Why a freelancer in Izmir is not earning foreign income
The question is where you sit, not where the client banks.
Last verified 2026-10-21Next review 2027-04-212 official sources
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If you do the work while you are physically in Turkey, the income is Turkish-source under Article 7, no matter where the client is, where the contract was signed or which bank the money lands in. Turkish-source income is taxed at the normal rates of 15% to 40%, and the 20-year exemption does not touch it.
What this rules out
A developer in Izmir invoicing a German company is earning Turkish-source income. So is a consultant in Antalya working for clients in the Gulf. The exemption was not written for them, and reading it as a remote-work tax holiday is the single most expensive misreading of Article 20/D.
What it does cover
Income that arises outside Turkey without your labour inside Turkey producing it: dividends from foreign companies, interest on foreign deposits, rent from property abroad, gains on foreign securities. That is the shape of the person the article was written for.
The awkward middle
There are real cases that sit between the two. A business owner abroad who still makes decisions while sitting in Turkey. A writer whose royalties arrive from everywhere. These are not settled by reading one article, and anybody who tells you otherwise has not read the communiqué.
If your income depends on your own work, assume Turkish-source until a Turkish adviser tells you otherwise in writing.
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Sources
Every legal, fee and procedural statement on this page is taken from the sources below and was checked on 2026-10-21. Where they change, this page changes.
- Income Tax Law No. 193, consolidated text (mevzuat.gov.tr) — Tax residency (Articles 4 and 5), source rules (Article 7) and the 20-year exemption (Article 20/D)
- Income Tax General Communiqué No. 333, Official Gazette No. 33300 of 4 July 2026 (resmigazete.gov.tr) — How the Article 20/D exemption is applied: eligibility, the exemption certificate and its deadline
This page is general information about Turkish rules as published by the authorities named above. It is not legal or tax advice for your circumstances, and immigration outcomes depend on your nationality, documents and individual case. See our legal and tax information disclaimer.