Türkiye’s Investment Incentives in 2025–2026: A Practical Guide for International Entrepreneurs

Türkiye has built one of the more competitive tax and incentive frameworks available to foreign investors. The system combines personal income tax exemptions, corporate tax reductions, and direct investment support — with the Istanbul Financial Center and a new category of qualified service centres playing a central role from 2026 onward. This article covers what is actually in force as of June 2026, with clear notes where measures are still pending or require verification.

1. Personal Income Tax: What Foreign and Returning Residents Can Benefit From

20-year exemption on foreign income — enacted

Law No. 7582, published on 4 June 2026, introduced a 20-year personal income tax exemption for individuals relocating to Türkiye. To qualify, you must become a Turkish tax resident without having had a domicile or tax residency in Türkiye in the three preceding calendar years. Once you qualify, all foreign-sourced income and gains are completely outside the Turkish income tax base for 20 years. You do not need to declare this income in Turkish filings, and no Turkish tax liability arises on it.

The exemption applies to income from 1 January 2026 for those treated as resident from that year. Relocating to Türkiye in 2026 is not too late — the full year is covered, provided the three-year look-back is clean. For entrepreneurs, fund managers, or business owners who want to base themselves in Türkiye while keeping investments and operations abroad, this works similarly to the “non-dom” regimes in the UK, Italy, or Greece — but for a longer period.

1% inheritance tax on overseas assets — enacted

As a companion to the income exemption, Law No. 7582 also reduced the inheritance tax rate on overseas assets for qualifying individuals to 1% during the exemption period. The standard Turkish inheritance tax follows a progressive scale that rises into double digits on larger estates, so this is a meaningful reduction for anyone with significant assets abroad.

Income tax benefits for staff at qualified service centres and the Istanbul Financial Center — enacted

Companies that set up qualified service centres or operate within the Istanbul Financial Center can offer their employees income tax relief:

• Salaries up to three times the gross minimum wage are income-tax-exempt in standard zones
• In the Istanbul Financial Center or designated industrial zones, that threshold rises to five times the minimum wage

For multinationals building service centres, regional headquarters, or research and development teams in Türkiye, this meaningfully reduces employment costs.

Stock options for technology startups — enacted

Technology companies certified by the Ministry of Industry and Technology can offer employees equity with a tax benefit: share or stock values up to twice the employee’s annual gross salary are exempt from income tax at grant. If shares are sold before the minimum holding period is met, the exemption is withdrawn. This allows both foreign and Turkish tech companies to run proper equity programmes for their teams.

2. Corporate Tax: What Passed and What Did Not

Istanbul Financial Center and qualified service centres — enacted

For companies operating within the Istanbul Financial Center or approved zones, the corporate tax picture looks very different from the standard 25% rate:

• Profits from transit trade — buying goods abroad and selling them abroad without bringing them into Türkiye — can be deducted at 95%, rising to 100% for Istanbul Financial Center participants
• Qualified service centres serving foreign clients in multiple countries receive the same 95–100% deduction on qualifying earnings, for 20 accounting periods
• Financial institutions licensed within the Istanbul Financial Center benefit from a 100% corporate tax exemption now extended until 2047

For cross-border operations structured correctly, this brings the effective corporate tax rate close to zero.

12.5% rate for manufacturers — enacted, applies from 2027

Law No. 7582 introduced a 12.5% corporate tax rate on production earnings for companies holding an industrial registration certificate and actively engaged in manufacturing or agricultural production. This rate applies from the 2027 tax period — not 2026. It roughly halves the effective rate on production income compared to the standard 25%, but applies only to production earnings. Financial income and other non-production revenues remain at the general rate, which is why clean separation of income streams in the accounts matters.

9% and 14% export rates — not enacted

The 9% rate for manufacturer-exporters and the 14% rate for other exporters, which were prominently announced in April 2026, did not make it into Law No. 7582. They may appear in future legislation, but as of June 2026 they are policy intentions, not law. Do not plan around these figures.

3. Investment Incentive Certificates: A New System from May 2025

This is an area where the original article was out of date. In May 2025, Türkiye completely overhauled its investment incentive system through Presidential Decree No. 9903, abolishing the previous framework that had been in place since 2012.

The new system is built around three main categories: the “Century of Türkiye” Development Initiative, Sectoral Incentive Mechanisms, and Regional Incentives.

The “Century of Türkiye” Development Initiative itself has three components:

the Technology Initiative Programme, the Local Development Initiative Programme, and the Strategic Initiative Programme.

