Withholding tax in Turkey, commonly called stopaj or tevkifat, is a method of collecting tax at source. A Turkish payer may have to deduct tax when a payment is made or credited and remit that amount to the tax authority. The key point is that stopaj is not one universal tax rate: the result depends on the type of payment, the recipient, tax residence, the legal basis and, for cross-border payments, any applicable double taxation treaty.
For a business, the useful starting question is broader than simply ‘What is the stopaj rate?’ Identify who is being paid, what is being paid for, which Turkish tax provision applies, and whether a treaty or special rule changes the domestic result.
What Does Stopaj Mean in Turkey?
Stopaj is the Turkish business term commonly used for tax withheld at source. Under the Income Tax Law and Corporate Tax Law, specified payers are responsible for withholding tax from specified payments and declaring and remitting it to the Revenue Administration.
Withholding can operate differently depending on the income. In some cases it is creditable against the recipient’s final income or corporate tax. In other cases it can be final, subject to special filing rules, or modified by a tax treaty. It is therefore inaccurate to describe every withholding amount as merely an advance payment of the recipient’s final tax.
Use the Turkey tax overview when you need to identify which tax follows a transaction. This guide explains the narrower decision: whether a payment creates an income or corporate withholding obligation and how the payer should control it.
The Five Questions to Ask Before Applying Withholding Tax
- Who is the payer? Confirm whether the person or entity making the payment is within the statutory group required to withhold.
- Who is the recipient? An individual professional, an individual landlord, a Turkish company and a non-resident company can produce different results even when the payment description looks similar.
- What is the payment for? Professional services, rent, dividends, royalties, interest, construction progress payments and financial-investment income do not share one rate.
- Is the recipient resident or non-resident? Cross-border payments can bring Corporate Tax Law Article 30, Income Tax Law rules and a double taxation treaty into the analysis.
- What evidence supports the rate? Keep the invoice or receipt, contract, residency evidence, treaty analysis, calculation and declaration record together.
This sequence prevents one of the most common errors in Turkish tax content: applying a familiar percentage to a transaction without first classifying the payer, recipient and income.
Build tax and payment controls into your Turkey company setup from the start.
Common 2026 Withholding Situations
The table below is a classification guide, not a substitute for transaction-specific advice. Rates and treatment should always be checked against the current rule and the recipient’s status before payment.
| Payment |
Typical domestic starting point |
Main control |
| Payment to a resident independent professional |
Generally 20%; qualifying Income Tax Law Article 18 payments use 17% |
Confirm that the income is actually self-employment income and identify any special rule. |
| Business-premises rent paid to an individual landlord |
Generally 20% where the Income Tax Law withholding rule applies |
Do not assume the same result when the landlord is a company or the legal nature of the property or right is different. |
| Ordinary service invoice from a resident Turkish company |
No general 20% income-tax withholding merely because the invoice is for consulting or another service |
Check specific statutory exceptions and separately review VAT or VAT-withholding rules. |
| Dividend distributed to an individual or qualifying non-resident recipient |
15% domestic withholding is a common current starting point |
Confirm recipient type and whether a treaty reduces the Turkish rate. |
| Payment to a non-resident company |
Varies by income category and treaty position |
Classify services, royalties, interest, rent and other income before selecting any rate. |
| Employee salaries |
No single flat rate; withholding follows the progressive Income Tax Law tariff, subject to the monthly minimum-wage income-tax exemption and any applicable special wage exemption |
Run salary withholding through payroll; do not reuse professional-service or rent withholding rates. |
| Covered payments by e-commerce intermediary or marketplace operators to sellers/service providers |
1% under the current e-commerce withholding regime where the statutory scope applies |
Confirm the payer/payee roles and scope under Law No. 6563 and the current withholding rules; not every online sale or direct payment is covered. |
| Bank deposits, funds, bonds and other investment income |
Product- and acquisition-date-specific rules can change frequently |
Use the current temporary Article 67 and Presidential Decision treatment rather than a static blog table. |
Employee salary withholding
Employee wage withholding is calculated through payroll, not by applying a flat stopaj percentage. For 2026, wages are taxed under Income Tax Law Articles 103 and 104 using the progressive tariff as the employee’s cumulative taxable wage base moves through the brackets. The monthly minimum-wage income-tax exemption under Article 23(18), together with any other applicable wage exemption, must be reflected in the payroll calculation. The Revenue Administration’s current withholding-rate table therefore points wage payments to Articles 103 and 104 rather than assigning one fixed percentage.
For foreign-owned companies, salary, remuneration that is legally treated as wage, and independent-contractor payments should not be grouped under one withholding rate. First classify the legal relationship, then apply the correct payroll or professional-services treatment.
