Inheritance tax in Turkey for foreigners: 2026 exemptions, rates, deadlines and payment

In short

This article covers Turkish tax only. For the main process (certificate of inheritance, registration, sale), see the guide Inherited property in Turkey.

Who has to pay Turkish inheritance tax?

The tax applies to the transfer of property located in Turkey, by inheritance or as a gift, regardless of the nationality or residence of the person who dies and of the people who inherit (Law No. 7338, Art. 1).

The taxpayer is the heir, not the estate. Each heir is liable only for the tax on their own share, and each heir has their own exemption. Heirs may file separate returns or one joint return, but a joint return must be signed by every heir.

"Property" is wide. It covers flats, houses and land, but also bank balances, shares, vehicles and rights held in Turkey.

What are the exemptions in 2026?

Under Art. 4 of Law No. 7338, the following amounts are exempt. The figures are revalued every year; the amounts below apply from 1 January 2026.

Three points matter in practice:

• The exemption is applied to the whole share the heir receives from the estate in Turkey (flat, bank account, car and so on together), not asset by asset.
• It is a deduction from the taxable amount, not a threshold above which everything is taxed.
• A return is still required for an inheritance even if the share is below the exemption. The Revenue Administration (GİB) states this expressly. For gifts, no return is filed where the amount is below the gift exemption.

Household furniture, the deceased's personal belongings and family keepsakes such as paintings or medals are also exempt (Art. 4(a)).

What are the tax rates in 2026?

The tax is charged on a progressive scale (Art. 16, bands revalued for 2026 by GİB General Communiqué Series No. 57). Inheritance and gifts have separate rates.

The bands apply to what is left after the exemption and any deductible debts. Each band is taxed at its own rate; a larger inheritance does not raise the rate on the first band.

Gifts between close family. Where a person receives a gift from a parent, spouse or child, the tax is calculated at half the gift rates (Art. 16). A gift to an adopted child from the adopting parent is excluded from this relief. A gift is reported by return within one month of the date on which it is legally acquired.

How is the property valued?

The taxable amount is the value of the transferred property, determined under Art. 10 of the Law and the Tax Procedure Law:

• Real estate (flats, houses, land): the value used for municipal property tax (emlak vergisi değeri). The municipality issues a document showing this value, and the tax office asks for it with the return. It is usually lower than the market value, and it is not the price a buyer would pay.
• Vehicles and other movable property: market value (rayiç bedel) at the date of death.
• Foreign currency: the exchange-market rate; where there is none, a rate set by the Ministry.

The date of valuation is the date of death (Art. 11). The deceased's debts supported by documents, funeral costs and tax debts can be deducted if shown in the return (Art. 12).

When must the return be filed, and where?

The return (veraset ve intikal vergisi beyannamesi) is due within the following periods, counted from the date of death (Art. 9):

Examples: a British resident dies in England, and the heirs live in England: 4 months. A Norwegian owner of a flat in Antalya dies in Norway and one heir lives in Sweden: that heir has 8 months. A death in Alanya with heirs in Denmark: 6 months.

Where it is filed.

• Generally, the return is filed with the tax office for the deceased's last place of residence in Turkey (Arts. 6 and 8; GİB guidance). Where the deceased lived abroad, this means the last residence in Turkey.
• For deceased persons with no residence in Turkey at all, the law leaves the competent office to be designated by the Ministry of Finance (Art. 6(c)). The tax office for the place where the property is located is the usual choice in practice, and this should be confirmed with the tax office before filing.

Documents. GİB lists, among others: the certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı), a document showing the deceased's last residence from the population register, any will, the municipal document showing the property tax value, vehicle registration documents and bank statements. The certificate of inheritance for foreign nationals is issued by a Turkish court; see the main guide.

Representation. The return can be signed by the taxpayer or by a representative with a power of attorney. Tax numbers for foreign heirs are obtained from a Turkish tax office; a lawyer in Turkey can do this under a power of attorney.

How is the tax paid?

