ITU ARI Teknokent
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul
The largest startup ecosystem in Türkiye. Strong gaming, AI, and SaaS density. The default for foreign-owned game studios in Istanbul.
Tax, Accounting & R&D
Tech-Park Placement
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.
- Law No. 4691
- 0% corp tax
- Through 2028
- Up to 100% remote
What it is
A Technology Development Zone (Teknoloji Geliştirme Bölgesi, commonly Teknopark or Teknokent) is a designated area, typically attached to a major university, where qualifying R&D, software development, and design activities are exempt from corporate tax under Article 8 of Law No. 4691. The incentive package stacks: 0% corporate tax on zone income, 0% income tax on R&D and design personnel, half of the employer SGK premium funded by the Treasury for five years, 0% VAT on software delivered from the zone under Provisional Article 20 of the VAT Law, and customs and stamp relief on R&D imports. Each park has its own evaluation jury and its own focus. Istanbul Technical University (ITU ARI), Middle East Technical University (METU ODTÜ), Boğaziçi University, Bilkent Cyberpark, Hacettepe Teknokent, and Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Teknopark are the most established for game and app studios. We evaluate your eligibility, match you to the right park, prepare the project dossier the park's jury wants to see, run the placement, and handle the quarterly and annual reporting that keeps the status alive year over year.
The Law 4691 stack
Four headline numbers, all of them zero or half.
Each line in the stack is preserved against the 10% Domestic Minimum Tax under Law No. 7524. The corporate-tax exemption runs through 31 December 2028 and has been extended at every prior sunset. Up to 100% remote work for IT personnel is allowed under the 2022 amendments, so a tech-park placement does not lock your team to a building.
0%
Corporate tax
On qualifying software, R&D, and design income from the zone, through 31 December 2028.
0%
Personnel income tax
On R&D, design, and support personnel salaries for zone activities.
0%
VAT on delivered software
Application software delivered from the zone is VAT-exempt under Provisional Article 20.
½
Employer SGK
Half of the employer's social-security premium funded by the Treasury for 5 years.
Where studios usually land
One hundred parks. Six that matter for software.
Each park has its own evaluation jury, its own focus area, and its own ecosystem. Most foreign-owned game and app studios end up at one of these six. We match on focus, location, jury characteristics, and office availability.
METU ODTÜ Teknokent
Middle East Technical University
Ankara
Türkiye's most established academic R&D hub. Deep-tech, defence, aerospace, advanced software. Strong for engineering-heavy studios.
Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Teknopark
Boğaziçi University
Istanbul
Smaller and more selective. Strong on fintech, AI, and design-led product studios. Close to the Boğaziçi research community.
Bilkent Cyberpark
Bilkent University
Ankara
Mature ecosystem with a strong software and gaming concentration. Well-connected to the Ankara investor and government network.
Hacettepe Teknokent
Hacettepe University
Ankara
Strong in health-tech, biotech, and medical software. A fit for studios with crossover into medical applications or telehealth.
Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Teknopark
Yıldız Technical University
Istanbul
Practical, engineering-focused ecosystem on the European side of Istanbul. Strong for product-focused software and hardware-adjacent studios.
Other strong options where the fit makes sense: TÜBİTAK MAM Teknopark (Gebze), ITOB Teknopark (İzmir), Sakarya Üniversitesi Teknopark, Erciyes Üniversitesi Teknopark (Kayseri), Gaziantep Üniversitesi Teknopark.
How we do it
Selection to ongoing compliance.
1 to 3 months from a complete project dossier to office allocation. Quarterly and annual reporting keeps the status alive year over year.
Park selection
Your team, sector, growth plan, and physical-presence preferences mapped to the right tech-park: university affiliation, focus area (gaming, AI, fintech, hardware), location, office availability, jury characteristics, and ecosystem fit. There are 100+ tech-parks across Türkiye; the right answer is usually one of six.
Project dossier
The project dossier the park's evaluation jury requires: novelty and technological innovation, R&D content, software output, commercial potential, and a business plan. Game and app studios typically present 2 to 4 active projects in the dossier at filing.
Application and jury review
Application submitted to the tech-park management company (yönetici şirket). Jury evaluation attended with you. Office space allocated on approval. Lease agreement signed with the management company.