E-commerce intermediary payments
Since 1 January 2025, Income Tax Law Article 94/19 applies a 1% withholding rate to covered payments made by intermediary service providers and e-commerce intermediary service providers, under Law No. 6563, to service providers and e-commerce service providers for payments they intermediate. The 1% rule is triggered by the statutory payer/payee and intermediation relationship; it should not be applied simply because a sale was placed online.
Before withholding, confirm who receives the customer payment, who remits funds to the seller, whether the parties fall within the Law No. 6563 definitions, and whether the payment is one of the intermediary payments covered by the rule. The Revenue Administration’s current Income Tax Law Article 94 withholding-rate table lists Article 94/19 at 1%.
Resident professional service payments
Current Revenue Administration material confirms a 17% withholding rate for qualifying Income Tax Law Article 18 activities and 20% for other self-employment payments. The word ‘consulting’ alone does not decide the answer. First determine whether the recipient is a self-employed individual, a company, an employee, or another type of taxpayer.
This distinction matters in practice. A Turkish limited company paying an individual consultant can face a different withholding result from the same company buying an ordinary consulting service from another resident limited company. Do not copy the individual-professional rate onto every B2B service invoice.
Commercial rent
Where a business pays workplace rent to an individual landlord and the relevant Income Tax Law rule applies, 20% is the common domestic withholding rate. But the landlord’s tax status matters. A lease from a corporate landlord should not automatically be treated like rent paid to an individual.
The contract should also make clear whether the quoted rent is gross or net of withholding. A net-rent clause can require gross-up work, so the agreement and accounting calculation should be reviewed together before the first payment. For the contract, deposit, rent-increase, premises and licence layer, use the commercial lease agreement in Turkey guide.
Dividends
For 2026, 15% is the general domestic withholding rate relevant to many dividend distributions to individuals and non-resident corporate recipients. A double taxation treaty may provide a lower ceiling when its conditions are satisfied. Dividend treatment is separate from the company’s own corporate-income-tax calculation; for that layer, use the corporate tax in Turkey guide.
Payments to Foreign Companies: Classify the Payment Before Selecting the Rate
Cross-border payments are where a generic stopaj table becomes most dangerous. For a Turkish company paying a foreign company, the analysis can involve Corporate Tax Law Article 30, the source and legal character of the income, permanent-establishment or service-presence questions, and the relevant double taxation treaty.
Before paying an overseas supplier, classify the payment into one of the relevant buckets:
- ordinary business or professional services;
- royalties or payments for intellectual-property rights;
- interest and financing payments;
- rent or payments for rights;
- dividends or branch-profit remittances; or
- another specifically regulated income category.
The Revenue Administration’s 2026 corporate-tax materials confirm that payments to limited taxpayers can be subject to corporate withholding under Article 30. But the correct domestic rate is only the first layer. A treaty can allocate taxing rights differently or cap the Turkish tax.
Why the contract description is not enough
A line item called ‘management fee’, ‘software fee’, ‘technical support’ or ‘licence’ does not settle the tax treatment. The underlying rights and services matter. For example, a payment for a standard service can be analysed differently from a payment that transfers or permits the use of intellectual property.
For related-party payments, also consider transfer-pricing support and the commercial substance of the charge. Withholding is one part of the payment-control file, not the entire tax analysis.
How Double Taxation Treaties Change Stopaj
Turkey has a broad network of double taxation treaties. A treaty can reduce a domestic withholding rate or, depending on the income and facts, restrict Turkey’s taxing right. But treaty relief is not automatic merely because the payee is foreign.
For a treaty review, document at least:
- the payee’s country of tax residence;
- the correct treaty and income article;
- whether the payee is the relevant beneficial owner where the treaty requires it;
- whether a permanent establishment, fixed base, service-duration threshold or similar condition changes the allocation; and
- the residency certificate and any required Turkish procedural evidence.
Revenue Administration guidance requires residency evidence when treaty provisions are relied upon. If the required evidence is not available, the payer should not assume that a lower treaty rate can simply be used.
How and When Withholding Is Declared in 2026
Income- and corporate-tax withholdings under Income Tax Law Article 94 and Corporate Tax Law Articles 15 and 30 are generally reported through the Muhtasar ve Prim Hizmet Beyannamesi workflow. The live Revenue Administration tax calendar shows the ordinary monthly declaration and payment deadline as the 26th day of the following month; when the statutory date falls on a non-working day, the calendar may show the next working day.
