What you pay every year after you buy: property taxes and running costs in Turkey, 2026

The purchase price is only part of the cost

Most guides to buying property in Turkey stop at the moment the title deed is signed. But ownership is a yearly commitment, and in 2026 several important tax changes took effect that bear directly on your return.

If you bought this year, your first deadline is close: the second instalment of the annual property tax is due by 30 November 2026. This article lists everything you pay each year.

1. Annual property tax (Emlak Vergisi)

The municipality where the property sits collects this tax. It is based on the property's tax value — a figure derived from the municipality's declared values, and usually below market price.

• Residential property: 0.1% of the tax value.

• Within metropolitan municipalities, including Istanbul, the rate doubles: 0.2%.

An example: an Istanbul apartment with a tax value of 5,000,000 TL pays 10,000 TL a year, in two instalments of 5,000 TL.

• First instalment: 1 March to 31 May

• Second instalment: 1 September to 30 November

• You may pay the whole year in the first period. Late payment carries a surcharge.

For 2026 an important limit applies: under Law No. 7566, the 2026 tax value of buildings and land may not exceed twice the 2025 value. The cap followed a sharp jump in municipal declared values.

The other side: the same law changed the rule for the years between revaluations against owners. Previously the tax value rose by half the revaluation rate in those years; for 2027, 2028 and 2029 it rises by the full rate. This year's relief hides a steeper slope over the next three.

2. High-value home tax (Değerli Konut Vergisi)

A separate tax, charged on top of the annual property tax, on high-value homes. Many foreign buyers learn it exists only after the filing deadline has passed.

Under Emlak Vergisi General Communiqué No. 88, published in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2025 (No. 33124, 5th repeat), the 2026 threshold is 17,711,000 TL. It is tested against the property's tax value, not its market price.

• Tax is charged only on the excess over the threshold, not on the whole value.

• Up to 26,567,000 TL: 0.3% of the excess over 17,711,000 TL

• Up to 35,425,000 TL: 26,568 TL fixed, plus 0.6% of the excess over 26,567,000 TL

• Above that: 79,716 TL fixed, plus 1% of the excess over 35,425,000 TL

An example: a home with a tax value of 30,000,000 TL falls in the second band — 26,568 TL fixed, plus 0.6% of the 3,433,000 TL excess, which is 20,598 TL. Total: 47,166 TL a year.

• If you own only one home anywhere in Turkey, it is exempt.

• If you own several qualifying homes, only the lowest-valued one is exempt; you file for the rest.

• Each independent unit is assessed separately; several units in one building are not added together.

• Filing deadline: 20 February each year. Payment in two equal instalments, by the end of February and the end of August.

The 2027 threshold has not yet been announced. This article will be updated once it is published.

3. Tax on rental income

During the late-2025 tax package, removing the residential rental income exemption was proposed and then dropped. For 2026 income the exemption is 58,000 TL, declared in March 2027.

• It covers residential rent only, not commercial.

• If you rent out several homes, it applies once, to your total residential rental income.

• A late or incomplete return forfeits it.

• The conditions for non-resident owners are not the same as for residents and need checking separately.

A practical point: if you pay the high-value home tax and the property is let, that tax can be claimed as an actual expense in your rental income return.

4. Fixed costs that are not taxes

• Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK): required to register utilities and for many transactions. The yearly premium depends on floor area and construction type.

• Building service charge (aidat): in complexes with facilities it can exceed the annual property tax itself. Before you buy, get the actual monthly figure from building management, not from the seller.

• Utilities: registering electricity and water in your own name requires a kimlik — one of the most common practical obstacles for new owners.

An owner's yearly calendar

• By 20 February: high-value home tax return, if it applies; first instalment by the end of February

• March: rental income return for the previous year

• March to May: first instalment of the annual property tax

• End of August: second instalment of the high-value home tax

• September to 30 November: second instalment of the annual property tax

• Every year: renew earthquake insurance (DASK)

Know the real cost of holding a property

Before you buy, let us calculate the yearly cost of holding the property you are considering — tax, service charge, insurance and management. If you are buying to hold rather than to live in, PERGAS asset management exists for exactly this.