In Türkiye, a private individual who sells real estate within five years of the title deed registration pays income tax on the gain (değer artış kazancı) under Mükerrer Article 80 of the Income Tax Law, Law No. 193. The cost is indexed to the producer price index if it rose at least 10%, the first 150,000 Turkish Lira of gains in 2026 is exempt, and the rest is taxed at 15% to 40%. Residents declare in March of the following year; most sellers living abroad file a special return within 15 days. Sales after five full years and inherited property are outside the tax.
Many foreigners who bought property in Türkiye over the last decade, often for a residence permit or for citizenship, are now selling, and the first question is how much tax the sale will cost. Türkiye has no separate capital gains tax statute. The gain is a değer artış kazancı, a value increase gain, taxed as personal income under the Income Tax Law, Law No. 193, mainly through Mükerrer Article 80 and Mükerrer Article 81. For 2026, the first 150,000 Turkish Lira of such gains is exempt, the rate scale runs from 15% to 40%, and the five year rule for real estate remains in force for every property, whatever its purchase date. This guide explains when a sale is taxable, how the gain is measured, how and when it is declared, how the rules apply to sellers who live abroad, and how shares and other assets are treated. To see the figures for your own sale, you can run them through our capital gains tax calculator alongside this guide.
Mükerrer Article 80 lists the disposals that produce a value increase gain. For individuals, the most important are gains from the disposal of securities and other capital market instruments, partnership interests, certain rights, and real estate and ships disposed of within five years of acquisition. The gain is added to the seller's other declarable income for the year and taxed at the progressive rates in Article 103.
The article defines disposal, elden çıkarma, broadly: it covers a sale, any transfer for consideration, an exchange, expropriation, nationalisation and contribution of the asset as capital to a commercial company. A gift or an inheritance received is not a disposal for consideration, which is why inherited property is treated differently (section 3.1 below).
Value increase gains must be distinguished from commercial income. An individual who buys and sells property as a business, or a company that owns property, is taxed under the rules on business income, where the five year rule and the annual exemption do not apply. This guide is written for private individuals selling their own assets.
Under paragraph 6 of Mükerrer Article 80, gains from the disposal of land, buildings, rights registered as immovable property and ships, among the assets listed in Article 70, are taxable if the disposal takes place within five years of acquisition, whatever the way in which the asset was acquired, except gratuitous acquisition. A sale after five full years is outside the scope of the value increase gain rules altogether, so a private seller owes no income tax on it, however large the profit.
The Revenue Administration counts the five years in calendar days from the acquisition date. Under Article 705 of the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721, ownership of immovable property is acquired by registration, so the acquisition date is normally the date the title deed was registered in your name, not the date of a sales contract or of the first payment. A flat registered on 20 October 2023 therefore falls outside the tax only once the fifth anniversary of that registration has passed in October 2028.
The Revenue Administration's guidance, set out in Income Tax Circular No. 76, accepts some exceptions. Where a property bought from a housing cooperative, the Housing Development Administration or another seller was handed over ready for use before registration, and the owner can prove actual use with handover records or water, electricity and gas bills, the date of actual use counts. Flats received from a contractor in exchange for land (kat karşılığı, a flat for land arrangement) are a new acquisition, dated at their registration, and land that is converted into building plots by the municipality is treated as acquired on the date of that change of type.
We are frequently asked whether the five year rule was abolished for property bought from 1 January 2025. At the date of writing, 28 October 2026, it has not been. The consolidated text of Law No. 193 published on mevzuat.gov.tr, which incorporates amendments up to Law No. 7587 in force from 1 July 2026, still contains the five year rule in paragraph 6 of Mükerrer Article 80 with no distinction based on the purchase date, and the Revenue Administration applies it in the same way to all acquisitions. Proposals for a new income tax code, including the taxation of gains on property held for longer than five years, have been reported in the press, but they are not law. Because tax rules can change quickly, the position should be checked again shortly before any sale.
Paragraph 6 excludes assets acquired gratuitously, ivazsız, which covers inheritance and gifts. A flat inherited in 2024 and sold in 2026 therefore produces no value increase gain, even though it was held for less than five years. According to the Revenue Administration, this character also survives a flat for land arrangement on inherited land: a flat received from the contractor in exchange for an inherited plot can be sold without value increase tax. Inheritance and transfer tax under Law No. 7338 is a separate matter, discussed in our guide to selling inherited property in Türkiye.
The Revenue Administration treats property dealing as commercial activity where there is continuity, shown by several sales in the same year or sales in consecutive years, an intention to make a profit, and an organisation such as an office, staff or a trade registration. Land bought and divided into parcels within five years is also treated as commercial. In those cases the gain is business income, taxed whatever the holding period, and VAT may also arise. Foreign investors who buy several units in a project with a view to resale should take this risk into account at the outset.
