Turkey's Revenue Administration, Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı (GİB), published a guide on 7 September 2026 explaining its 20-year income tax exemption for certain people who become Turkish tax resident. The law was enacted in June, and the application procedure followed in July.
GİB's September guide brings the eligibility tests, certificate requirement, and deadlines together – with examples showing how the tax office applies them. For someone becoming resident in 2026, the date of application could determine whether the exemption is available at all.
What Changed in September 2026?
Law No. 7582 added Article 20/D to Turkey's Income Tax Law. It appeared in the Official Gazette on 4 June 2026. Communiqué No. 333, published on 4 July, then set out the application procedure. The September publication is GİB's explanation of those existing rules.
The exemption applies for 20 years to qualifying income and gains earned outside Turkey by individuals who become resident in Turkey from 1 January 2026. It removes Turkish income tax on qualifying foreign income. It does not remove tax levied by another country, and it does not exempt income earned in Turkey.
Who Can Qualify for the 20-year Exemption?
Three conditions must come together. The applicant must be an individual who became resident in Turkey from 1 January 2026, had neither a Turkish domicile nor disqualifying Turkish tax liability in the three preceding calendar years, and applies for an exemption certificate within the prescribed period. The tax office checks these conditions before issuing the certificate.
New Turkish Residence: The applicant must be considered resident in Turkey when applying. GİB describes the usual residence tests as having a domicile in Turkey or living there continuously for more than six months in a calendar year. Temporary absences do not interrupt that period.
Three Preceding Calendar Years: For someone first resident in 2026, the review concerns 2023, 2024 and 2025. For someone first resident in 2027, it concerns 2024, 2025 and 2026. The test is expressed in calendar years, not the 36 months immediately before moving.
An Application on Time: Eligible income alone is insufficient. The applicant must approach the tax office authorised to assess their tax and obtain the EK-1 exemption certificate.
A Turkish national returning after years abroad can potentially qualify under the same tests. Citizenship, a Residence Permit or a property purchase does not establish eligibility. The decisive questions concern tax residence, prior domicile and liability, the origin of the income, and the certificate.
Application Deadlines: Why the EK-1 Certificate is Essential
Most applicants must apply by the end of the calendar year in which they first become Turkish resident. Someone who becomes resident in November or December has until the end of February of the following year.
First Year and Timing of Turkish Residence
Application Deadline Under Communiqué No. 333
January to October 2026
31 December 2026
November or December 2026
End of February 2027
January to October in a later year
31 December of that year
November or December in a later year
End of February of the next year
For Example:An individual became Turkish resident on 2 March 2028 and met the preceding-year conditions – but waited until 1 May 2030 to apply. The tax office refused the certificate because the application was after the 31 December 2028 deadline.
Which Income is Exempt and Which is Still Taxed?
The rule concerns income and gains earned outside Turkey. GİB's examples explicitly cover foreign company dividends and rent from a property abroad. The statutory wording also extends to qualifying foreign gains and other foreign-source income, subject to correctly establishing where each item is earned. A payment arriving from overseas is not, on its own, proof that the income arose overseas.
Income or Activity
Treatment for a Certificate Holder
Dividend from a company resident abroad
Within the exemption
Rent from a property located abroad
Within the exemption
Gain on a qualifying investment outside Turkey
Potentially within the exemption if genuinely foreign-source
Pay for employment duties performed abroad for a foreign employer
Potentially within scope, subject to the employment facts and applicable treaty
Rent from a property in Turkey
Outside the exemption
Dividend from a Turkish company
Outside the exemption
Professional services performed in Turkey for overseas clients
Outside the exemption
For Example: An engineer working in Turkey who advises clients resident abroad on investments in Turkey. His professional income is not exempt because the services are performed in Turkey. Foreign clients and overseas payment cannot turn Turkish work into foreign-source income.
Qualifying foreign income does not require an annual Turkish income tax return. If the person files a return for taxable Turkish income, the exempt foreign items are excluded from it. Expenses and costs connected to exempt income cannot be used to reduce taxable income, and foreign tax paid on exempt income cannot be credited against Turkish income tax on other income.
Practical Examples: Who Could Qualify?
1. A British Retiree Moving in August 2026: She had no Turkish domicile or disqualifying tax liability in 2023 to 2025. She receives rent from a UK flat and dividends from foreign companies. If she becomes Turkish resident, applies by 31 December 2026 and receives EK-1, those qualifying foreign items fall within the 20-year exemption.