Trade-registry address move
Once allocated, the registered legal address is moved from the virtual office (or wherever it sits) to the tech-park location through MERSIS. This is the moment the zone-status clock starts running for tax purposes.
Cost-centre and bookkeeping segregation
Zone activity has to be bookkept separately from non-zone activity for the exemption to be applied correctly. Cost-centre setup, employee allocation rules, and the Article 10/1-ğ interaction with non-zone service exports designed during the move.
Ongoing compliance
Quarterly activity reports to the zone management company. Annual project portfolio review. Personnel changes notified. Site inspections supported. The retainer keeps the status preserved year over year.
What's included
Shortlist through annual review.
- Park shortlist with focus, location, and jury characteristics
- Project dossier prepared to the park's standard
- Application submission and jury review attended with you
- Lease coordination with the management company
- Trade-registry address move through MERSIS
- Cost-centre and bookkeeping segregation between zone and non-zone activity
- Quarterly activity reporting and annual project review (ongoing retainer)
- Coordination with payroll on personnel-side exemptions
Key facts
The statute and the operational consequences.
- Legal basis
- Law No. 4691 on Technology Development Zones, in force from July 2001. Latest material amendments in 2016 (broadened scope to design) and 2022 (introduced up-to-100% remote-work allowance). Administered through the Ministry of Industry and Technology and each park's management company.
- Corporate tax
- Income from qualifying software, R&D, and design activities carried out within the zone is 100% exempt from corporate tax under Article 8 of Law 4691. Through 31 December 2028, subject to Presidential extension.
- Personnel income tax and stamp tax
- Salaries of R&D, design, and support personnel earned for activities within the zone are exempt from income tax and stamp tax under the same regime. Support personnel allowance is capped at 10% of total R&D headcount.
- Employer social-security funding
- Half of the employer's SGK premium for qualifying R&D, design, and support personnel is funded by the Treasury (İşveren Hissesi Desteği) for 5 years from enrolment, under the cross-reference to Law No. 5746.
- VAT on delivered software
- Application software developed within the zone is exempt from VAT on delivery under Provisional Article 20 of the VAT Law. System software, embedded software, mobile applications, internet apps, and games included. The exemption applies even where the customer is Turkish.
- Customs duty and stamp tax on R&D imports
- Imports for use in zone-based R&D and software projects are exempt from customs duty and import-stage VAT. Related documents are exempt from stamp tax, subject to project-scope documentation.
- Up to 100% remote
- Since the 2022 amendments, IT personnel can work up to 100% remotely without losing the zone tax status, subject to current Presidential decrees and management-company approval. Significant for distributed studios that previously had to maintain a full physical presence.
- Domestic Minimum Tax interaction
- The Law 4691 corporate-tax exemption is preserved against the 10% Domestic Minimum Tax base under Law No. 7524. Studios qualifying for tech-park status keep the near-zero effective rate on qualifying zone income.
- What does not qualify
- Pure resale of off-the-shelf software, basic customisation, and activities outside the approved project dossier scope. The jury rejects applicants without genuine R&D content. Cost-centre segregation is what keeps qualifying revenue separate from non-qualifying revenue for tax purposes.
- Comparison with R&D Centre (Law 5746)
- Tech-park is location-based and applies to in-zone activity. R&D Centre is personnel-based (15 FTE minimum) and applies at the company level. Some studios run both, with an R&D Centre inside a tech-park. Most pick one based on operational reality, and we model the choice during onboarding.
Bundled in
- StarterNo
- BuilderNo
- EnterpriseOptional
- Add-on available
Pricing
Optional in Enterprise. Standalone: from USD 5,500 for placement application plus the first year of compliance reporting. Annual compliance retainer thereafter at USD 2,400 per year.
Related services
R&D Center Application
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.
Learn more
Payroll Management
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.
Learn more
Service Export Tax Structure
Türkiye's headline incentive for foreign-facing software and gaming studios: a 100% corporate-tax exemption on qualifying service-export income under Article 10/1-ğ. The contract structure, banking flow, and bookkeeping designed to qualify every year, not just the first.
Learn more
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