When is the real estate investor exempt from value-added tax in Turkey?
2021-11-02
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After the tax exemption benefits have been issued regarding real estate investments in Turkey, who are the investment categories that can benefit from the tax exemption benefits? What are the conditions set to benefit from the tax exemption for real estate investments in Turkey? Follow with Imtilak Real Estate.
Exemption from value-added tax in real estate investments in Turkey
The Turkish government continues to provide the necessary facilities to foreign investors, with the aim of increasing foreign flows to the country, and among these facilities is the exemption from value-added tax, which belongs to foreign investors not residing in Turkey.
It is known that the value-added tax in Turkey varies between 1% to 18% of real estate sales, and thanks to this exemption, foreign investors can benefit from the tax exemption in Turkey, and save a large amount of money when investing in real estate in Turkey.
In order to remove doubts regarding the beneficiaries of this issue, we provide the following text that clearly shows the investors, who can benefit from the exemption from value-added tax:
Only “foreign individuals not residing in Turkey” and “foreign corporate entities not based in Turkey” are able to benefit from this privilege.
Conditions for benefiting from the exemption from value-added tax
Foreign investors wishing to obtain a tax exemption certificate must apply to the Turkish tax authorities, after securing the following conditions:
- The foreign investor must not be residing in Turkey.
- The absence of any foreign company entities headquarters in Turkey.
- Not residing in Turkey for a period of more than 6 months during the past year.
- Not having a valid residence permit in Turkey from last year.
- There is no registered address in Turkey.
- The exemption from VAT includes only new properties, while old properties are not included in the exemption.
- The properties covered under the exemption from VAT are residential buildings (such as apartments, villas, etc.), offices, or workplaces. Other types of real estate such as land or agricultural land are not within the scope of this concession.
- The presence of bank transfers proves that the funds paid come from external sources (from outside Turkey), or with a customs declaration document in the event of cash transfer to Turkey, noting that the payment for real estate investment must be in foreign currency.
- The property benefiting from the tax exemption cannot be sold again for one year.
It is worth noting that foreign investors should be very careful when applying to the Turkish tax authorities for tax exemption, especially since any error or omission in implementing this transaction could be a reason for investors to miss their opportunity to benefit from the exemption.
We note the need for a Turkish lawyer to be present when applying for VAT exemption, in order to avoid making mistakes, which could lead to losing your right to tax exemption.
At Imtilak Real Estate, we have a team of cadres specialized in managing files for tax exemption and Turkish citizenship, and others with high professionalism and free services.