Under Mükerrer Article 81, the net gain is the sale price less the cost of the asset, the expenses of the disposal borne by the seller and the taxes and fees the seller paid, such as the seller's share of the title deed fee. If the cost cannot be established, the value fixed by an assessment commission under the Tax Procedure Law is used instead.
The same article allows the acquisition cost to be increased by the rise in the domestic producer price index (Yİ-ÜFE) published by the Turkish Statistical Institute, excluding the month of disposal, provided the rise is at least 10%. In its examples, the Revenue Administration compares the index for the month before acquisition with the index for the month before the sale. With Turkish inflation as it has been since 2021, indexation often removes a large part of a nominal lira gain.
The calculation starts from documented prices. Where a buyer declared a purchase price in the title deed lower than the price actually paid, the low figure tends to come back on sale as a lower cost and a higher taxable gain, quite apart from the other risks described in our article on under declaring the title deed value. Bank transfer records, foreign currency conversion certificates and the purchase contract are the evidence of the real cost.
Rather than repeat the arithmetic here, we recommend running your figures through our capital gains tax calculator. It applies the index test, the exemption for the year of sale and the progressive rates, and shows whether a return is needed.
The third paragraph of Mükerrer Article 80 exempts part of the value increase gains earned in a calendar year. The amount is updated each year by an Income Tax General Communiqué. For 2026 it is 150,000 Turkish Lira, set by Communiqué Serial No. 332 published in the Official Gazette of 31 December 2025. For comparison, the amount was 120,000 Turkish Lira for 2025 and 87,000 Turkish Lira for 2024.
Three points are often misunderstood. The exemption applies to the total of the year's value increase gains, not to each sale. It does not apply to gains from securities and other capital market instruments. And it is deducted from the gain; if the net gain is below the amount, no return is needed for it, while if it is above, the whole gain is declared and the exemption deducted in the return.
A taxable gain is added to the seller's other declarable income for the same year, such as rental income, and the total is taxed under the Article 103 scale for the year in which the gain was made. The 2026 scale, as updated by Communiqué Serial No. 332, is shown below for income other than wages. Gains made in 2025 are taxed under the 2025 scale set by Communiqué Serial No. 329.
| Taxable Income in 2026 (non wage income) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 190,000 Turkish Lira | 15% |
| 190,000 to 400,000 Turkish Lira | 20% on the excess (28,500 Turkish Lira on the first 190,000) |
| 400,000 to 1,000,000 Turkish Lira | 27% on the excess (70,500 Turkish Lira on the first 400,000) |
| 1,000,000 to 5,300,000 Turkish Lira | 35% on the excess (232,500 Turkish Lira on the first 1,000,000) |
| Above 5,300,000 Turkish Lira | 40% on the excess (1,737,500 Turkish Lira on the first 5,300,000) |
| Annual exemption for value increase gains (2026) | 150,000 Turkish Lira, deducted before the scale is applied |
| Real estate held more than five years | Outside the tax for a private seller |
Because the scale is progressive, a large gain in a single year can reach the 35% or 40% band even for a seller with no other Turkish income. Spreading sales over different calendar years means each year has its own exemption and starts again at the bottom of the scale.
Under Article 92, the annual income tax return for a calendar year is filed in March of the following year. The statute says by 25 March, but in recent years the Revenue Administration has set the filing period to run until the end of March; the 2024 returns, for example, could be filed from 1 March to 2 April 2025 because of public holidays. A gain made in 2026 is therefore declared in March 2027.
Most individuals file through the Revenue Administration's prepared return system (Hazır Beyan), which foreigners can access with their foreign identity number, and residents abroad can obtain e-Devlet credentials through Turkish consulates. Under Article 117, the tax is paid in two equal instalments in March and July, and a small stamp duty is charged on the return. Someone who leaves Türkiye permanently during the year must file within the 15 days before departure. A loss on such a sale cannot be set against other types of income, such as rent or salary.
Under Articles 3 and 4 of Law No. 193, an individual whose domicile is in Türkiye, or who stays in Türkiye continuously for more than six months in a calendar year, is a full taxpayer, and temporary absences do not interrupt the stay. Article 5 excludes foreigners who come for a specific temporary assignment, or for study, medical treatment, rest or travel. Everyone else is a limited taxpayer, taxed only on Turkish source income, which includes a gain on property located in Türkiye. Our guide to tax residency in Türkiye explains the test in detail.
