold for salary paid without withholding?

  There is none. Salary that has not been subject to withholding is reported on an annual return whatever the amount.

• What is the filing threshold for salary subject to withholding?

  Two thresholds work together: 4.300.000 TL where the salary comes from a single employer, and 330.000 TL for the total from employers other than the first where it comes from several. In that second case it is also required that the overall salary does not exceed 4.300.000 TL.

• Who benefits from the minimum wage exemption?

  Everyone earning a salary benefits — the sector, the post and the level of pay make no difference. The exemption is already applied at source; where a return is filed it is applied to only one of the declared salaries.

• What is the most that can be deducted under the minimum wage exemption for 2025?

  The equivalent of one year of income tax on the minimum wage — approximately 45.151 TL for 2025. If you worked below the minimum wage or part-time during the year, the deductible amount falls accordingly; the exemption is limited to the part actually used.

• Which salary on the return does the minimum wage exemption come off?

  One only. If salary from more than one employer is declared, the exemption is not applied to each separately; it is deducted from a single salary chosen by the taxpayer. Choosing the salary taxed in the highest band is generally to your advantage.

• What is the disability deduction?

  It is the deduction each month of a set amount, according to degree, from the salary of a person who has lost a given proportion of their capacity to work. The monthly amounts for 2025: first degree 9.900 TL, second degree 5.700 TL, third degree 2.400 TL. To benefit, a report must be obtained from an authorised health institution and accepted by the authorities.

• Which salary do the disability deduction and the minimum wage exemption apply to?

  Both are applied to only one of the declared salaries, and to the same one. They cannot be split between salaries or entered separately against the salaries of more than one employer.

• Can I use the disability deduction for a dependent relative?

  If you are an employee, yes. Where you have a disabled dependent, the deduction is applied to your salary. This right is granted for salary income; a self-employed professional, by contrast, benefits against their own earnings, for themselves and their dependants only.

• Must I declare salary received directly from an employer abroad?

  As a rule yes — because no withholding is made, it is declared with no amount threshold. The exemption is granted for salaries met out of the foreign earnings of a limited-liability employer and paid in foreign currency; if all those conditions are not satisfied, the salary is declarable.

• Is the salary of staff at foreign embassies and consulates declared?

  It is exempt subject to reciprocity; where that condition is met it is not declared. Without reciprocity, because the salary is not subject to withholding, it is reported on an annual return whatever the amount.

• Alongside my salary I also have rental income, income from movable capital or other earnings. Can I report them all on one return?

  Yes. These four categories of income are combined on the same annual return and can be reported through the Pre-Filled Return System. If you have commercial, agricultural or professional earnings, the return is filed under the general procedure.

Deposit interest, dividends, repo, bonds and fund income: what is withheld, what is declared and what stays outside.

• What is income from movable capital?

  It is the dividends, interest, rent and similar income earned in return for cash capital or values represented by money. Income the owner earns outside their commercial, agricultural or professional activity falls under this heading; where the same income appears on the balance sheet of a business it counts instead as commercial earnings.

• What is the 2025 filing threshold for income subject to neither withholding nor exemption?

  18.000 TL. This threshold looks at the combined total of income from movable and immovable capital, not at each separately. If the total exceeds it, all of the income is declared; if it does not, no return is filed.

• What is the 2025 filing threshold for income subject to withholding and an exemption?

  330.000 TL. The comparison is made on the amount remaining after the exemption is deducted. If the threshold is passed, the income is declared and the whole of the tax withheld during the year is credited against the tax calculated.

• Which income may need to be declared even though it has been subject to withholding?

  Dividends from fully liable companies, interest on government bonds and treasury bills issued before the start of 2006, interest on bonds issued abroad by fully liable companies, and income from lease certificates. These go on the return once the threshold is passed.

• Are deposit interest and repo income declared?

  No. Deposit interest from banks, profit shares from participation banks, repo income and interest on private sector bonds are taxed finally by the withholding made at source; they are not entered on the return whatever the amount, and are not added even where a return is filed because of other income.

• Which income is subject to neither withholding nor exemption?

  Interest and dividends earned abroad, receivable interest of every kind, sums obtained from the sale of unmatured coupons of shares and bonds, and amounts received in return for transferring dividends not yet accrued to the holder of participation shares. The threshold for these is lower.

• What is the reduction rate for income earned in 2025?

  The reduction rate is announced each year by communiqué and is found by dividing the revaluation rate by the average interest on government bonds. In recent years the rate has come out greater than one, so the income within scope has not been declared. It should be confirmed from the communiqué for the relevant year before filing.

• Which income does the reduction rate apply to?

  Interest on government bonds and treasury bills issued before the start of 2006, and interest on receivables denominated in Turkish lira. For income outside that scope no adjustment for inflation is made.

• Does the reduction rate apply to income from securities indexed to foreign currency or gold?

  No. The reduction rate does not apply to income from securities indexed to foreign currency, gold or any other value, nor to those issued in foreign currency. Earnings and income belonging to a commercial enterprise are likewise outside the scope.

• How are dividends taxed?