What this means in practice:

• Investments are now evaluated based on their technological content, sectoral impact, and value-added potential — not just their location
• The six-region model remains in place, with Region 1 being the most developed and Region 6 the least — and the most generous incentives still go to the least developed regions
• A notable difference from the old system is the addition of hardware subsidies and the removal of income tax withholding support
• Qualifying investments may benefit from customs and VAT exemptions on machinery, and subsidies covering up to 25% of equipment costs exceeding 2 million Turkish lira
• Interest or profit share support on investment loans is provided at up to 25% of the Central Bank’s policy interest rate
• Certain strategically important sectors — including data centres, renewable energy manufacturing, defence, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural greenhouses — automatically qualify for fifth-region incentives regardless of where they are located, making them among the most attractive investment categories

For very large investments, the President can authorise custom support packages beyond standard statutory limits, including specialist wage support and energy subsidies for up to 10 years.

Full details and application guidance are at yatirimadestek.gov.tr, Türkiye’s official investment support portal. Applications for incentive certificates are accepted until 31 December 2030.

4. Wealth Amnesty — Enacted, Deadline 31 July 2027

Law No. 7582 introduced a structured wealth amnesty. Individuals and companies may declare money, gold, foreign currency, and securities held abroad or unrecorded in Türkiye by 31 July 2027. The base rate is 5%, reducing to 0% for assets committed to qualifying instruments for five years. Foreign assets must be transferred to a Turkish bank account within two months of declaration. Properly declared assets receive protection from tax audits and penalty assessments.

5. What Was Announced But Not Enacted

Several items from the April 2026 programme did not make it into Law No. 7582:

• The 9% and 14% corporate tax rates for exporters — not enacted
• The increase of the software, engineering, and architecture export deduction from 80% to 100% — not enacted, the deduction remains at 80%
• The investor One-Stop Office, the project-based stabilisation clause for large investments, and the Terminal İstanbul project — programme objectives, not yet legislation

6. How to Structure a Long-Term Presence: Practical Approaches

Combining a regional headquarters with production facilities

A structure that works well for many international investors combines two layers. The first is a headquarters entity in the Istanbul Financial Center or a qualified zone, handling financial management, service exports, and transit trade. The second is a production or logistics facility in one of Türkiye’s incentive-intensive regions. This dual setup can achieve near-zero effective corporate tax on service and transit trade income, while manufacturing operations benefit from customs relief, VAT exemptions, and hardware subsidies under the new 2025 incentive decree.

Relocating founders and senior executives

Founders or senior executives who have not been tax resident in Türkiye for three years can take advantage of the 20-year foreign income exemption upon relocating. Employment contracts structured under Istanbul Financial Center or qualified zone rules unlock salary-based income tax relief, and equity programmes provide an additional tool for attracting senior talent.

Dividend planning and optimising group cash flow

Updated corporate tax rules make it easier to bring profits from foreign subsidiaries into Türkiye without triggering double taxation. The wealth amnesty framework provides a structured path for repatriating offshore reserves into new capital structures in Türkiye with reduced compliance risk.

7. One Important Constraint: The Global Minimum Tax

For large multinational groups with consolidated revenue of 750 million euros or more per year, a global minimum tax of 15% applies. Türkiye enacted this through Law No. 7524 in August 2024. If the effective tax rate in Türkiye falls below 15% due to incentives, the difference is topped up — either in Türkiye or in the parent company’s home country. Companies below the threshold receive the full benefit of the incentives. Those above it should model the incentives against the 15% floor before structuring around them.

Before You Commit: Due Diligence Checklist

• Verify all rates and conditions against enacted legislation — not announcements. The 9% and 14% export rates are a clear example of figures that circulated widely but did not become law
• Consult the Presidency’s Investment Office, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, and yatirimadestek.gov.tr for current regulations and application procedures
• Under the new 2025 incentive decree, eligibility depends heavily on sector, technology level, and investment size — map these carefully before applying
• Get legal and tax advice on Istanbul Financial Center participation, qualified service centre structuring, and the 20-year income exemption before building anything around them
• For the wealth amnesty, act early: the rate structure rewards early declaration, and the two-month repatriation window starts from the date of declaration

Summary

As of June 2026, Türkiye offers a set of genuinely enacted measures for international investors: a 20-year personal income tax exemption for new residents, a 1% inheritance tax rate on overseas assets, near-zero corporate tax for transit trade and qualified service centre activities, a 12.5% manufacturing rate from 2027, a completely redesigned investment incentive system focused on high technology and strategic sectors, and a wealth amnesty running until July 2027. The combination of tax measures, direct grants, and a location connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia makes Türkiye worth serious consideration for entrepreneurs and multinationals looking to establish or expand a regional presence — provided the structure is built on what the law actually says today.