What are Turkey's 2026 payroll parameters?

For payroll run in Turkey in 2026, the controlling numbers are: gross minimum wage TRY 33,030 per month (net TRY 28,075.50), a social security contribution base between TRY 33,030 and TRY 297,270, wage income tax brackets from 15% to 40%, and stamp tax at 0.759% (Minimum Wage Commission decision, Official Gazette 26.12.2025 No. 33119 and SGK Circular 2026/2). The minimum wage was set once for the whole calendar year — no mid-year increase happened or is planned.

Law No. 7566 (Official Gazette 19.12.2025 No. 33112) made the structural changes. The SGK ceiling multiplier rose from 7.5 to 9 times the minimum wage, so high salaries now carry contributions up to TRY 297,270 instead of TRY 247,725. The employer's social security rate rose from 20.75% to 21.75%. The 5-point Treasury discount on that rate was cut to 2 points for every sector except manufacturing, which keeps 5 points through 31 December 2026 — most employers now pay an effective 19.75%.

Income tax brackets were revalued by 25.49% (Income Tax General Communiqué No. 332): wage income is taxed at 15% up to TRY 190,000 of the cumulative base, 20% to TRY 400,000, 27% to TRY 1,500,000, 35% to TRY 5,300,000, and 40% above. The severance pay ceiling — re-indexed every January and July — is TRY 73,729.87 for terminations dated 1 July to 31 December 2026 (TRY 64,948.77 in the first half).

Every Turkish payslip starts from gross salary. The employee pays 14% social security plus 1% unemployment insurance on the contribution base (capped at TRY 297,270), then progressive income tax on the remainder, then 0.759% stamp tax on gross. Since AGİ — the old minimum living allowance — was abolished from 2022 by Law No. 7349, two exemptions apply to everyone instead: the income tax and stamp tax that would fall on the minimum-wage portion of any salary are waived. That is why the net minimum wage is exactly 85% of gross — only social contributions are deducted from it.

Income tax works on a cumulative annual basis, not month by month in isolation: each month's tax depends on taxable income accumulated since 1 January. When an employee's cumulative base crosses TRY 190,000 mid-year, the portion above the threshold is taxed at 20% instead of 15%, and net pay visibly drops even though gross is unchanged. Budget for this if you agreed a net salary — in net-pay arrangements, the bracket progression becomes the employer's cost.

On top of gross salary the employer pays 21.75% social security and 2% unemployment insurance (Law No. 5510 art. 81 and Law No. 4447). A 2-point Treasury discount applies to compliant private employers outside manufacturing (manufacturing gets 5 points through end-2026, determined by NACE code), so the standard effective SGK rate is 19.75%. A minimum-wage employee therefore costs TRY 33,030 × (1 + 0.1975 + 0.02) = TRY 40,214.03 per month, before the state's minimum wage support of TRY 1,270 per insured employee is netted off.

Contributions stop at the ceiling: for salaries above TRY 297,270, both employee and employer social contributions are computed on TRY 297,270, while income tax and stamp tax still apply to the full salary. Severance accrues at one benefit-loaded gross monthly salary per full year of service, but the salary used in that calculation is capped at TRY 73,729.87 for second-half 2026 terminations.

The minimum wage, tax brackets, and contribution rates are fixed for the calendar year: the 2026 minimum wage decision explicitly covers 1 January through 31 December 2026, and as of August 2026 no interim raise is planned — the next reset is expected in January 2027. The one routine mid-year mover is the severance ceiling, re-indexed to the civil servant salary coefficient every January and July.

If you employ in Turkey through an EOR or a local provider, re-verify the severance ceiling each July and the full parameter set each January. Legislative changes can also land mid-cycle — Law No. 7566, passed in December 2025, is why several 2026 values differ from what older references show — so confirm the SGK ceiling and employer rates against the current year before modeling costs.