People & Permits
Monthly gross-to-net under Income Tax Law No. 193 and Social Insurance Law No. 5510. Every exemption applied, every declaration filed, every payslip bilingual. R&D and tech-park stack handled where it applies.
What it is
Turkish payroll has more moving parts than a typical Western payroll, and the rules change in two places at once: Income Tax Law No. 193 on the withholding side, Social Insurance Law No. 5510 on the SGK side, with the Labour Code (Law No. 4857) running underneath. Gross-to-net has to handle the minimum-wage income-tax-and-stamp exemption introduced in 2022, R&D and tech-park income-tax exemptions where the personnel qualify, employer and employee SGK splits on premium-ceiling-capped gross, severance accruals from year two, notice-pay reserves, and meal and transport allowances within exemption caps. Miss the MUHSGK filing on the 26th and special-irregularity fines start. Misclassify a tech-park employee and the income-tax saving is reversed. Our partner CPA runs monthly payroll, files the MUHSGK declaration, settles the e-payment, and produces bilingual payslips your team can read.
What runs in every payroll
Each layer has its own rates, its own ceiling, and its own exemption rules. The R&D and tech-park stack only fires where the personnel qualify. Everything else applies to every employee every month.
≈ 37.5%
SGK premium
Total SGK premium split between employer (around 22.5%) and employee (around 15%) on gross pay up to the SGK ceiling (7.5× gross minimum wage). Employer can claim up to a 5% reduction under Article 81 of Law 5510 with clean filings.
15–40%
Income tax withholding
Progressive rates across five brackets revised annually. Withheld at source by the employer and remitted through MUHSGK. The minimum-wage exemption applies on top, reducing the effective rate across the wage spectrum.
Gross min × 1
Minimum-wage exemption
Since January 2022, a portion of every salary equal to the gross minimum wage is exempt from income tax and stamp tax. Applies to every employee, not just minimum-wage earners. Material reduction in withholding.
80 – 95%
R&D / tech-park stack
Where personnel qualify under Law 5746 or Law 4691: 80, 90, or 95% income-tax exemption on R&D, design, and support salaries (degree-dependent, capped at 40× gross minimum wage). Half of employer SGK funded by the Treasury for 5 years.
The monthly filing
Türkiye combined the income-tax-withholding declaration and the SGK premium service declaration into one form (Muhtasar ve Prim Hizmet Beyannamesi, MUHSGK) in 2020. The combined file is due by the 26th of the following month, with e-payment settled at the same time. Late filings trigger special-irregularity fines under the Tax Procedure Law. The form claims the minimum-wage exemption for every employee and the R&D / tech-park exemption for qualifying personnel. The exemptions are not automatic; they are claimed line by line.
26th
Monthly MUHSGK filing deadline (combined withholding + SGK premium).
One form
Replaces the prior split between Muhtasar and Aylık Prim Hizmet Belgesi.
E-payment
Total liability settled electronically with the filing on the same day.
How we do it
Monthly cadence runs without surprises. Rate changes (SGK ceiling, brackets, minimum wage) applied automatically.
Onboarding
Employee data, contract terms, and benefit packages loaded. Opening accruals (severance, annual leave) computed. R&D and tech-park personnel flagged in the system so the exemptions apply automatically every month.
Monthly gross-to-net
Gross-to-net computation completed for every employee. Minimum-wage income-tax-and-stamp exemption applied. R&D / tech-park income-tax exemption applied (80%, 90%, or 95% depending on degree). SGK premium computed against the ceiling. Meal and transport allowances applied within exemption limits.
Bilingual payslips
Payslip issued for every employee, in English and Turkish side-by-side. Gross, exemptions, tax, SGK, net pay, accruals, and allowances all itemised. Sent before payment date so questions are answered before money moves.
MUHSGK filing
Combined withholding and SGK premium declaration (MUHSGK) prepared and filed by the 26th of the following month. E-payment of the total liability settled. The same declaration covers income-tax withholding, SGK employer + employee premiums, unemployment insurance, and the relevant exemptions claimed.
Year-end and severance
Annual payroll close completed. Year-end employee certificates (vergi belgesi) issued. Severance accruals reconciled. Personal income-tax adjustment (yıllık beyanname) flagged for high earners who need to file.
Ongoing change handling
Hires, leavers, salary adjustments, promotions, leave management, R&D-personnel reclassifications, and minimum-wage revisions handled as they happen. Statutory rate changes (annual SGK ceiling, income-tax brackets, minimum-wage revisions) applied without you needing to ask.
What's included
Key facts
Bundled in
Pricing
Included in package payroll capacity (5 employees in Starter, 15 in Builder, 30 in Enterprise). Additional headcount: USD 180 per month per person. R&D Centre and tech-park personnel handled at the same rate.
Related services
Monthly bookkeeping under the Turkish Uniform Chart of Accounts, every statutory filing on its statutory date, run by a licensed Turkish CPA on the e-fatura and e-defter rails. Built so your investors and your CFO can read it.
A Ministry-certified R&D Center under Law No. 5746. A stack of incentives that drops the effective cost of R&D and design personnel sharply, once the file is approved.
Placement in a Technology Development Zone under Law No. 4691. The strongest single tax incentive in Türkiye for software and gaming studios: 0% corporate tax on qualifying zone income, 0% income tax on zone personnel, 0% VAT on delivered software, half of employer SGK funded by the Treasury.
Free 30-minute discovery call. We'll match the right services to your stage and come back with a fixed-fee proposal.