  %50 of a dividend received from a fully liable company is exempt from income tax. If the remaining half exceeds 330.000 TL it is declared, and the whole of the tax withheld on distribution — including the part attributable to the exempt half — is credited against the tax calculated. Any excess after the credit can be refunded.

• Can self-employment social security contributions be deducted on a return for income from movable capital?

  Yes. Self-employment social security contributions actually paid during the year may be deducted from the declared income from movable capital. The deduction depends on the contributions having been paid; those accrued but unpaid are not taken into account.

• If the contributions paid exceed the income, do they carry forward to the following year?

  No. The part that cannot be deducted is not treated as a loss, cannot be carried forward to later years and cannot be set against other categories of income.

• Which expenses are deducted in arriving at the net income?

  Sums paid for the custody and insurance of securities, commission and exchange charges paid on collecting the income, and outgoings for safekeeping the securities are deducted. Taxes paid on the income itself, by contrast, cannot be written off as an expense.

• Alongside my income from movable capital I also have rental income, salary or other earnings. Can I report them together?

  Yes. The four categories of income are combined on the same annual return and can be reported through the Pre-Filled Return System. Those with commercial, agricultural or professional earnings file their return under the general procedure.

Capital gains and incidental earnings: the five-year rule, indexation, exemptions and how the calculation is made.

• What do other earnings and income cover?

  There are two headings: capital gains and incidental earnings. What they have in common is that they are not continuous — they arise from one-off or infrequent transactions rather than from a sustained activity. Once they become continuous they count as commercial earnings and fall under an altogether different regime.

• What is a capital gain?

  It is the gain arising on the disposal of the goods and rights listed in the law. Its best-known form is the sale of property: the difference between the sale price and the indexed cost, after the costs of sale have also been deducted, gives the gain.

  Property sale taxes and calculator
• The sale of which goods and rights gives rise to a capital gain?

  Securities other than those acquired without consideration and shares in fully liable companies held for more than two years; the disposal of the rights listed in the law; the sale of copyright by anyone other than the author and their heirs; the transfer of partnership rights and shares; the sale of a business whose activity has ceased; and the disposal of immovables such as land, buildings, rights and vessels within 5 years of the date of acquisition.

• Which rights are subject to capital gains?

  Exploration, operating and concession rights and their licences, trademarks, brands, trade names, technical drawings, designs, models and plans of every kind, cinema and television films, sound and image tapes, knowledge of experience acquired in industry, commerce and science, and rights of use over secret formulae and manufacturing processes. Patents fall outside this scope.

• How much is the capital gains exemption for 2025?

  120.000 TL. Capital gains earned in a calendar year are exempt from tax up to this amount; anything above it is declared.

• Does the exemption apply to all capital gains?

  No. Gains arising on the disposal of securities and other capital market instruments fall outside the exemption. It does apply to gains from the sale of property, rights and partnership shares.

• How is indexation applied to a capital gain?

  The acquisition cost of the asset sold is uplifted by the increase in the domestic producer price index over the period from the month of acquisition to the month before the sale, excluding the month of disposal. The gain is the difference between the sale price and this uplifted cost.

• Can indexation always be applied?

  No. For indexation to be applied, the rate of increase over the relevant period must be %10 or higher. For periods below that threshold the cost is taken as it stands.

• If I sell property I acquired by inheritance or without payment, do I file a return?

  No. A gain arising on the sale of property acquired without consideration — that is, without paying a price — does not count as a capital gain, and the holding period is not looked at either. Property acquired by inheritance, gift and similar routes falls within this scope. The deed fee and any inheritance and transfer tax liability are assessed separately.

• What happens if I sell the home I bought before 5 years has passed?

  A gain arising on a sale made before 5 years has elapsed from the date of acquisition is a capital gain. If what remains after deducting the indexed cost and the costs of sale exceeds 120.000 TL, it is declared. On a sale made after the five years are up, no return is required.

  Guide to sale taxes
• What are incidental earnings?

  They are earnings arising from one-off transactions that are not continuous. A single act of commercial brokerage, a professional service provided on an incidental basis, or compensation received for ceasing a business belong to this group.

• Which transactions give rise to incidental earnings?

  Commercial transactions and brokerage carried out incidentally; compensation received for halting or abandoning a commercial, agricultural or professional activity; compensation and key money received for vacating a property or transferring a tenancy right; incidental professional activity; the incidental transport business of limited taxpayers; and income received later in connection with businesses that have been given up.

• How much is the incidental earnings exemption for 2025?

  280.000 TL. Incidental earnings received in a calendar year are exempt from tax up to this amount.

• Does the incidental earnings exemption apply to all such earnings?

  No. Compensation and key money received for vacating a property or transferring a tenancy right — commonly known as key money — and the incidental transport earnings of limited taxpayers cannot use the exemption. These earnings are declared from the first lira.

• Alongside my other earnings I also have rental income, salary or income from movable capital. Can I report them together?

  Yes. The four categories of income are combined on the same annual return and can be reported through the Pre-Filled Return System. Those with commercial, agricultural or professional earnings file their return under the general procedure.