Taxes for expats in Türkiye

Dear Cherly,

I find a guide for you about [link moderated] and also there are a lot of sources.

Bests,

I've been based in Istanbul for a while now and the cost-to-quality ratio for running a business here is really good.

Quick breakdown of my monthly costs:

- Virtual office (business address): $30

- Accountant: ~$120

- Good apartment: $600-800

- Food/transport: $500-700

Total: about $1,300-1,700/month for everything including a proper business setup.

Compare that to London ($4,000+) or Dubai ($3,000+).

Plus Turkey has an 80% tax exemption on service exports if your clients are international. My effective tax rate is about 4.6%.

For the office I use Kamara - they have 8 locations across Istanbul. The virtual office at $30/month is perfect if you just need a registered address. If you ever need a physical desk or meeting room,

they have serviced offices at $300/month.

Feel free to ask if you have questions about the setup process

One thing I wish more newcomers heard early:

“Cheap country + informal advice from WhatsApp groups” is a bad tax strategy.

In practice, the first fork is residency: if you are (or become) a Turkish tax resident, worldwide income logic starts to matter, and treaties/exemptions are case-by-case — not forum folklore. Deposit interest, foreign pensions, remote income, company structures… each behaves differently.

I am not a Turkish tax lawyer, so I will not pretend to give definitive rulings here. What I do tell families: get a written position from a local accountant for your exact passport + income map before you park serious money or open “clever” structures.

Cheap hour with a good muhasebeci usually costs less than one wrong assumption that lives for 3 years.

You are right . I am here since 30 years almost , and since the beginning, I have my accountant . For only expats living or even property buyers , of course you have regulations to follow between your both countries (residential if turkey and nationality ) . Turkey . For example if a foreigner ( for example french citizen ) sold its property in Turkey , he should declare to french tax office within 30 days . iif the property is more than 20 years  ( bought more than 20 years ago ) , exemption of taxes  but still should do a declaration . ..

That s why it is better to choose a good accountant ( who knows the rules ) . And for income taxes ,..

Dominique