What Is Damga Vergisi? Turkey Stamp Tax Guide 2026

Damga vergisi means stamp tax (also called stamp duty) in English. In Turkey, it is a tax on specific signed papers and electronically signed documents listed in Schedule 1 to Stamp Tax Law No. 488. It is not a general tax on every agreement, invoice or transaction, and paying it does not create the document’s legal validity.

The practical question is therefore not simply “Is there a contract?” It is: What does this document legally do, is it within Schedule 1, what monetary amount does it contain, and does an exemption or zero rate apply? For 2026, a general agreement containing a monetary amount is commonly subject to 9.48 per thousand (0.948%), while a lease agreement is commonly subject to 1.89 per thousand (0.189%) on the rent for the stated term. Those rates cannot be applied safely until the document and all of its clauses have been classified.

Classify the document before applying a Turkish stamp tax rate.

What Is Damga Vergisi in Turkey?

Under Stamp Tax Law No. 488, a document enters the stamp-tax analysis when it is signed, marked in place of a signature, or created as electronic data using an electronic signature; it must also be capable of proving or establishing a matter. The document must then match a category in Schedule 1. Its substance controls the result—not the filename or heading chosen by the parties.

This distinction prevents two common errors:

• A price alone is not enough. A document does not automatically become taxable merely because it shows money. It must fit a taxable document category.
• Non-payment does not automatically invalidate the agreement. It can instead produce unpaid tax, interest, penalties and obstacles when the document is submitted to a notary, bank, court or public authority.

For related operational obligations, use the Turkey tax overview as the transaction map and the company compliance checklist for recurring company triggers. This guide explains the narrower question of whether a document itself creates damga vergisi.

A Seven-Step Stamp Tax Test

Run this sequence before calculating or signing:

1. Identify the instrument. Collect the final agreement, annexes, guarantee, amendment, extension, assignment and termination documents—not just the main contract.
2. Confirm signature mechanics. Determine whether the document bears wet signatures, signature-equivalent marks or an electronic signature. A plain PDF or email is not taxable merely because it is digital.
3. Classify its legal substance. Match what the document actually does to Schedule 1. A title such as “protocol” or “memorandum” is not decisive.
4. Test exemptions and zero rates. Review Schedule 2 and any special law applicable to the transaction. Do not infer an exemption from the parties’ industry or status.
5. Establish the tax base. For proportional tax, find the definite or calculable monetary amount stated in the document, including the relevant contract term where required.
6. Review combined obligations. A guarantee, security, third-party undertaking or independent transaction in the same paper can change the computation.
7. Assign filing evidence. Decide who will declare and pay, by which route, and retain the declaration, receipt and calculation with the signed document.

This review should happen before execution. A late review often discovers that the parties calculated only the headline contract, overlooked a guarantee, used the wrong term value or assumed that a foreign signature kept the paper outside Turkey.

Build document and tax controls into your Turkey company setup.

2026 Damga Vergisi Rates and Maximum

The Revenue Administration’s Stamp Tax General Communiqué No. 71 applies from 1 January 2026. It increased the fixed amounts in Schedule 1 by 18.95% and set the 2026 maximum tax for each paper at TRY 29,115,961.10.

Per thousand is not percent. A rate of 9.48‰ equals 0.948%, and 1.89‰ equals 0.189%. Confusing those units produces a tenfold error.

Rates are only one layer. A document can be exempt, zero-rated, subject to a fixed amount or contain more than one taxable matter. The 2026 ceiling is applied per paper, not as a general annual cap for a business.

Multiple Signed Originals: Do Not Multiply Proportional Tax by Copy Count

Stamp Tax Law Article 5 draws an important distinction when the same paper is executed in more than one nüsha (signed original/counterpart). For papers subject to a fixed stamp-tax amount, each executed copy is taxed separately at the same fixed amount. For papers subject to proportional stamp tax, however, only one copy is subject to the proportional tax even if the paper is executed in multiple originals.

This rule is easy to miss in cross-border closings where each party keeps a signed counterpart. Do not multiply a 9.48‰ or 1.89‰ proportional calculation simply because two or more originals were signed. At the same time, do not assume every photocopy, certified copy, annex or separately executed instrument is legally the same thing as a duplicate original: classify the actual paper and any independent taxable instrument before calculating.

How to Calculate Damga Vergisi

For a proportionally taxed paper, the basic formula is:

Stamp tax = taxable monetary amount × applicable per-thousand rate

Example 1: Monetary commercial agreement

Assume a signed service agreement states a total consideration of TRY 1,000,000, falls within the general agreement category, and no exemption, zero rate or additional undertaking applies:

TRY 1,000,000 × 0.00948 = TRY 9,480

Example 2: One-year commercial lease

Assume monthly rent is TRY 100,000 for a stated 12-month term. The lease base is TRY 1,200,000:

TRY 1,200,000 × 0.00189 = TRY 2,268

This is an illustration, not a final computation. A separate guarantor, deposit wording, turnover rent, automatic extension, foreign-currency clause or independent obligation can alter the analysis. Before signing premises documents, coordinate the tax review with the commercial lease agreement guide.