Article 101 requires limited taxpayers who are not obliged to file an annual return to declare gains from the disposal of real estate on a special return (münferit beyanname), filed with the tax office where the property is located within 15 days of the date the gain is earned. The tax is paid within the same period. This is a much shorter deadline than the March return for residents, and it is the one sellers living abroad most often miss.
Türkiye's double taxation treaties generally follow the OECD model, which allows the country where real property is located to tax gains on its sale. The seller's home country may tax the same gain and give a credit for the Turkish tax, so the Turkish return and payment receipt should be kept for the home country filing.
Paragraph 1 of Mükerrer Article 80 taxes gains from the disposal of securities and other capital market instruments, except those acquired gratuitously and shares of full taxpayer corporations held for more than two years. Gains on shares traded on Borsa Istanbul are, in most cases, taxed through withholding by banks and intermediaries under Provisional Article 67 rather than through the annual return. The detailed treatment of listed and foreign shares is covered in our guide to tax on Turkish and foreign stocks for foreigners.
Paragraph 4 separately taxes gains from the disposal of partnership interests. The two year exemption is written for share certificates, and in practice the Revenue Administration does not extend it to shares in a limited company, because they are partnership interests rather than share certificates; this is a frequent point of dispute when limited company shares are sold. Paragraph 6 applies the five year rule to ships and shares in ships as well as to real estate, and other paragraphs cover the disposal of certain rights, copyrights by people other than their authors, and businesses that have ceased trading.
A few checks before signing at the title deed office save most of the problems we see:
Capital gains tax is separate from the annual property tax (emlak vergisi) charged under the Real Estate Tax Law, Law No. 1319, which every owner pays each year whether or not they sell; you can estimate that with our property tax calculator. Where the figures are large or the facts unusual, such as several sales, a company structure or a seller resident in a treaty country, our tax law team can review the position before the sale.
Yes, a private individual who sells real estate within five years of acquisition pays income tax on the gain under Mükerrer Article 80 of Law No. 193. A sale after five full years is outside the tax.
The first 150,000 Turkish Lira of value increase gains earned in 2026 is exempt, under Income Tax General Communiqué Serial No. 332. The amount was 120,000 Turkish Lira for 2025.
Yes, at the date of writing the five year rule applies regardless of the purchase date. Proposals to change it have been reported but have not been enacted.
From the date the title deed was registered in your name, counted in calendar days. The date of documented actual use can apply where a cooperative or similar property was handed over before registration.
The gain is taxed at the progressive income tax rates of 15% to 40%, together with your other declarable income for that year. In 2026, the 40% rate applies to income above 5,300,000 Turkish Lira.
Yes, the acquisition cost is increased by the rise in the domestic producer price index, excluding the month of sale, if the rise is at least 10%. Our capital gains tax calculator applies this automatically.
No value increase tax arises, because inherited and gifted assets are excluded from paragraph 6 of Mükerrer Article 80. Inheritance and transfer tax is a separate question.
Yes, expenses of the disposal borne by the seller and the taxes and fees the seller paid are deducted under Mükerrer Article 81. Keep invoices and receipts as evidence.
Residents declare it in the annual return filed in March of the following year and pay in two instalments in March and July. Non-residents without an annual return obligation file a special return within 15 days of the sale.
No, it applies once to the total value increase gains of a calendar year. Two sales in the same year share one exemption.
Yes, a gain on property located in Türkiye is Turkish source income taxable as a limited taxpayer. Your home country may also tax it and give a credit under a treaty.
No, shares of Turkish corporations held for more than two years are exempt, and gains on listed shares are mostly taxed by withholding under Provisional Article 67. Limited company shares are treated as partnership interests.
Frequent sales can be treated as commercial activity, in which case the gain is business income taxed regardless of the holding period. The assessment depends on the number of sales, the profit motive and any business organisation.
The tax office can assess the tax with a tax loss penalty and late payment interest, and title deed records make sales easy to trace. Declaring late on your own initiative, before any inspection starts, allows use of the voluntary disclosure procedure (pişmanlık) of the Tax Procedure Law, which limits the consequences.
Capital gains on property in Türkiye are taxed as value increase gains under Law No. 193: a private seller who disposes of real estate within five years of the title deed registration pays income tax on the indexed gain above the annual exemption of 150,000 Turkish Lira for 2026, at rates of 15% to 40%, declared in March of the following year or, for most sellers living abroad, on a special return within 15 days. After five full years, and for inherited or gifted property, no value increase tax arises, and the rule currently applies in the same way to property bought before and after 1 January 2025.
If you are planning a sale, want the gain and the filing obligation checked in advance, or need a return filed on your behalf from abroad, you can contact our legal team.
