What a freelancer in Turkey really keeps

For a sole proprietor billing foreign clients, the effective burden swings from near-zero to over forty percent depending on one thing: how much of the income qualifies for the export deduction, raised to 100% for 2026. This calculator runs the whole chain: exemptions, Bagkur, the deduction, the general tariff and the fixed duties.

Inputs

Annual revenue

TRY / year

Annual deductible expenses

TRY / year

Share of income from foreign clients: 100%

Software, design and similar services invoiced to non-residents and used abroad qualify for the export deduction.

Bagkur declared base

TRY / month

Most freelancers declare the minimum; a higher base buys a higher future pension.

Regular payment discountPaying each premium by the end of the following month keeps the rate at 30.75% instead of 35.75%.Young entrepreneur reliefUnder 29 at first registration: ₺400,000 of profit per year exempt for the first three years.

Verified 2 Oct 20262026 parameters · sources

Result

₺1,673,766kept per year, after everything

₺139,480

kept per month, average

₺0

income tax for the year

₺121,881

Bagkur premiums for the year

7.0%

of profit goes to the state

The export deduction wipes your income taxWith all income from qualifying foreign clients, the 100% deduction reduces your taxable base to zero. What remains is Bagkur and the fixed duties.

You keep: ₺1,673,766 / yearBagkur: ₺121,881 / yearFixed duties: ₺4,354 / year

The repatriation condition is real. The export deduction requires transferring the entire qualifying earnings to Turkey by the annual filing deadline at the end of March. Money left sitting abroad forfeits it. Foreign-client invoices are also VAT-exempt as service exports.

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Methodology and sources

Computation order: revenue minus expenses gives business profit; the young entrepreneur exemption (₺400,000 per year for three years, under 29 at first registration) applies at profit level; Bagkur premiums paid in the year are deducted; then the export services deduction removes 100% of the profit from qualifying services: software, design, engineering and similar work invoiced to non-residents and used abroad, with the entire earnings transferred to Turkey by the filing deadline. The general tariff applies to what remains (its 27% bracket caps at ₺1,000,000, unlike the wage tariff). Quarterly prepayment returns are a timing matter, not an extra burden, but each carries a fixed stamp duty; four quarterly returns plus the annual return total ₺4,354 per year.

2026 general income tax tariff · Revenue Administration (GIB) official tariff
Export services deduction raised to 100 percent · Presidential Decree No. 11257, Official Gazette No. 33239 (30 Apr 2026)
Bagkur 35.75 / 30.75 percent with regular payment, base floor and ceiling · Law 7566 and the SGK 2026 premium schedule
Young entrepreneur exemption TRY 400,000; its separate premium subsidy abolished for new registrants from 2026 · Income Tax Law, repeated art. 20
Fixed return stamp duties · GIB 2026 stamp duty schedule

The premium subsidy abolition matters: freelancers who registered before 2026 keep their one-year Bagkur support as an acquired right; anyone starting now pays premiums from month one.