How to Calculate Withholding Tax in Türkiye
Region: TürkiyeHesaplayıcı2 min read
Short answer
Turkish withholding tax (stopaj) is the income tax a payer deducts from a gross payment: the gross amount times the withholding rate. The payee receives the rest. Rent paid by a business and freelance fees are withheld at 20%. For example, a gross rent of 20,000 TRY has 4,000 TRY withheld, and the landlord receives 16,000 TRY.
Formula
Withholding = gross amount × rate
Net amount = gross amount − withholding
Gross amount = net amount / (1 − rate)
- Gross amount: the payment before withholding
- Net amount: what the payee receives
- Rate: the withholding rate as a decimal; 0.20 for 20%
- The last formula is the gross-up: it gives the gross amount when the net amount is agreed
Step-by-step example
A company rents a shop as its workplace for a gross rent of 20,000 TRY a month:
- Find the withholding: 20,000 × 20% = 4,000 TRY. The company deducts it and pays it to the tax office with its monthly withholding return (muhtasar beyanname).
- Find the net rent: 20,000 − 4,000 = 16,000 TRY. The landlord receives 16,000 TRY.
If the parties agreed on a net rent of 8,000 TRY, the gross rent is found like this:
- Gross up: 8,000 / 0.80 = 10,000 TRY gross rent.
- Find the withholding: 10,000 × 20% = 2,000 TRY. The landlord keeps 8,000 TRY.
A common mistake: adding 20% to the net amount
If you add 20% (1,600 TRY) to a net 8,000 TRY and write a gross rent of 9,600 TRY, the withholding is 1,920 TRY and the landlord keeps 7,680 TRY, not the 8,000 TRY agreed. Withholding is charged on the gross amount, so to gross up, divide the net amount by (1 − rate).
Common withholding rates
The rates are set for the payments listed in Income Tax Law art. 94. The ones you meet most often:
| Payment | Rate | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace rent (when the tenant is a business or an institution) | 20% | Income Tax Law art. 94/5-a |
| Fees of self-employed professionals (lawyers, accountants, doctors and so on) | 20% | Income Tax Law art. 94/2-b |
| Progress payments for multi-year construction and repair work | 5% | Income Tax Law art. 94/3 |
For example, a construction progress payment of 100,000 TRY has 5,000 TRY withheld at 5%, and the contractor receives 95,000 TRY.
Is the withholding all the tax you owe?
Not always. Withholding is income tax taken in advance. If you must file an annual return for the income, the tax is worked out again with the tariff, and the tax withheld during the year is set off against it. A tenant who is a private person, or a small trader taxed on the simple method, does not withhold; the landlord then declares the rent himself.
Worked example: 20% withholding on a gross rent of 20,000 TRY
Withholding tax
4,000 TRY
- Gross amount
- 20,000 TRY
- Net amount
- 16,000 TRY
Step by step
Withholding tax
withholding = gross amount × 20%
withholding = 20,000 × 20% = 4,000
Net amount
net amount = gross amount − withholding
net amount = 20,000 − 4,000 = 16,000