Declaration of Wage Income Exceeding 4,300,000 TL Earned from a Single Employer in 2025

In 2025, those who earn wage income from a single employer and whose total wage income exceeds 4,300,000 TL are required to declare their wage income via an annual tax return.

In cases of limited tax liability, no tax return is submitted for wages that have been taxed at source in Turkey, or if submitted, these wages are not included in the return.

The information regarding the wage incomes that need to be declared in 2025 is as follows.

I. Taxation and declaration of wage incomes exceeding 4,300,000 TL obtained from a single or multiple employers; Taxed at source;

A. For taxpayers earning wage income from a single employer, if their total wage income exceeds 4,300,000 TL for the year 2025,

B. For taxpayers earning wage income from multiple employers, including the wage income received from the first employer, if their wages exceed 4,300,000 TL for the year 2025,

C. For taxpayers earning wage income from multiple employers, if the total wages received from subsequent employers exceed 330,000 TL for the year 2025, their wage incomes will be declared via an annual tax return.

In cases of receiving wages from multiple employers, the employee can freely determine which wage from the first employer will be considered.

According to the first paragraph (b) of Article 86 of Law No. 193, the decision on whether to declare wage incomes will be evaluated internally, and if there are other incomes, these will not be included in the calculation.

Similarly, according to the first paragraph (c) of the same article, wage incomes will not be included in the determination of whether to declare other incomes.

In cases where an annual tax return is submitted, it is possible to deduct certain expenses such as education and health expenses, donations, and aids mentioned in Article 89 of Law No. 193 from the declared income.

Taxes paid during the year by withholding can be offset against the income tax calculated on the annual tax return according to Article 94 of Law No. 193.

Wage incomes that have not been subject to withholding, regardless of their amount, will be declared via the annual tax return in accordance with Article 95 of the same law.

In determining whether wage income has been obtained from multiple employers, it is important that the employee does not just earn wage income from multiple employers simultaneously, but rather earns wage income from multiple employers throughout the year 2025.

On the other hand, tax is levied on the net amount of income.

The net amount of wages is the amount remaining after certain deductions from the total of money and benefits provided by the employer (i.e., the gross wage).

These deductions include: Retirement dues and social security premiums, Social security support premiums, Unemployment insurance premiums, Life/personal insurance premiums, Legal deductions made by public institutions such as OYAK, Union dues (for labor and civil servant unions), Disability deductions.

In determining whether wage income should be declared, the monetary limits mentioned above should be compared with the net amount of wages calculated after deducting the specified deductions from the gross wage.

II. Evaluation of public administrations within the general budget as a single employer According to the attached (I) schedule of the Law No. 5018 on Public Financial Management and Control dated 10/12/2003, public administrations within the general budget have been listed.

In the first paragraph of Article 94 of Law No. 193, public administrations and institutions, economic public enterprises, other institutions, commercial companies, partnerships, associations, foundations, economic enterprises of associations and foundations, cooperatives, fund managers, and traders and self-employed individuals who are obliged to declare their actual income, the payments listed in paragraphs (including those paid as advances) made in cash or in kind by farmers who determine their agricultural profits according to the balance sheet or agricultural operating account, are required to withhold taxes on behalf of the income tax of the beneficiaries.

In the first subparagraph (1) of the same paragraph, it is stipulated that wages paid to employees and payments considered as wages under Article 61 of the same law (excluding those benefiting from exemptions) will be subject to withholding according to Articles 103 and 104.

With the developments in today's information technology, the transfer of information regarding the wages of employees working in public administrations within the general budget to electronic media has made the preservation of this information, access to information, data use, and evaluation more systematic.

Additionally, with the Public Personnel Expenditure Management System, the processes related to salaries, additional lessons, overtime wages, preparation allowances for the academic year, and payments such as birth, death, awards, and bonuses for personnel working as civil servants, contract employees, temporary personnel, and workers in all public institutions are regularly carried out electronically.

In line with these developments, if personnel working in public administrations within the general budget receive wages from other institutions and organizations within this scope during the year or transfer to another institution and organization within this scope, the wages they obtain will be considered as wages obtained from a single employer.

III. The situation of employees working for multiple employers in the private sector In the following cases, it is accepted that the wages of employees are obtained from multiple employers:

A. The wage income obtained by an employee working for a private sector employer, in addition to the wage obtained from this employer during the year, from another private sector employer or from a public institution or organization.

B. Wage income obtained due to leaving a job while working for a private sector employer within the same calendar year and starting to work for another private sector employer or a public institution or organization.

