Didim Today

I have realized that we use the word foreigner, in Turkish “yabancı,” a lot. I mean it. I don’t know how foreigners living in Turkey feel about this, but I would probably feel strange, if not foreign. An American friend was really affected by this word. It was like a running joke, and she didn’t know what the word really meant, hearing it all the time, such as “yabancı price,” “yabancı employee,” yabancı, yabancı, yabancı... In the end she got a tattoo of “yabancı.” Tax matters March is tax month in Turkey.

As I mentioned in previous articles, foreign persons residing in Turkey are also obliged to pay tax on income earned from leasing property. All kinds of income earned from the leasing of goods (such as land, buildings, motor vehicles, etc.) cited in Article 70 of the Law on Income Tax shall be defined as “rental income” and such income shall be subject to income tax.

If the foreign person only earns income through renting out his property and has no other cash-generating business activities, the foreign person should declare the rental income to the tax office. How to declare tax income? It is very simple.

You should go register with the relevant tax office and fill in a form. In some tax offices you can apply for an Internet password that you can use to file future taxes online. Otherwise, you can give power of attorney to a professional, and all the procedures can be carried out by this person acting on your behalf.

For more information on the subject, please refer to my articles about issuing and revoking a power of attorney. What is the deadline for tax declaration?

There are different deadlines for different types of taxes. I will mention only two types of declarations which may be of interest to expats living in Turkey. The first type of declaration is for property tax, and it should be submitted by the end of the year during which the property is acquired.

I would personally declare it as soon as possible after the acquisition. The second type of declaration is for annual income tax, for instance on real estate rentals. This is made between March 1 to 25 for income earned between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010. The good news is you still have some time to submit your declaration.

There is an exempted part of the income at different rates depending on the type of rental property, such as a residential or commercial property i.e., office. I will refrain from giving exact amounts as this may result in mistakes for those who read this some years later. What if you miss the deadline?

You still have chance to correct it and avoid penalties by making a late tax declaration. How is it done?

Basically you should make a statement to the tax office with the reasons for your late declaration. However, you should contact a professional as the late tax declaration requires that a different procedure be followed.

The most common excuse used for delayed declarations is that you were abroad and had no chance to travel to Turkey at that time.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it