Paying tax on rental income in Turkey - New Regulations coming soon!

Property at Royal Heights Resort, near Bodrum, Turkey

New regulations for renting out your Turkish property

A new regulation (set to be
introduced) by the Minister of Tourism & Minister of Internal
affairs will see tighter controls for homeowners wishing to rent out
their Turkish properties to holidaymakers.

YellAli has received
the following information from the Ministry of Tourism and although
regulations are not yet fully finalized, we thought it necessary to
highlight what the new planned regulations will be.



Paying income tax

This
it not a new regulation. However, Turkish authorities will now start to
clamp down on homeowners who rent out their Turkish property to
holidaymakers without contributing any tax to the State. Stricter
punishments will be enforced for homeowners who do not comply.
                                                         

Declaration

If
you plan to rent out your Turkish property to holidaymakers, then you
must make a declaration to the Turkish authorities stating you wish to
rent out your property.
This will be a signed declaration (by the home owner/s ONLY) stating your intentions to rent out your property as a business.

Declarations will be made to either the Police or to the Jandarma. 




Passports
Homeowners
will need to obtain photocopies of each individual passport (photo
page) of each guest / holidaymaker and hand them to the local Police or
Jandarma. It may be possible to fax these details to the relevant
authorities. 
(Details to follow)



Please note: This procedure is common for all hotels, guest houses and pensions across Turkey



Setting up a Business

You
will need to register as a business to the government department; Esnaf
Odasi  (chamber of tradesmen) This is a government department for small
business owners. Do not confuse this with the Turkish ‘chamber of
commerce’ which is for limited companies.



Please note: You may be required to employ a Turkish accountant, ( Pending further information)



TAX
You
will be required to pay rental income tax to the Turkish authorities
and may not have the option to pay your rental income tax to the UK.


You can pay your rental income tax either monthly or yearly, (in Turkish lira) to the Turkish Tax office (Vergi Dairesi)


It will also be possible to pay via your Turkish bank. (Either online or direct)
 (Full details about Tax issues to follow)



Why are they doing this?

One
of the biggest reasons is tax evasion. 
There are many thousands of
homeowners who regularly rent out their Turkish property every year
without paying any income tax.
The Turkish government is now clamping down on this and punishments for tax evasion could be up to 10,000 tl.

Can I choose not to register with the Esnaf Odasi if my taxes are paid in the UK?

At the moment this is highly unlikely.

Do I have to provide photocopied passports for ALL guests?

Yes, this will be required for all guests



Can I employ a local letting agent to handle this on my behalf?
Yes,
this will be possible. However, setting up a business will need to be
completed by the homeowner. (full details to follow)



Will I be affected if I wanted to rent out my property long-term?

Homeowners
wishing to rent out their properties long-term, (i.e minimum 12 months,
living in the property) will not be affected.
However, they are expected to declare their rental income to the tax office.



When will the new regulations be finailised?
It is difficult to say, it coul dbe within a week, it could be a month. We shall keep our eye to the ground for the latest information.



Article taken from http://www.yellali.com/news/article/34/new-regulations-for-renting-out-your-turkish-property