Country guide
Buying property in Turkey as a foreigner
Rules last checked 29 October 2026 · 13 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
Turkey lets a foreign individual buy real estate if the person's nationality is on the list set by the President under Article 35 of Land Registry Law 2644, up to 10 percent of a district's privately owned area and 30 hectares per person nationwide, and never in military prohibited zones. Turkish companies with 50 percent or more foreign ownership may buy for the activities in their articles of association under Article 36.
What are you doing with Turkey?
Returns after tax, what is withheld, and the way out.
Turkey charges a title deed fee of 2 percent of the declared price to the buyer and 2 percent to the seller, and the declared price is never below the property tax value. Details
Turkey charges property tax of 1 per mille on residences, 2 per mille on other buildings, 1 per mille on land and 3 per mille on building plots, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- Can I borrow locally?Not confirmed yet
Lending to a buyer living abroad is limited in many countries and the loan to value limit can be lower.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
- What do I report at home?Depends on your country
Foreign property, foreign accounts and foreign rent can each carry a form in the owner's own country.
- What is changing soon?Answered below
Since 21 May 2026, Law 7582 gives new Turkish tax residents a 20 year income tax exemption on foreign source income and a 1 percent inheritance tax rate within that period.
Whether a purchase gives a right to live there, and what living there costs in tax.
Turkey grants citizenship by investment to a foreigner who buys a condominium or plot worth at least USD 400,000 with a three year no sale annotation on the title register, under article 20 of the Turkish Citizenship Regulation as amended by Decision 5554 of 13 May 2022. Details
Turkey lets a foreign individual buy real estate if the person's nationality is on the list set by the President under Article 35 of Land Registry Law 2644, up to 10 percent of a district's privately owned area and 30 hectares per person nationwide, and never in military prohibited zones. Details
Turkey charges a title deed fee of 2 percent of the declared price to the buyer and 2 percent to the seller, and the declared price is never below the property tax value. Details
Turkey charges property tax of 1 per mille on residences, 2 per mille on other buildings, 1 per mille on land and 3 per mille on building plots, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Does buying give me the right to live there?Answered below
Turkey grants citizenship by investment to a foreigner who buys a condominium or plot worth at least USD 400,000 with a three year no sale annotation on the title register, under article 20 of the Turkish Citizenship Regulation as amended by Decision 5554 of 13 May 2022.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Answered below
Inheritance and gift tax (Law 7338) applies to assets in Turkey and to Turkish citizens' assets abroad; a non resident foreigner who inherits a Turkish citizen's assets located outside Turkey is not taxed.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- What is changing soon?Answered below
Since 21 May 2026, Law 7582 gives new Turkish tax residents a 20 year income tax exemption on foreign source income and a 1 percent inheritance tax rate within that period.
Part year stays, the yearly bill, and what the family inherits.
Turkey lets a foreign individual buy real estate if the person's nationality is on the list set by the President under Article 35 of Land Registry Law 2644, up to 10 percent of a district's privately owned area and 30 hectares per person nationwide, and never in military prohibited zones. Details
Turkey charges property tax of 1 per mille on residences, 2 per mille on other buildings, 1 per mille on land and 3 per mille on building plots, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits. Details
Turkey grants citizenship by investment to a foreigner who buys a condominium or plot worth at least USD 400,000 with a three year no sale annotation on the title register, under article 20 of the Turkish Citizenship Regulation as amended by Decision 5554 of 13 May 2022. Details
Turkey charges a title deed fee of 2 percent of the declared price to the buyer and 2 percent to the seller, and the declared price is never below the property tax value. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Does buying give me the right to live there?Answered below
Turkey grants citizenship by investment to a foreigner who buys a condominium or plot worth at least USD 400,000 with a three year no sale annotation on the title register, under article 20 of the Turkish Citizenship Regulation as amended by Decision 5554 of 13 May 2022.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Answered below
Inheritance and gift tax (Law 7338) applies to assets in Turkey and to Turkish citizens' assets abroad; a non resident foreigner who inherits a Turkish citizen's assets located outside Turkey is not taxed.
- What is owed every year, even if the home sits empty?Answered below
Turkey charges property tax of 1 per mille on residences, 2 per mille on other buildings, 1 per mille on land and 3 per mille on building plots, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
What is owed each year, on rent and on a sale, and what the heirs face.
Turkey charges property tax of 1 per mille on residences, 2 per mille on other buildings, 1 per mille on land and 3 per mille on building plots, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits. Details
Turkey charges a title deed fee of 2 percent of the declared price to the buyer and 2 percent to the seller, and the declared price is never below the property tax value. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- What do I report at home?Depends on your country
Foreign property, foreign accounts and foreign rent can each carry a form in the owner's own country.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Answered below
Inheritance and gift tax (Law 7338) applies to assets in Turkey and to Turkish citizens' assets abroad; a non resident foreigner who inherits a Turkish citizen's assets located outside Turkey is not taxed.
