Everyone with rental income meets this once a year. This guide answers three questions: do I have to declare, how much will I pay, and which expense method should I choose?
The exemption: how much is tax-free?
Residential rental income carries an exemption set each year. Income below that amount is not declared.
| Year income earned | Exemption | Filing window |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ₺47,000 | March 2026 |
| 2026 | ₺58,000 | March 2027 |
The exemption applies to residential rent only, not to commercial rent.
An important restriction: people who file a return because of commercial, agricultural or professional earnings cannot use it. Nor can those whose total income exceeds the threshold set in law.
Filing and payment calendar
- Return: filed 1–31 March of the following year.
- Payment: in two equal instalments — March and July.
The return can be filed through the Revenue Administration's pre-filled system, which populates data drawn from title and bank records.
That last point matters: even if you do not declare your rental income, the administration may already know about it. Rent must be collected through the banking system, and those records reach the authorities. Undeclared income later attracts a tax-loss penalty and late interest.
Expense method: flat-rate or actual?
An expense deduction is taken from what remains after the exemption. There are two methods, and you must stay on the one you choose for two years.
Flat-rate deduction
A percentage set by law (long standing at 15%) is deducted from the post-exemption amount, without documents.
- Advantage: simple, no paperwork, low risk of error.
- Suits: properties bought without a mortgage and with few expenses.
Actual expenses
Real costs deducted against documents. The main deductible items:
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Mortgage interest — the interest element only, not capital repayments
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Insurance costs (including DASK)
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Depreciation
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Maintenance and repair
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Property tax
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Rent you pay on your own home, if you are also a tenant
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Management costs and service charges
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Advantage: usually far better than the flat rate in the early years of a mortgage, when interest is high.
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Suits: anyone paying a mortgage or with documented maintenance spending.
Which to choose?
A simple rule: if you are paying a mortgage, have the actual-expense method calculated. In a loan's early years most of the instalment is interest, and that interest usually exceeds what the flat rate would give you.
On an unmortgaged property with no expense documents, the flat rate is both simpler and sufficient.
Decide with your accountant — particularly because of the two-year commitment.
Commercial rent works differently
- Withholding applies: the tenant deducts tax when paying the rent and remits it.
- No exemption.
- There is a declaration threshold; if gross rent stays below it and withholding has been applied, no return is required. For 2025 income that threshold was ₺330,000.
- Tax paid via withholding is set off against the tax computed if a return is filed.
If you have both residential and commercial rental income, the calculation combines and becomes complicated — work with an accountant in that case.
Effect on the investment calculation
Leaving tax out of a yield calculation makes the net return look higher than it is.
As an example, consider a 100 m² flat in Küçükçekmece. Rent in Kartaltepe ran at ~₺512/m² in July 2026: roughly ₺51,200 a month, ₺614,400 a year. After the exemption (₺58,000) the remainder is declarable and taxed according to the expense method chosen.
That is a significant component of the gap between gross and net yield. For the full calculation see our rental yield and payback guide.
Short summary
- The 2026 residential exemption is ₺58,000 (declared in March 2027).
- File 1–31 March; pay in March and July.
- If you have a mortgage, price the actual-expense method.
- You stay on the chosen method for two years.
- Commercial rent has withholding and no exemption.
- Collect rent through a bank — it is required, and it protects you at filing time too.