2. A Turkish Citizen Returning from Germany: He has lived and worked abroad throughout 2023 to 2025 and becomes resident in Turkey in September 2026. His Turkish citizenship does not stop an application. Foreign investment income can qualify if he meets the other tests and applies before the end of 2026.
3. An Overseas Landlord with Turkish Rent: She declared rent from an Istanbul apartment in 2025 while living abroad, then becomes resident in 2026. GİB permits prior Turkish rental liability of this type. Future rent from the Istanbul property remains taxable under the ordinary Turkish rules; qualifying income from property abroad may be exempt.
Practical Examples: Who Would Not Qualify?
1. A Former Turkish Employee: He earned salary from a Turkish employer in 2024 and first becomes resident in 2026. Prior Turkish salary falls outside the permitted rental, investment-income, and capital-gain exceptions. GİB denies a certificate even though the earlier salary came from one employer and was subject to withholding.
2. A Person with a Turkish Business: She carried on a taxable business in Turkey during one of the three preceding calendar years – GİB refuses the certificate. Starting a Turkish business after becoming resident is different: a person who starts retail trading in the year of arrival and can still obtain the certificate if the earlier years were clear.
3. A Person who Left Too Recently: He had a Turkish domicile in 2024, left in November and returned in 2027. The 2024 calendar year remains within the 2024 to 2026 review period. GİB refuses the certificate in this type of example.
4. An Eligible Person who Misses the Deadline: She satisfies the residence and prior-year conditions but files for exemption after the required year-end deadline. The certificate is refused on timing alone.
How the Tax Office Reviews an Application
The applicant applies to the tax office with assessment authority for the EK-1 certificate. The office checks whether the applicant is resident in Turkey, whether there was a Turkish domicile or relevant tax liability in the preceding three calendar years, and whether the application was made on time. A certificate is issued when the conditions are established. An issued certificate is not protection against a later finding.
For Example: An applicant received EK-1 in December 2026. A 2027 review uncovered undeclared Turkish business activity relating to 2025 and 2026. The certificate was cancelled retrospectively, and unpaid tax on previously excluded foreign income became recoverable with a tax-loss penalty and late-payment interest.
Does the Exemption Affect Inheritance Tax or Foreign Reporting?
Law No. 7582 contains a separate inheritance-tax provision. During the 20-year exemption period, the tax rate on inheritance transfers involving those benefiting from the exemption is 1%. This is a distinct provision from the income tax exemption and should be assessed against the facts of an actual estate.
What this Means for a Move to Turkey
The September guide makes the opportunity more tangible, but it also makes the application risk impossible to ignore. A qualifying new resident can exclude foreign-source income from Turkish income tax for 20 years, yet a missed EK-1 deadline can defeat a claim. Turkish income remains within the normal tax system.
For a family considering a home in Istanbul, Bodrum, or elsewhere in Turkey, tax planning should begin with the estimated residence date, prior three calendar years, and income sources. Property Turkey can help identify a home suited to the move and coordinate the practical property steps. Our legal and Turkish tax specialists can assist with the exemption and certificate application before a deadline passes.
FAQs: GİB’s Guide to the Exemption
Q: Is the 20-year Turkish income tax exemption automatic?
A: No. A qualifying new resident must apply to the competent tax office within the applicable deadline and obtain the EK-1 exemption certificate.
Q: I became Turkish resident in 2026. When must I apply?
A: If you became resident from January through October, apply by 31 December 2026. If you first became resident in November or December, the deadline is the end of February 2027.
Q: Does an earlier Turkish rental property disqualify me?
A: Not necessarily. The law allows prior liability from Turkish rental income, investment income, or capital gains, provided the other conditions are met.
Q: Can a returning Turkish citizen claim the exemption?
A: Yes. A returning citizen must have become Turkish resident from 1 January 2026, satisfy the preceding three-calendar-year domicile and tax-liability tests, and obtain the certificate on time.
Q: Is remote work from Turkey for overseas clients exempt?
A: Do not assume so. Employment and other remote arrangements require a review of where the work is performed, the income classification, and any applicable treaty.
Q: Does the exemption remove tax in my home country?
A: No. Article 20/D concerns Turkish income tax on qualifying foreign income. Another country may tax income under its own rules.
Cameron Deggin Founder & CEO, Property Turkey
Cameron Deggin is Founder and CEO of Property Turkey. A former finance professional and FCCA-qualified accountant, he founded the company in 2001 after recognising Turkey’s investment potential. With more than two decades analysing Turkish real estate, Cameron regularly advises international investors and is quoted by media including the Financial Times and BBC.
By:
Founder & CEO, Property Turkey
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