- What happens when I sell?Answered below
Turkey taxes a gain on real estate sold within 5 years of acquisition as value increase income on the income tax scale, with an annual exemption of TRY 150,000 for 2026, and property held longer than 5 years falls outside that rule. A non resident who files no other annual return reports the gain within 15 days of the date it arose.
- What is changing soon?Answered below
Since 21 May 2026, Law 7582 gives new Turkish tax residents a 20 year income tax exemption on foreign source income and a 1 percent inheritance tax rate within that period.
Who may buy
Choose a nationality to see the rules that apply to it.
Every rule, for every buyer
| Buyer | Property | Reading | Conditions | Applies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyone else | Any property | Conditions apply |
| from 18 May 2012 |
| Everyone else | Any property | Not allowed |
| |
| Everyone else | Any property | Restricted |
| from 18 May 2012 |
| Everyone else | Any property | Conditions apply |
| from 18 August 2012 |
| Everyone else | residential | Conditions apply | Citizenship by investment route: under article 20(2)(b) of the Turkish Citizenship Regulation, a foreigner who buys a condominium, a condominium easement unit or a building plot or built plot worth at least USD 400,000 (or equivalent in other currency), with a three year no sale annotation on the title register, or who pays at least USD 400,000 upfront under a notarised sale promise with a three year no transfer commitment noted on the register, with the value determined by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, may obtain Turkish citizenship by Presidential decision. | from 13 May 2022 |
What it costs to buy
Title deed fee (tapu harci)
- Rate
- 20 per mille (2 percent) of the declared price, charged separately to the transferor and the transferee, so 4 percent in total.
- The base is the declared price but never less than the property tax value; for condominium easement units the fee is charged on the whole price.
- The tariff prints a statutory rate of 10 per mille and an applied rate of 20 per mille; the applied rate follows Cabinet and Presidential decisions listed in the tariff footnotes (temporary reductions to 15 per mille for housing ended on 30 Sep 2017 and 31 Oct 2018).
- Law 7566 of 4 Dec 2025 reworded the base.
Value added tax on the first sale of new housing or offices to a non resident foreigner
- Rate
- Article 13(i) of the VAT Law 3065 exempts the first delivery of a building built as housing or as an office, if the price is brought into Turkey in foreign currency, when the buyer is a Turkish citizen living abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit, a foreign individual not resident in Turkey, or a foreign based institution without a Turkish workplace.
- If the property is sold within three years the unpaid tax must be paid with deferral interest before the title transaction.
- The base VAT rate in article 28 is 10 percent, with the President empowered to set other rates.
- Extra for a foreign buyer
Exemption applies only to non resident foreign buyers (and some Turkish citizens abroad); resident buyers pay VAT
Key numbers (1)
| Title deed fee, each of buyer and seller | 20 per mille |
|---|
What if the price is…?
No flat duty, fee or scale has been verified for this country yet, so nothing is added.
Some amounts vary by region or depend on the property, so they are not added. They are in the cost table above.
Only duties stated for a foreign buyer of a home are counted: flat rates, flat fees and the standard banded scale shown. Reliefs, exemptions and the buyer's own circumstances can change the result. A planning figure, not a quote: legal fees, agent fees and local taxes are extra.
What an owner pays each year
Property tax (emlak vergisi), buildings
- Rate
- 1 per mille on residences and 2 per mille on other buildings; doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits and adjacent areas.
- The President may halve the rates or raise them up to three times.
- A newly built building is taxed at no less than the tax on its plot for four years.
Property tax (emlak vergisi), land and plots
- Rate
1 per mille on land (arazi) and 3 per mille on building plots (arsa); doubled in metropolitan areas.
Key numbers (4)
| Property tax on residential buildings (doubled in metropolitan areas) | 1 per mille |
|---|---|
| Property tax on other buildings (doubled in metropolitan areas) | 2 per mille |
| Land tax on land (arazi) | 1 per mille |
| Land tax on building plots (arsa) | 3 per mille |
What if I own it and let it out?
Yearly taxes on owning
- Property tax (emlak vergisi) on a residenceTRY 500 to 1,000Charged on the property tax value (emlak vergisi degeri) of the building, not its price. 1 per mille on a residence, doubled inside metropolitan municipality limits and adjacent areas, so the result is a range. The President may halve the rates or raise them up to three times.
Total under the rules shown (a year)TRY 500 to 1,000
A planning figure under the rules shown, not advice. Rates set by councils, reliefs, treaties and the owner's own circumstances can change it, and income tax on rent is usually settled on a return.
Rent from the property
Tax on rent
- Owner living elsewhere
- A non resident (no home in Turkey and no stay of more than six months in a calendar year) is taxed only on Turkish source income, including rent.
