Entity Formation in Turkiye

Ready for a permanent Turkish presence? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including advising you on the best time to incorporate.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in Turkiye means

An Anonim Şirket (A.Ş., joint-stock company) is the standard vehicle for a substantial or permanent business presence, registered through the MERSIS Central Registry System and the local Trade Registry. Smaller or more closely held operations often use a Limited Şirketi (Ltd. Şti.), which carries a lower minimum capital and simpler management structure. When you form one, you become the legal employer and operator in Turkiye, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the setup time and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own A.Ş. or Ltd. Şti. makes you the legal employer and operator in Turkiye, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup takes time

Incorporation typically takes two to four weeks, and you cannot employ anyone until Trade Registry entry and SGK employer registration complete. Timing the move matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Turkiye works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, then reserve the company name on MERSIS, prepare the articles of association, and arrange your registered Turkish office address.

02 — Capital & MERSIS filing

The articles of association are drafted and submitted through MERSIS. An A.Ş. needs a minimum capital of TRY 250,000 (TRY 500,000 under the registered-capital system), with at least 25% deposited and blocked at a bank before registration; a Ltd. Şti. needs TRY 50,000, payable within 24 months of formation.

03 — Register the company

The company is entered on the local Trade Registry, where legal personality begins, then registered with the local tax office (vergi dairesi) and for SGK employer registration, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Turkiye costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Turkiye’s formation cost is modest; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance, made harder by figures that move more than once a year. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

TRY 250,000 minimum for an A.Ş. (TRY 500,000 under the registered-capital system) or TRY 50,000 for a Ltd. Şti., plus MERSIS filing, notary, and Trade Registry fees typically running a few thousand TRY depending on capital and structure.

Corporate tax

Standard rate of 25% on corporate profits, rising to 30% for banks and other specified financial institutions, unchanged since a 2023 increase from 20% and confirmed still in force for 2026.

VAT (KDV)

Standard VAT is 20%, with reduced rates of 10% and 1% on defined categories such as basic foodstuffs, residential property under 150 square metres, and certain processed goods and services.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax and SGK contributions), corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual financial statements, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Turkish company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Turkiye through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

MERSIS, tax, and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, coordinated for you, so the process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The severance liability nobody explains at formation

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Turkish company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not the whole picture, yet. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Expectation: employment cost is the salary plus a flat social security add-on. Reality: from the day a Turkish employee’s tenure begins, the company is quietly accruing a severance liability of 30 days’ gross wage for every year of service, capped at a ceiling the Ministry of Treasury and Finance revises every six months, discovered only when the first long-serving employee resigns or is dismissed and the payment due is far larger than a salary-plus-SGK forecast ever assumed.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: dissolving a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a winding-up period. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: annual financial statements, monthly payroll filings, corporate tax and VAT returns, and (above defined size thresholds) a statutory independent audit. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the right partners already in place.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Turkish payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and SGK contributions calculated, withheld, and filed each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Turkiye.

How long does it take to incorporate in Turkiye?

Typically two to four weeks once documents, capital, and the registered address are in place. You cannot legally employ anyone until Trade Registry entry and SGK employer registration complete, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

An A.Ş. needs a minimum of TRY 250,000 (TRY 500,000 under the registered-capital system), with at least 25% deposited and blocked at a bank before registration. A Ltd. Şti. needs TRY 50,000, payable within 24 months. Most foreign-owned single-entity subsidiaries choose based on governance needs, not capital alone.

Yes. There is no residency or citizenship requirement for shareholders; a non-resident individual or company can be sole shareholder. A Ltd. Şti. can have a single director-manager. You will need a registered Turkish office address, which we arrange.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs and the severance liability that starts accruing on day one. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax and SGK contributions), corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual financial statements (plus a statutory independent audit above defined size thresholds). We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Turkish company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Turkiye?

Tell us your plans for Turkiye and we will advise you on the best time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is now, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (GİB, SGK, the Turkish Trade Registry). Figures change, and Turkiye revises several of them more than once a year; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.