Stamp Duty (Damga Vergisi) in Türkiye: What Foreign-Owned Companies Keep Getting Wrong

Foreign operators in Türkiye often discover stamp duty (damga vergisi) the hard way — during a tax inspection, when an auditor asks why the duty on a signed service contract was never paid. Unlike income tax, this is a tax on the document itself, and it catches companies that treat their home-country instincts as universal. This is a practical, sourced guide to getting it right.

What stamp duty actually taxes

Stamp duty is levied on the issuance of specific documents — contracts, commitments, guarantees, lease agreements, payrolls and more. The taxable event is the signing/issuance of the document, not whether the underlying work is performed. Sign a service contract and the duty can arise even if the contract is never executed.

The governing law is Stamp Duty Law No. 488, which sets out which documents are taxed and at what rate. Rates are re-published each year via a General Communiqué, uplifted by the annual revaluation rate.

2026 rates

The rates effective from 1 January 2026 were set by Stamp Duty General Communiqué Serial No. 71, published in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025. The most common:

• Contracts (containing a determinable amount): per mille 9.48
• Lease agreements: per mille 1.89 (on the rent amount)
• Wages (payroll): per mille 7.59

Notably, to avoid disrupting commercial life, these proportional rates were not changed for 2026 — the 9.48 and 1.89 figures were preserved. What changes annually are the fixed amounts and the cap.

The per-document cap: 29,115,961.10 TRY

Stamp duty on documents with a determinable amount is capped: the duty per document cannot exceed a ceiling. As of 1 January 2026 that ceiling is 29,115,961.10 TRY.

In practice, this means very high-value contracts where the 9.48 per-mille calculation would exceed the cap pay only up to the ceiling. Most mid-sized contracts fall well below it; the cap mainly bites on large projects and high-value commitments.

What foreign operators get wrong

1. Forgetting the per-copy rule. A core principle: the duty is calculated per original copy issued. If both parties hold a signed original, duty arises on two copies. Calculating duty on a single copy because "we signed one contract" is a classic error. (Originals and certified copies follow different rules.)

2. Assuming a contract is duty-free. The belief that "we issue invoices, so the contract isn't taxed" is widespread and wrong. A service or commitment contract with a determinable amount is subject to stamp duty independently of invoicing.

3. Joint and several liability. The parties are jointly liable — the tax authority can collect from either. Writing "the other party pays" into the contract governs the internal relationship but does not, on its own, remove your exposure to the authority.

4. Missing exemptions. Certain documents and transactions are exempt (for example, specific incentive, export and financing transactions). Knowing whether you qualify prevents overpayment as much as underpayment. When in doubt, ask your Turkish CPA.

Filing and payment

Taxpayers with continuous stamp-duty liability declare the duty on documents issued within a month via a stamp duty return, filed and paid the following month. Those without continuous liability may file on a per-transaction basis for certain documents. Confirm which regime applies to you with your CPA.

Keeping it under control

Most stamp-duty problems come from one thing: the contract is signed, filed in a drawer, and its duty is never computed. The fix is to keep contracts — and the obligations they create — in one place, with the amount and number of copies recorded.

Birasyo Document & Contract Management records every contract with its value, parties and copy count, so the stamp duty arising can be computed and listed for the period return. The Accounting module links those amounts to the right expense and declaration accounts, eliminating the "signed but forgotten" risk.

Summary

For 2026, contracts carry stamp duty at per mille 9.48, leases at 1.89, wages at 7.59, with a per-document cap of 29,115,961.10 TRY. The rules that trip up foreign operators are per-copy calculation and joint liability. Record your contracts with their value and copy count, and this tax stops being a surprise. Confirm your specific cases with a licensed Turkish CPA.

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Sources: Stamp Duty Law No. 488; rates and the per-document cap effective 1 January 2026 per Stamp Duty General Communiqué Serial No. 71 (Official Gazette, 31 December 2025). General information, not tax advice — confirm your contracts' stamp-duty treatment with a licensed Turkish CPA (Mali Müşavir).