- Rent follows the progressive income tax scale.
- For income of 2025 (return filed in March 2026): 15 percent up to 158,000 TL, 20 percent to 330,000 TL, 27 percent to 800,000 TL, 35 percent to 4,300,000 TL, 40 percent above.
- For income of 2026 (return filed in March 2027, brackets printed in the consolidated Income Tax Law): 15 percent up to 190,000 TL, 20 percent to 400,000 TL, 27 percent to 1,000,000 TL, 35 percent to 5,300,000 TL, 40 percent above.
- Actual expenses or a flat 15 percent expense deduction may be chosen (a lump sum choice binds for two years).
- A residential rent exemption of 47,000 TL for 2025 income and 58,000 TL for 2026 income is lost if the owner earned total income above the third wage bracket (1,200,000 TL for 2025).
- Business and other tenants who must withhold deduct 20 percent of gross rent; a non resident whose rent is fully taxed by withholding files no annual return.
- Filing
Annual return in March of the following year (1 to 31 March 2026 for 2025 rent), paid in two instalments in March and July.
Key numbers (5)
| Residential rent exemption, income of 2026from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 58,000 |
|---|---|
| Flat expense deduction on rent | 15% |
| Withholding on gross rent paid by a tenant required to withhold | 20% |
| Top income tax rate, income of 2026 (above 5,300,000 TL)from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | 40% |
| First income tax band limit, income of 2026 (15 percent up to this amount)from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 190,000 |
Selling
Tax on a sale
- Owner living elsewhere
- Under article 80 of the Income Tax Law, a gain on real estate acquired for consideration and disposed of within five years of the acquisition date is taxed as value increase income on the income tax scale; the five years are counted in calendar days.
- The cost can be indexed by the domestic producer price index when the increase reaches 10 percent.
- A non resident who files no other annual return reports the gain on a separate return at the tax office where the property sits within 15 days of the date the gain arose.
- Exemptions
Property held longer than five years and property acquired free of charge (including by inheritance) fall outside the value increase rule. Gains up to 150,000 TL for 2026 (120,000 TL for 2025) in a calendar year are exempt from income tax under article 80, as revalued by Income Tax General Communique 332.
Key numbers (1)
| Annual exemption for value increase gains, 2026from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 150,000 |
|---|
Inheritance and gifts
Inheritance and gift tax
- Summary
- Inheritance and gift tax (Law 7338) applies to assets in Turkey and to Turkish citizens' assets abroad; a non resident foreigner who inherits a Turkish citizen's assets located outside Turkey is not taxed.
- Brackets for 2026 as revalued by Communique 57 (inheritance rate / gift rate): first 3,000,000 TL 1 / 10 percent; next 7,000,000 TL 3 / 15; next 15,000,000 TL 5 / 20; next 30,000,000 TL 7 / 25; above 55,000,000 TL 10 / 30 percent.
- Gifts from a parent, spouse or child to a person are taxed at half the gift scale.
- Exempt amounts for 2026: 2,907,136 TL per heir share of a child or spouse (5,817,845 TL for a spouse's share when there are no descendants) and 66,935 TL for gifts.
- Law 7582 of 21 May 2026 added article 20/D to the Income Tax Law: foreign source income of a person who becomes a Turkish tax resident, with no residence or tax liability in Turkey in the previous three calendar years, is exempt from income tax for twenty years.
- The same law added a 1 percent inheritance tax rate for inheritances falling within that exemption period.
- Turkish rent, interest and value increase income stays taxable.
- The tax office is that of the deceased's last residence in Turkey.
Key numbers (7)
| Inheritance tax exemption per child or spouse share, 2026from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 2,907,136 |
|---|---|
| Inheritance tax exemption for a spouse's share where there are no descendants, 2026from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 5,817,845 |
| Gift tax exemption for free transfers, 2026from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | TRY 66,935 |
| Inheritance tax rate on the first 3,000,000 TL (2026 band)from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026 | 1% |
| Inheritance tax top rate (above 55,000,000 TL in 2026) | 10% |
| Gift tax top rate (above 55,000,000 TL in 2026) | 30% |
| Inheritance tax rate for people using the 20/D income tax exemption (Law 7582)from 21 May 2026 | 1% |
From your country
The country of the property is only half of it. The country where you live can limit the money you send, tax the same rent and gain again, and ask for forms of its own.
Choose where you live to see what your own country does when you buy in Turkey.
Residence through property
Citizenship by investment (real estate)
- Threshold
At least USD 400,000 (or equivalent) in a condominium, condominium easement unit or built or unbuilt plot with a three year no sale annotation, or the same sum paid upfront under a notarised sale promise with a three year no transfer commitment. History in the regulation text: USD 250,000 before Decision 5554 (Official Gazette 13 May 2022); Decision 5072 (Official Gazette 6 Jan 2022) rewrote the other thresholds; Decision 7938 (Official Gazette 12 Dec 2023) widened the property wording; Decision 106 (Official Gazette 19 Sep 2018) only changed the deciding authority to the President.
