How does payroll work in Turkey?

Payroll in Turkey is a monthly cycle with one consolidated filing. You register the workplace with SGK (the Social Security Institution), register each new employee at the latest the day before they start work, run payroll for the calendar month, and report income tax withholding and social security together in a single declaration, the Muhtasar ve Prim Hizmet Beyannamesi, universally shortened to MUHSGK, due by the end of the 26th of the following month.

Payments follow the same rhythm: withheld income and stamp tax are paid by that same 26th, and SGK premiums by the last day of the following month. January payroll therefore means filing and tax by 26 February and premiums by the end of February. The day-before registration rule has teeth, because SGK imposes fines per unregistered person, and same-day registration is allowed only in construction, fishing and agriculture.

Three deductions come out of every gross salary. First, social security: 14% SGK plus 1% unemployment insurance, calculated on gross pay up to the 2026 ceiling of 297,270 TL per month. Second, income tax on what remains, at 2026 cumulative brackets: 15% up to 190,000 TL of annual taxable income, 20% to 400,000 TL, 27% to 1,500,000 TL, 35% to 5,300,000 TL and 40% above. Third, stamp tax at 0.759% of gross.

Two features surprise foreign employers. The portion of every salary equal to the minimum wage is exempt from income and stamp tax, which is why a 2026 minimum-wage earner nets exactly 85% of gross (28,075.50 TL of 33,030 TL). And because the brackets are cumulative over the calendar year, an unchanged gross salary produces a shrinking net as the employee climbs into higher brackets, so Turkish offers are negotiated net at least as often as gross. You can sanity-check any figure with our free gross-to-net calculator at /bordro/hesaplama.

Employer contributions come on top of gross, on the same base and ceiling: a 21.75% employer SGK premium, reduced by a 2-point Treasury discount for most sectors (manufacturing keeps a 5-point discount through 2026), plus 2% employer unemployment insurance. The standard all-in employer load is therefore about 21.75% of gross, coincidentally the same figure as the undiscounted SGK rate.

In money terms: a 2026 minimum-wage hire costs the employer about 40,214 TL per month against the 33,030 TL gross, and the employee receives 28,075.50 TL net. Budget roughly 1.22× gross for any salary under the SGK ceiling.

Three payment rules bind every employer. Workplaces with three or more employees must pay wages through a bank, because cash is prohibited, under the wage-payment regulation as amended in June 2025 (the threshold was five before 1 July 2025). Salaries between Turkish residents must be agreed and paid in Turkish lira under Decree No. 32. Foreign-currency salaries are allowed for employees who are not Turkish citizens and in a handful of other exceptions covered in the FAQ below. And every payment must come with a written payslip (ücret hesap pusulası) showing the pay period and each deduction (Labor Law art. 37).

Pay frequency is monthly at most: wages must be paid at least once a month, and the employment contract can shorten that to as little as a week (Labor Law art. 32). Nearly every Turkish employer pays monthly, typically at month-end or on the 1st.

Without a Turkish entity you cannot run this yourself: an EOR (employer of record) employs your Turkish hires and does everything above for a fee, and that is the honest answer for a first hire or two. Once you incorporate, payroll is run by your own team, an accountant (mali müşavir), or both, on payroll software. Otto HR is that software: Otto prepares each month's bordro with the current parameters and statutory checks, and a person reviews and approves before anything is filed or paid. Otto HR is not an EOR and never employs anyone on your behalf.