
What is a real estate tax exemption in Turkey?
A real tax exemption in Turkey is a Turkish Law Act issued on 23rd of February 2017, which provides for exempting foreigners and Turks residing outside the country (for a period of more than six months) from value-added tax on real estate purchase in Turkey, with the aim of encouraging and increasing purchases and investment in the Turkish real estate sector.
What does the tax exemption on real estate in Turkey include?
The tax exemption in Turkey includes value-added tax when buying a property, which is 18% for commercial properties (shops – offices) and between 1 – 8 – 18% for residential properties.
What does not the tax exemption on real estate in Turkey include?
The real estate tax exemption law in Turkey does not include property transfer costs, annual taxes, service fees, and monthly subscriptions, as it is only limited to value-added tax.
What are the conditions for real estate tax exemption in Turkey?
The real estate tax exemption law in Turkey states that the applicant must meet the following conditions for exemption:
- No previous residence in Turkey for 6 consecutive months.
- The money for buying real estate from outside Turkey must be transferred through an external bank to an internal Turkish bank, or entered through the airport and registered there.

Documents required for real estate tax exemption
- A bank receipt proving that the money has been transferred from outside Turkey to one of its internal banks, or an official document proving that the amount was entered through a Turkish airport, provided that these amounts are either in US dollars or euros.
- A document proving residence outside Turkey, by presenting an address for the person concerned, officially certified outside Turkey.
- Visiting the Immigration Department in order to obtain a paper proving non-residency within Turkey for a period of 6 months.
- Going to the Public Security Directorate to obtain a document for the movement of entry and exit to and from Turkey.
After getting these official documents, an application can be submitted to the Turkish Taxation Department to obtain a value-added tax exemption.