- Status
open
Citizenship by investment (other routes)
- Threshold
USD 500,000 fixed capital investment; USD 500,000 bank deposit held three years; USD 500,000 government bonds held three years; USD 500,000 real estate investment fund or venture capital fund units held three years; USD 500,000 private pension contributions held three years (added 13 May 2022); or creation of 50 jobs.
- Status
open
Key numbers (1)
| Citizenship by investment, minimum real estate value | USD 400,000 |
|---|
The usual steps, in order
- Check the buyer's nationality against the current Presidential list and the district and per person area limits at a land registry office or Turkish consulate.
- Check whether the parcel lies in a military prohibited zone, security zone or strategic area; the land registry puts the inquiry to the competent command where zone mapping is not complete.
- Check the registry record for mortgages, annotations and encumbrances before signing or paying.
- Optionally sign a notarised sale promise; this does not transfer ownership. Obtain the municipal property value certificate and the earthquake insurance policy for buildings.
- Pay the title deed fee (2 percent each side) and sign the official deed at the land registry office; ownership passes on registration.
- For unbuilt land, submit the intended project to the competent ministry or municipality within two years.
- A foreign owner who inherits property beyond the Article 35 limits must sell it within the period set by the Ministry of Finance (up to one year) or the registry liquidates it.
What is changing
- Since 21 May 2026, Law 7582 gives new Turkish tax residents a 20 year income tax exemption on foreign source income and a 1 percent inheritance tax rate within that period.
- Since 18 May 2012, Article 35 of Land Registry Law 2644 lets the President change the list of eligible nationalities, the area caps and the types of property open to foreigners at any time.
- Each January income tax brackets, rent and gain exemptions, inheritance exemptions and fixed fee amounts are revalued, so the 2026 amounts shown apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.
Questions people ask
What if a buyer's country had no reciprocity arrangement with Turkey?
Reciprocity for foreign individuals was abandoned by Law 6302 in 2012. Access now depends on whether the nationality is on the list set by the President under Article 35 of Land Registry Law 2644.
What if the plot is near a military site?
Under Law 2565 article 9(b), foreigners cannot acquire real estate in second degree military prohibited zones, and the President may bar foreigners from other areas near military zones. The land registry checks with the competent command where zone mapping is not complete.
How does the 10 percent district cap work?
Total area held by all foreign individuals may not exceed 10 percent of the privately owned area of the district, and one person may hold at most 30 hectares nationwide, which the President may raise up to double.
What if a buyer wants citizenship through property?
The regulation sets a USD 400,000 minimum for property, with a three year no sale annotation. The threshold rose from USD 250,000 by Decision 5554 published on 13 May 2022.
How much is the title deed fee?
Two percent for each side, 4 percent in total, on the declared price but not less than the property tax value.
What if a foreign owner sells within five years?
The gain is taxed as value increase income on the income tax scale, after cost indexation and the annual exemption (TRY 150,000 for 2026). After five years the sale falls outside that rule.
How is rent taxed for an owner living abroad?
Only Turkish rent is taxed, on the progressive scale of 15 to 40 percent, with a 15 percent flat expense option; a tenant required to withhold deducts 20 percent, and a return is due in March unless the tax is fully withheld.
What if a foreign owner leaves the property to heirs?
Inheritance tax runs from 1 to 10 percent by band, with a per heir exemption of TRY 2,907,136 for a child or spouse share in 2026. Turkish assets are taxable. A foreign heir over the area limits must sell within the period set by the Ministry of Finance.
Can a foreign company buy?
A company formed abroad may buy only within special laws, and most other foreign legal persons cannot. A company established in Turkey with 50 percent or more foreign ownership can buy for its stated business activities, with military approval in sensitive zones.
Is VAT charged on a new build bought by a non resident foreigner?
The VAT Law exempts the first sale of new housing or offices to a non resident foreign individual if the price is brought in as foreign currency; resale within three years triggers payment of the tax with deferral interest.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- The current list of nationalities that may buy under Article 35 could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The valuation report required for transactions with a foreign individual under the 2024 land registry circulars could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The current VAT rates on housing, stamp duty on contracts, notary fees and the land registry service fee could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The withholding rate on commercial rent paid to non resident owners, beyond the general 20 percent, could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- Local lending terms, loan to value for non resident buyers, bank account opening, capital controls and anti money laundering rules could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The exact start date of the USD 400,000 citizenship threshold, 13 May or 13 June 2022, could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The implementing rules for the 20 year foreign income exemption under Law 7582 could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The number of double tax agreements in force could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
Sources
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property in Turkey next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 29 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.