Example 3: Amendment or extension

An amendment is not automatically tax-free because the original agreement was already taxed. An increase in the monetary amount, an extension of the term, an assignment or a new undertaking may create further stamp tax under the law. Compare the new paper with the executed original and document exactly which obligation changed.

Damga vergisi may be proportional or fixed, depending on the document category.

Foreign and Electronic Documents

Contracts signed outside Turkey

A document executed abroad is not automatically outside the Turkish regime forever. Law No. 488 can bring it into scope when it is submitted to a Turkish official authority, assigned or endorsed in Turkey, or its provisions are otherwise used in Turkey. Map the first Turkish use before sending an overseas agreement to a bank, regulator, registry, tax office, notary or court.

Foreign-currency amounts also require conversion under the applicable Turkish rules. Keep evidence of the rate and date used in the calculation rather than inserting a convenient current exchange rate later.

E-signed contracts

The law expressly covers electronic data created using an electronic signature. However, “digital” is not itself a tax category. A scanned PDF, email exchange, click-through acceptance and qualified e-signed contract can have different evidence and signature characteristics. First determine whether there is a document within the statutory definition; then classify it under Schedule 1.

For implementation, compare the e-signature guide for Turkish companies and the KEP, e-signature, UETS and financial-seal comparison. Delivery technology and signature technology solve different problems.

Who Pays Turkish Stamp Tax?

The statutory taxpayers are generally the people or entities that sign the paper. Where more than one person signs, the signatories can be jointly and severally responsible for the tax and related penalties. A clause saying “Party B will pay all stamp tax” can allocate the economic burden between the parties, but it does not necessarily prevent the tax authority from relying on statutory liability.

For papers between an official authority and a private person or company, the private party generally pays under Article 3. In every case, the contract owner should record:

• the Schedule 1 category and rate or fixed amount used;
• the monetary base and calculation;
• the exemption or zero-rate authority, if claimed;
• the responsible filer and payment route;
• the declaration and payment receipt; and
• the signed original, amendments and annexes reviewed.

Declaration timing depends on the taxpayer and collection route. Under Stamp Tax Law Article 22, taxpayers within the continuous monthly makbuz-karşılığı regime generally declare and pay the month’s covered stamp tax by the 26th day of the following month, subject to the Revenue Administration’s live tax calendar. Where that continuous regime does not apply, a taxable paper that is paid by declaration is generally declared and paid within 15 days following the date the paper is executed. Some transactions are instead collected through a notary or another authorised institution.

Confirm the actual route and calendar in the Revenue Administration tax calendar and Digital Tax Office rather than copying one deadline into every contract workflow.

Exemptions: Verify the Paper, Not the Project Label

Preserve the exact legal basis and evidence for every stamp tax exemption.

Schedule 2 to Law No. 488 and special legislation contain many exemptions, while Schedule 1 also includes document categories with a zero rate. They are not interchangeable concepts, and broad labels such as “export,” “investment,” “startup” or “government project” do not by themselves prove that a particular paper qualifies.

Use a four-part exemption file:

1. quote the exact schedule item or special-law provision;
2. match every factual condition to supporting evidence;
3. confirm whether the relief covers this document, this party and this stage of the transaction; and
4. retain certificates, approvals and dates that existed when the paper was executed.

A document may also contain both an exempt matter and a separate taxable undertaking. Review the whole instrument instead of assuming the strongest exemption label covers every clause.

Pre-Signature Checklist for Foreign-Owned Businesses

• Use the final execution version, not a draft or commercial summary.
• List all signatories, guarantors and official parties.
• Mark each amount, currency, term, renewal and price-adjustment clause.
• Separate the principal transaction from guarantees and independent undertakings.
• Check Schedule 1, Schedule 2 and the current-year communiqué.
• Calculate in Turkish lira and preserve the conversion evidence where relevant.
• Put declaration, payment and receipt ownership into the closing checklist.
• Repeat the review for amendments, extensions, assignments and termination papers.

For a new entity, integrate this control into the company formation roadmap. For employment-related payment documents, use the dedicated Turkey payroll compliance guide; payroll receipts and an employment agreement should not be treated as the same document category.

How Workon Can Support the Process

Workon can help foreign founders organise the operational side of Turkish document compliance: forming the company, coordinating accounting records, mapping responsible teams and building a traceable pre-signature checklist. A lawyer or sworn financial adviser should confirm the legal classification, exemption and final tax calculation for the actual execution set.

Discuss your Turkey company setup with Workon and bring the draft agreement, annexes, signatory list, transaction value, term and any exemption certificate to the review.

Note: Last reviewed 17 September 2026. Revenue Administration Communiqué No. 71 was rechecked for the 2026 TRY 29,115,961.10 per-paper ceiling, while the current Schedule 1 continues to show 9.48‰ for general monetary agreements and 1.89‰ for leases. This guide provides general operational information on Turkish stamp tax. Workon coordinates document and accounting readiness with the appropriately qualified legal and tax professionals according to the executed document and transaction.