The tax is assessed on the return and payable in six equal instalments over three years, in May and November of each year, counting from the assessment (Art. 19; GİB). The tax can be paid online through the Revenue Administration's portal, or at banks and tax offices. Instalments do not help heirs who want to sell: the tax on the property must be paid in full before a sale (see below).

If an instalment is not paid on time, late-payment interest (gecikme zammı) accrues monthly under the Public Receivables Collection Law (No. 6183, Art. 51), at a rate that the government can change.

What if the return is late or not filed?

Missing the deadline does not stop the process, but it has a cost:

• A short grace period. The tax office waits 15 days after the deadline before assessing the tax, and if the return is filed in that period no tax loss is deemed to have occurred. A further 15 days is given if the taxpayer is notified (Tax Procedure Law No. 213, Art. 342).
• A procedural penalty (usulsüzlük cezası). Filing late attracts a fixed penalty under Art. 352, which depends on how late the return is. The amounts are revalued each year.
• A tax loss penalty (vergi ziyaı cezası). If the tax is not assessed in time, a penalty equal to the tax lost may be imposed (Art. 344). It is reduced to 50% where the return is filed late voluntarily, before a tax inspection has begun. Under the voluntary disclosure procedure (pişmanlık, Art. 371), no tax loss penalty is imposed if the heirs report the matter by petition before any inspection, file the return within 15 days and pay the tax with a late-payment surcharge within the same 15 days.
• Late-payment interest on unpaid tax, as above.

Heirs who discover they are late should file as soon as possible.

What is the tax clearance letter and why does it matter?

After the return is filed and the tax paid, the tax office issues a clearance letter (ilişik kesme belgesi, sometimes called a no-debt letter).

The Law is specific about the land registry (Art. 19):

• Registration of the heirs on the title deed is not delayed by the tax assessment. The land registry registers the transfer, and informs the tax office within 15 days.
• However, until the tax on that property has been paid in full, the property cannot be sold or transferred, and no mortgage or other right can be registered on it. Land registry officials cannot process a sale without the tax office's clearance letter.
• The heirs can ask for permission to sell if they provide security (guarantee) for the unpaid tax in a form listed in Law No. 6183.

For heirs, this means the tax must be settled before a sale. If the heirs plan to sell, it is often simplest to pay the full tax at once rather than in instalments, so that the clearance letter can be obtained. Whether the land registry will ask for the letter earlier, at the registration stage, can vary by office, so it is worth checking with the Antalya land registry office concerned.

What about bank accounts, vehicles and other assets?

Banks, insurance companies and similar institutions must ask for a certificate from the tax office showing that inheritance tax has been paid before they release money to heirs (Art. 17). If an heir has no certificate, the institution deducts 5% of an inheritance (15% of a gift) as tax and pays the rest. Heirs should therefore expect to file the return and obtain the tax office's certificate before collecting Turkish bank balances.

If the deceased rented a safe-deposit box, the bank may only open it in the presence of a tax office official (Art. 23).

A simple example (illustrative only)

The numbers below are an illustration of the 2026 rules, not a forecast for any case. Suppose a widower dies in England, leaving a flat in Antalya with a municipal property tax value of 6,000,000 TL and nothing else in Turkey. He has two adult children.

• Each child inherits a half share: 3,000,000 TL.
• Each child's exemption is 2,907,136 TL, so the taxable amount per child is 92,864 TL.
• The whole amount falls in the first band (1%): tax of about 929 TL per child.
• The return is due within 4 months if the children live in England.

If there were a single child, the share would be 6,000,000 TL, the taxable amount 3,092,864 TL, and the tax 32,786 TL: 30,000 TL on the first 3,000,000 TL at 1%, plus 2,786 TL on the remaining 92,864 TL at 3%.

A bank balance in Turkey would use up part of the same exemption, and a different family structure changes the result entirely.

What about tax in my home country?

Whether the inheritance, or Turkish tax paid on it, has consequences in the UK, Norway, Denmark, Sweden or any other country is a question for that country's law, and heirs should take advice there. The Turkish return and payment are required regardless.