01
Service exports
VAT Law Article 11/1-b
Services delivered to non-resident customers and used outside Türkiye are zero-rated. Input VAT on the related Turkish costs (rent, cloud, software, equipment, professional services) is refundable.
Tax, Accounting & R&D
VAT Refund Recovery
A performance-based recovery service that turns the input VAT credits built up from service exports and other zero-rated supplies into cash or future-tax offsets. YMM tasdik handled where the threshold triggers it.
- VAT Law 3065
- YMM tasdik
- Performance fee
- 12% of recovery
What it is
Service exports and other zero-rated supplies under VAT Law No. 3065 Articles 11 and 12 mean you charge no Turkish VAT to the foreign customer, but you still pay VAT on the Turkish inputs (office rent, cloud subscriptions, software licences, equipment, professional services). That input VAT accumulates as a refundable credit under Article 32. Without an active claim it sits on the balance sheet, year after year, never recovered. The refund process is real work: invoice-level documentation, the sworn-in CPA certification (Yeminli Mali Müşavir Tasdiki, YMM tasdik) where the refund amount triggers the threshold, the Revenue Administration's tax-office review, and often a field audit. Our partner CPA runs the whole process. The pricing is performance-based at 12% of the recovered amount, so the incentive is aligned: if there is no recovery, there is no fee.
Where the credit comes from
Four sources. One claim.
Each source has its own evidence rules and its own line in the documentation pack. For a game or app studio, service exports under Article 11/1-b are usually 70 to 90% of the recoverable position.
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Goods exports
VAT Law Article 11/1-a
Physical goods exported with a customs declaration are zero-rated. Input VAT on the production and export chain is refundable. Less common for game and app studios; relevant for merchandise and hardware.
03
Other zero-rated supplies
VAT Law Articles 11–17
Supplies to investment-incentive holders, certain free-zone supplies, international transportation, diplomatic exemptions. Each category has its own evidence rules.
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Inactive-period VAT
VAT Law Article 32
VAT paid during construction or pre-operational periods, before the company is generating taxable output. Recoverable once the operation goes live and the VAT credit position is computed.
How we get paid
12% of the recovered amount. No recovery, no fee.
The refund process is real work: invoice-level documentation across years of activity, the YMM sworn-in certification where the threshold triggers it, and often a field audit. Aligning our fee with what you actually receive means we file the largest defensible claim, not the largest filed claim. The statute of limitations is 5 years, so a first engagement usually has 5 years of accumulated credit to work with.
12%
Of the recovered amount. Charged when the refund or offset settles.
5 years
Statute of limitations. Older credits expire and cannot be recovered.
YMM tasdik
Sworn-in CPA certification arranged where the refund amount triggers the threshold.
How we do it
Position review to paid recovery.
6 to 18 months typical from filing to payout. Offsets settle faster than cash refunds.
Credit position review
Your accumulated VAT credit position computed period by period across the last 5 years (statute of limitations). Categories of qualifying credit identified: service exports, goods exports, supplies to investment-incentive holders, free-zone supplies, inactive-period VAT.
Documentation pack
Invoice-level documentation assembled. Output side: export e-fatura, customs declarations for goods, service-export evidence linking each invoice to a non-resident customer and a Turkish-bank inbound receipt. Input side: purchase e-fatura, bank receipts evidencing VAT payment, foreign-currency conversion documentation.
YMM tasdik (where triggered)
Above the annually revised threshold the claim has to be certified by a sworn-in financial advisor (YMM) who takes personal professional responsibility for the file. Below the threshold a standard CPA report from our partner is sufficient. We coordinate the YMM where required.
Filing and tax-office review
Refund claim filed with the Revenue Administration. Initial review by the tax office, document requests answered, supplementary evidence supplied. Field audit in many cases, attended on your behalf.
Recovery to cash or offset
On approval, the refund is paid into your Turkish corporate bank account or applied as an offset against future tax liabilities (corporate tax, VAT, withholding, SGK). We pick the path that matches your cash position and your tax forecast.
What's included
Review through field-audit support.
- Accumulated VAT credit position review across the prior 5 years
- Category-by-category eligibility analysis
- Invoice-level documentation pack on the output and input sides
- YMM tasdik coordination where the threshold is triggered
- Refund claim filing with the Revenue Administration
- Document-request response and field-audit support
- Recovery to bank account or offset against future liabilities
- Performance-fee structure: no recovery, no fee
Key facts
The statute, the deadlines, and the practical mechanics.
- Legal basis
- VAT Law No. 3065 Articles 11 and 12 (zero-rating on exports), Article 32 (refund of input VAT linked to zero-rated supplies), Article 36 (refund mechanisms). Supporting Revenue Administration communiques on documentation and procedure.
- What qualifies
- Input VAT linked to: service exports (Article 11/1-b), goods exports (Article 11/1-a), supplies to investment-incentive holders, certain free-zone supplies, international transportation, diplomatic exemptions, and inactive-period VAT (construction and pre-operational).
- YMM tasdik threshold
- Above the annually revised refund threshold, the claim must be certified by a Yeminli Mali Müşavir (sworn-in financial advisor) under the Tasdik regulations. Below the threshold an internal CPA report suffices. The YMM personally certifies the claim, taking professional responsibility.
- Statute of limitations
- 5 years to claim the refund from the end of the fiscal year in which the right arose. After 5 years the credit is lost. Studios that have been operating without claiming typically have a recoverable position from the entire prior 5-year window on a first engagement.
- Timeline to payout
- 6 to 18 months typically from filing to payout, depending on whether the claim triggers a field audit and on the size of the recovery. Offsets against future tax liabilities settle faster than cash refunds.
- Why performance-based pricing
- Recovery rates vary by case and the work-effort is heavy: the YMM tasdik alone is a self-contained engagement. Aligning our fee with the recovered amount means we only get paid for what you actually receive. No recovery, no fee.
- Interaction with tech-park status
- Tech-park studios deliver VAT-exempt software under Provisional Article 20 of the VAT Law, which means their output side is partly outside the zero-rating Article 11 path. The refundable credit picture is therefore mixed; we model it during onboarding and claim only the recoverable portion.
- Risk on audit
- Field audits can adjust the claim downward and, in some cases, trigger penalties on unrelated VAT items in the same period. We document the file to the standard the Revenue Administration looks for so adjustments are minimised. The performance-fee structure means our incentive is to land the largest defensible amount, not the largest filed amount.
Bundled in
- StarterNo
- BuilderNo
- EnterpriseNo
- Add-on available
Pricing
12% of the recovered amount. No recovery, no fee. YMM tasdik fees passed through at cost where the threshold triggers them.
Related services
Bookkeeping & Tax Filings
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.
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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.
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Multi-Currency Banking
TRY, USD, and EUR sub-accounts under one corporate banking relationship. Receive in the original currency, convert on your timing, evidence the service-export exemption.
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