Tax Incentives and Export Support for Manufacturing Exporters in Türkiye: What Changed by 2025–2026

By the end of 2025, Türkiye has put together a serious support system for manufacturing companies that export. It combines tax reductions with direct government grants from the Ministry of Trade. In 2026, a new tax package with lower rates and higher support limits adds another layer. Here is everything an entrepreneur needs to know when considering Türkiye as a base for production or export operations.

1. Corporate Tax: Current Rates and What’s Coming

The standard corporate tax rate in Türkiye is 25%. But for manufacturers and exporters, the picture looks quite different — and it’s getting better.

Who counts as a manufacturer?

To qualify for the reduced manufacturing rates, a company needs two things: a valid industrial registration certificate and active production operations. Profits from production are calculated separately from other business income and taxed at a lower rate.

12.5% rate for manufacturers — confirmed from 2027

Law No. 7582 locks in a 12.5% corporate tax rate on profits from manufacturing and agricultural production, effective from 2027. This is not a proposal — it is already signed into law. For anyone planning to set up a production facility in Türkiye, this gives a reliable long-term number to work with.

One important note: this 12.5% rate cannot be combined with the additional exporter reductions described below. They are separate tracks.

9% for manufacturing exporters — in progress

In April 2026, the government announced the “Türkiye Century – Strong Investment Hub Program” and submitted a draft law to parliament. If passed, it will bring the corporate tax rate on export profits down to:

• 9% for manufacturing exporters
• 14% for non-manufacturing exporters

That’s a reduction of 16 and 11 percentage points respectively from the standard 25% rate. The draft is officially registered and publicly available, but has not yet been enacted.

The same package also includes:

• A 100% corporate tax exemption for qualifying activities within the Istanbul Financial Center
• 95–100% profit exclusions for transit trade operations

20-year foreign income exemption for new residents — proposed

The same draft law includes a measure aimed at internationally mobile entrepreneurs. Anyone who was not a tax resident of Türkiye in the past three years and moves here would pay no Turkish income tax on their foreign-sourced income for 20 years. Inheritance and gift tax on overseas assets would be capped at 1%. If enacted, this would apply to residents from 1 January 2026 onward — a model similar to “non-dom” schemes in the UK, Italy, and Greece.

2. Government Export Grants: What You Can Apply For

The Ministry of Trade runs a broad set of grant programs for exporters. Support limits are updated every year based on inflation. The 2026 figures have been published and are in effect.

Key grants and 2026 limits

E-export and training

There are dedicated programs covering digital marketing costs, logistics, warehousing, and marketplace commissions for companies selling online across borders. In March 2026, the Ministry ran a free online training program on export processes and available support — aimed specifically at smaller companies.

How to use these grants strategically

• Starting out: use market research grants and fair participation to find your first buyers and build contacts
• Scaling up: cover overseas office rent, register your brand abroad, and run promotion campaigns with state co-funding
• Selling to Europe: use the Green Deal adaptation grant to fund carbon audits, energy efficiency upgrades, or traceability systems required under EU regulations

3. Target Markets: Where Türkiye Wants Its Exporters to Go

60 target countries in 2026

The Ministry of Trade publishes an annual list of priority export markets. In 2026, the list expanded from 55 to 60 countries. Key markets include Germany, the US, the UK, France, Italy, China, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and Nigeria. Five countries were added in 2026: Palestine, Hungary, North Macedonia, Slovakia, and Syria.

Being active in target countries means access to stronger state promotion efforts and, in some cases, additional support eligibility.

Export performance in 2025

The government describes 2025 as a record year for Turkish exports, with growth concentrated in high-value manufacturing, defence, agriculture, and technology. The direction for 2026 is more of the same: higher-value products, more markets.

4. How to Put This Together: A Practical Roadmap

Tax structure

• Get an industrial registration certificate and clearly separate production income from trading or service income — this is what unlocks the 12.5% rate
• If you have an investment incentive certificate, combine it with the Article 32/A relief for up to 10 years of reduced corporate tax on qualifying investment projects
• Once the 9% export rate is enacted, make sure export income is tracked separately to apply the lower rate
• If you are building a regional trading or financial hub, look at the Istanbul Financial Center — it offers 0% corporate tax on qualifying income and full exemptions on transit trade profits

Using Ministry grants across the business lifecycle

• Early stage: market research + fair participation
• Growth stage: overseas office rent support + brand registration + promotion grants
• EU market entry: Green Deal adaptation funding
• Online sales: e-export program for digital and logistics costs

Industry networks worth joining

The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) provide sectoral data, cluster access, and direct channels to policy discussions. For companies new to the Turkish market, these are practical entry points.

5. How Türkiye Compares Globally

Standard corporate tax rates in Eastern Europe and Mexico run between 19% and 25%, with special economic zones sometimes bringing effective rates down to 0–15%. Türkiye’s confirmed 12.5% manufacturing rate and the proposed 9% export rate put it squarely in that competitive range — without requiring a special zone location.

What sets Türkiye apart beyond the tax numbers:

• The scale and variety of direct grants for branding and overseas promotion is hard to match in most competing jurisdictions
• Geography: Türkiye sits at the intersection of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with multimodal logistics infrastructure and preferential trade access through the EU Customs Union and multiple free trade agreements

Summary

For a manufacturing company that exports, Türkiye in 2026 offers a combination that is genuinely competitive: a legally confirmed 12.5% tax rate on production income from 2027, a proposed 9% rate on export profits, inflation-adjusted grants covering everything from trade fairs to overseas offices, and a target country framework that opens doors to 60 markets. The pieces are in place — the main task for an entrepreneur is structuring the business correctly to use them.