There is also a three-month filing route for taxpayers who meet the conditions in Income Tax Law Article 98(3). Do not reduce that eligibility test to a single employee-count sentence. Confirm that the taxpayer actually satisfies the statutory conditions before using a quarterly cycle.
Deadlines can also be extended by Revenue Administration circulars. In May 2026, for example, the filing and payment period for several returns including the withholding/social-security return was extended. The operating control should therefore be:
- identify the applicable monthly or qualifying quarterly period;
- check the current Revenue Administration tax calendar;
- check whether a current circular has extended the period;
- reconcile the return to the general ledger and payment records; and
- retain the filed return and payment receipt.
For a broader recurring-compliance map, use the Turkey company compliance checklist. Payroll withholding belongs to the payroll workflow, so employment payments should also be coordinated with the Turkey payroll setup guide.
Stopaj Is Not the Same as VAT Withholding
Turkey also uses VAT withholding (KDV tevkifatı) for specific transactions. It is a different mechanism with a different legal basis, scope, rate structure and declaration treatment. The fact that a payment is subject to income or corporate withholding does not automatically mean VAT withholding applies, and the reverse is also true.
For imported services, a transaction can require a separate VAT analysis in addition to any income or corporate withholding review. Use the VAT withholding in Turkey guide for that separate decision.
Stopaj is also separate from stamp tax (damga vergisi). Stopaj is a source-deduction mechanism on specified payments; stamp tax is a separate documentary-tax analysis for qualifying papers. The same commercial relationship can therefore require a stopaj review and a separate stamp-tax review without the two taxes being interchangeable. Use the 2026 Damga Vergisi guide for that document-level decision.
A Practical Pre-Payment Control for Turkish Companies
- Who is the legal recipient and what is its tax-residence status?
- Is the recipient an individual professional, landlord, Turkish company or non-resident company?
- What is the exact legal and commercial nature of the payment?
- Which provision creates the withholding obligation?
- What rate applies on the payment date?
- Does a treaty reduce or eliminate the domestic result?
- Is the residency and treaty evidence complete before payment?
- Is VAT or VAT withholding a separate issue?
- Which declaration period and deadline applies?
- Are the calculation, filing and payment receipt stored with the transaction?
This control is especially useful for foreign-owned companies because cross-border management fees, software or licence costs, shareholder payments and overseas professional services can look commercially routine while carrying different Turkish tax consequences.
Official Sources to Check
How Workon Supports Foreign-Owned Companies
Workon helps foreign founders organise the operational side of company setup and ongoing compliance: company formation, registered-address and office solutions, document workflows, payment controls and coordination with licensed Turkish accounting professionals. Tax classification, treaty application and filing positions should be confirmed by the company’s licensed Turkish CPA/SMMM or other appropriately qualified adviser for the actual transaction.
If you are establishing a Turkish entity, start with the Workon company registration service and build the withholding checklist into your first accounting and payment procedures.
Stopaj is tax collected at source when a payer is required by law to deduct tax from a specified payment and remit it to the Revenue Administration. There is no single universal rate: the result depends on the payer, recipient, payment type, tax residence and any applicable treaty or special rule.
No. Payments to a resident self-employed individual can have a different withholding treatment from an ordinary service invoice issued by a resident Turkish company. The recipient’s legal and tax status and the nature of the payment must be classified before applying a rate.
No. The 1% rule applies to covered intermediary payments under Income Tax Law Article 94\/19 where the payer and recipient fall within the statutory e-commerce intermediation framework under Law No. 6563. The payment flow and the parties’ legal roles should be checked; a sale is not subject to this rule merely because it was placed online.
Where the Income Tax Law withholding rule applies, 20% is a common domestic starting point for workplace rent paid to an individual landlord. The result can differ when the landlord is a company or the payment concerns a different type of property or right.
Classify the payment as services, royalties, interest, rent, dividends, branch-profit remittance or another category; determine the recipient’s residence and any permanent-establishment issues; then test the domestic withholding rule and the applicable double-tax treaty. Treaty relief should not be used without the required evidence.
No. Income or corporate withholding and KDV tevkifatı are separate tax mechanisms with different legal bases, scopes, rates and declaration rules. A transaction can require one, both or neither depending on its facts.
Income and corporate withholdings are generally reported through the Muhtasar ve Prim Hizmet Beyannamesi under the applicable monthly or qualifying quarterly cycle. The live Revenue Administration calendar and any current deadline extension should be checked for the actual period.
Note: Last reviewed 17 September 2026. This guide provides general operational information on Turkish withholding tax. Workon coordinates the company’s accounting and payment-control workflow with the licensed SMMM/CPA or other appropriately qualified tax professional according to the payer, recipient and transaction.