C. Wage income obtained by employees working alongside income or corporate tax payers when they start working within the partnerships or ordinary partnerships of those taxpayers within the same calendar year.

In cases where an employee earns wage income from multiple employers, the wages obtained from each employer will be taxed separately, and the wage bases will not be related to each other.

If an employee changes employers, the wage to be received from the new employer will be taxed on a zero basis without being related to the wage base received from the old employer.

In the following cases, it is accepted that the wages of employees are obtained from a single employer: The merger of two separate private sector firms (including transfer, change of type, and division).

In places where a main employer-subcontractor relationship is established within the scope of the Labor Law No. 4857 dated 22/5/2003, the change of the subcontractor during the year for the employees working there.

The change of any partner in workplaces operating in partnership.

Wages considered to be obtained from a single employer within the same calendar year will be taxed on a cumulative basis.

Employees who change employers during the year can request that their income tax base related to wage income be reported to the new employer for cumulative taxation according to the income tax tariff.

In this case, the new employer will withhold taxes considering the cumulative base.

If requested by the employee and accepted by the employers, wage incomes obtained from multiple employers simultaneously during the year can also be subject to withholding based on the cumulative base.

If an employee whose wage incomes obtained from multiple employers during the year is taxed based on the cumulative base has an obligation to declare these incomes via an annual tax return, the taxes withheld based on the cumulative base can be offset against the income tax calculated on the basis of the declared base in the annual tax return.

IV. The situation of those earning wage income within the scope of exemptions According to Article 86 /1-3 - (a) of the Income Tax Law, no annual tax return is submitted for the portion of gains and revenues within the exemption limits, and if a tax return is submitted for other incomes, these incomes are not included in the return.

According to Article 12 of the Law No. 4490 on the Turkish International Ship Registry dated 16/12/1999 and the Law No. 491 on the Amendment of the Decree Law, wages paid to personnel working on ships and yachts registered in the Turkish International Ship Registry have been exempted from tax.

No income tax withholding is made on wage payments made to employees working under the mentioned law and meeting the conditions.

Therefore, it is not possible to consider the declaration of these wages within the scope of exemptions and whether a tax return will be submitted according to the first paragraph (b) of Article 86 of Law No. 193.

According to the temporary Article 3 of the Free Zones Law No. 3218 dated 6/6/1985, wages of those working in the region, according to the temporary Article 2 of the Technology Development Zones Law No. 4691 dated 26/6/2001, wages paid to R&D, design, and support personnel, and according to the second paragraph of Article 3 of the Law No. 5746 on Supporting Research, Development, and Design Activities dated 28/2/2008, the income tax withheld from the wages of R&D, design, and support personnel is deducted from the tax accrued on the summary tax return and remains with the employer.

Due to the income tax withholding made on wage payments made to employees working under the mentioned laws and meeting the conditions, it is necessary to consider whether a tax return will be submitted according to the first paragraph (b) of Article 86 of Law No. 193.

The provisions of this article will also apply to income tax exemptions and deductions from accruals related to wage incomes in other laws outside the laws mentioned in the second and third paragraphs and in Law No. 193.

V. Payments made to jockeys, apprentice jockeys, and trainers of horses According to the temporary Article 68 amended by Article 20 of Law No. 7256 of the Income Tax Law No. 193; until 31/12/2025, payments made as wages to jockeys, apprentice jockeys, and trainers of horses participating in races organized by a person licensed under the Law No. 6132 on Horse Racing dated 10/7/1953 or authorized by the license holder will be subject to a 20% income tax withholding.

Whether the payer is obliged to withhold taxes under Article 94 and the effect of the exemption regulated in the first paragraph (2) of Article 23 on the income tax to be paid by withholding is not applicable.

In wage payments made through the license holder or a person authorized by the license holder, the income tax withholding will be fulfilled by the license holder or the person authorized by the license holder.

No annual tax return will be submitted for these incomes that have been taxed at source; if a tax return is submitted for other incomes, these incomes will not be included in the return.

VI. Wages received from employers located in foreign countries Wages received from employers located in foreign countries and not subject to withholding (if any, together with the earnings and revenues within Turkey) are declared via an annual tax return to the tax office of the place of residence.

However, according to the Income Tax Law, wages paid in foreign currency by employers who are subject to limited tax liability and do not have a legal and business center in Turkey for employees working for them are exempt from income tax.

More detailed information on this subject can be found in the 2025 INCOME TAX RETURN PREPARATION GUIDE published by TÜRMOB.

Sincerely… TÜRMOB (23.03.2026)