An individual earning income online may fall under the exemption for social content creators and internet services. Article 20/B (repeated) of Income Tax Law No. 193 (GVK) introduces a special system based on bank withholding for certain activities. Not every internet business falls within this scope. The nature of the activity, the exemption certificate, the bank account in Türkiye and the annual limit are assessed together. For 2025 the limit is 4,300,000 Turkish lira (TL); for 2026 earnings the limit of 5,300,000 TL applies. [1]
Legal Nature of the Exemption and How It Differs from Other Obligations
This exemption does not cover every income earned on the internet. The legal scope of the activity, its performance by a natural person, the exemption certificate and the use of the designated bank account are assessed together.
Which Activities Are Covered?
Income that social content creators earn from sharing text, images, audio or video on the internet and similar electronic media may fall within scope. Individual courses, education, data processing and development, and product promotion services offered over the internet are also assessed under the conditions of the regulation. For developers of mobile applications, income earned through electronic application distribution and sales platforms is regulated separately.
Physical goods sold through e-commerce do not become covered merely because the sale is made online. Mere intermediation for the content of others is not the same as content production. The service description in the contract, the work actually performed, the delivery method and the payment source must be examined together.
Payments linked to content, such as advertising, sponsorship, subscriptions, donations, tips or support payments, are assessed in connection with the nature of the activity. Even if a payment is called a donation, it may be connected to commercial content production. For mobile apps, the connection to the platform is important, including advertising and in-app sales. Software income obtained entirely outside the platform cannot be accepted under this heading.
Who Can Benefit, and How Is a Partnership Assessed?
The exemption is aimed at natural persons. Being a full or limited taxpayer alone does not prevent benefiting; companies subject to corporate tax are outside its scope. Whether the activity is carried on through a limited company (limited şirket) or in the individual's own name leads to different results.
Income earned within an ordinary partnership (adi ortaklık) is not automatically exempt merely because its partners are natural persons. The partnership activity must be separated from any independent activity that a partner carries on in their own name and that qualifies. A person's other commercial or professional activity is not in itself prohibited; however, income, expenses and records must not be mixed.
In What Order Should the Certificate and Bank Account Be Set Up?
The exemption certificate (istisna belgesi) is obtained from the tax office. The bank account established in Türkiye in which all gross receipts within scope will be collected is determined, and the certificate is presented to the bank. An existing account may be used; however, it should not be assumed that an ordinary personal account automatically becomes a dedicated account.
Within one month from opening a new account, or from presenting the certificate to the bank for an existing account, the bank, branch and account details are reported to the tax office. A wallet on a foreign platform, a foreign bank account or another person's account does not replace the mandatory Turkish account. The collection trail must be traceable between the platform report and the bank movements.
Income earned before the date on which the certificate and bank procedures are completed is assessed separately when the switch to the exemption takes place in the middle of a year. A certificate obtained later does not automatically remove the ordinary tax and document obligations for the whole previous year. For the earlier period, ledger, document and provisional tax records may be required.
15% Withholding and the Annual Limit
The bank withholds 15% income tax on the gross receipts transferred to the dedicated account. For collections in foreign currency, the relevant exchange rate on the transfer date is applied. The bank's withholding does not mean that the taxpayer takes on the duty of monitoring the annual limit; the bank continues to withhold even after the limit has been exceeded.
For 2026, the 5,300,000 TL limit is checked by evaluating all activities within scope together. Opening a separate channel, account or platform does not multiply the limit. Within the limit, and where the other conditions are met, no annual income tax return is filed for this income. Even if a return is filed because of other income, the income within scope is not added to it. In that case, the tax withheld by the bank cannot be separately deducted from the tax calculated on the other activity.
When the annual limit is exceeded, not only the excess portion but the entire income within this scope for that year becomes subject to the annual return. Bank withholdings are offset against the calculated tax. Not having benefited in one year does not by itself prevent benefiting in later years when the conditions are met again. The prohibition on re-benefiting under the home-production exemption (ev üretimi muafiyeti) must not be carried over to this exemption.
Payments in Products, Phones or Travel
Receiving consideration in the form of goods or benefits instead of money does not make the collection condition irrelevant. The market value (rayiç bedel) of the in-kind consideration must be deposited into the exemption account within the prescribed period. The general period ends at the end of the month in which the income is obtained. For in-kind consideration received in the last seven days of the month, a special period runs until the end of the second business day of the following month.
For example, a phone given in return for content is not regarded as a tax-free gift merely because its invoice is in the brand's name. The economic value of the product, its delivery date and its connection to the content should be documented. A product given for short-term review on the condition of return is not the same as a product whose ownership is transferred. The mere wording "loan" or "delivery" in the contract may not be sufficient; actual use and return documents are examined.
Expenses, Bank Records and Documentation Arrangements for Internet and Mobile App Income
Expenses relating to the exempt activity cannot be used to reduce the tax base of other commercial or professional income. For shared expenses, allocation and separation are made by relating them to the gross receipts of each activity. It must be possible to explain, with reasonable records, which activity a computer, camera or internet expense belongs to.
The ledger and document simplifications in the guide apply only to the activity within scope; continuing obligations for other activities do not disappear. On the buyer's side, an expense voucher (gider pusulası) or a bank document meeting the conditions of Article 234 of the Tax Procedure Law (VUK) may come up. Keeping documents is also important for establishing expense and offset accounts if the annual limit is exceeded.
A person who chooses to leave the exemption during the year notifies the tax office and the bank. After the switch to the ordinary regime, the arrangement of ledger and document obligations within a ten-day period, and the provisional and annual taxation of the new period, are dealt with separately. Merely closing the account does not complete all tax exit procedures.
Does Exceeding the Income Tax Limit Also Trigger VAT?
The exemption under Article 17/4-a of the Value Added Tax Law (KDV Kanunu) is assessed separately. Exceeding the annual amount limit, and filing an income tax return because of an activity within the scope of GVK Article 20/B, does not by itself eliminate the VAT exemption. On the other hand, if the activity was outside the scope from the start or other conditions were violated, different consequences may arise.
This distinction prevents a producer with high year-end income from being subject to the same outcome as a person who kept collections outside the mandatory account. Income tax, VAT, document and bank withholding controls should be carried out in separate columns. A correct record system set up at the beginning makes it easier to calculate the obligations that arise at year-end because of a growing activity.
Decision to Make Before Acting and the File to Prepare
Determine the income types and the platforms that make payments. Track consideration received in products or services as well as cash; examine the bank withholding, the annual limit and the VAT consequences separately. Compare platform reports with bank records.
Sources and legal bases
- Guide on the Earnings Exemption for Social Content Creation, Internet and Similar Electronic Media Services and Mobile Device App Development (Sosyal İçerik Üreticiliği, İnternet ve Benzeri Elektronik Ortamlar Üzerinden Sunulan Hizmetler ile Mobil Cihazlar İçin Uygulama Geliştiriciliğinde Kazanç İstisnası Rehberi)
- Income Tax Law No. 193
- Law No. 3065, in particular Articles 30/a and 30/d
- Revenue Administration (GİB) 2026 guide on the exemption for social content and internet services