A Practical Guide for Foreign Companies and Founders
Doing business in Turkey requires more than registering a legal entity. The operating model should connect company structure, tax, accounting, payroll, banking, foreign-investment reporting and management controls from the start.
Download the reviewed 2026 guide
The four-page PDF is designed as a board-level planning brief. It does not require an email address and does not collect personal data.
What Is Inside the Guide?
1. Operating structure
Compare an LLC, JSC, branch and liaison office before fixing the ownership, liability and governance model.
2. Company formation workflow
Plan foreign shareholder documents, MERSIS, Trade Registry, tax activation, accounting onboarding and bank KYC as connected but separate stages.
3. Accounting and tax
Build the monthly source-document, filing and management-reporting process from the first operating period.
4. Cross-border risk
Test VAT registration, permanent establishment, withholding, treaty and transfer-pricing questions before the first sensitive transaction.
5. Hiring and employer cost
Separate gross salary, employer contributions, benefits, work-permit questions and employee-specific payroll treatment.
6. Foreign investment reporting
Distinguish commercial-registry actions in MERSIS from foreign-investment reporting responsibilities in E-TUYS.
7. First 90 days
Use a staged checklist covering pre-registration decisions, first filings, bank onboarding, document controls and early compliance review.
8. Official sources
Continue from the concise guide to current ministry, Revenue Administration, SGK and Invest in Türkiye resources.
Who Should Use It?
Foreign company and finance teams
Use the guide to compare a subsidiary, branch or other entry model and identify local accounting, tax, reporting, bank and employer workstreams before assigning owners.
International founders
Use it to understand what happens before and after incorporation, which decisions can be prepared remotely and which steps depend on banks, authorities or employee-specific facts.
First 90 Days at a Glance
| Period | Priority actions |
|---|---|
| Before registration | Entity, NACE, address, authority documents, capital, regulated activity and work-permit plan |
| Days 1-15 | Tax activation, accounting engagement, bank KYC and e-document eligibility review |
| Days 16-30 | Document calendar, payroll readiness, contracts and invoicing controls |
| Days 31-60 | First reconciliations and filings, reporting map and cash controls |
| Days 61-90 | Compliance review, E-TUYS responsibility, transfer pricing and annual plan |
Continue with the Relevant Service or Decision Guide
Company formation in Turkey
Compare structures, documents, timeline, cost categories and remote formation.
Accounting services in Turkey
Define monthly inputs, statutory accounting, group reporting and onboarding.
Tax services in Turkey
Map recurring compliance, cross-border questions and separately scoped advisory.
Payroll services in Turkey
Plan employee data, monthly approvals, SGK and payroll reporting.
Permanent establishment rules
Test taxable-presence risk before relying on a no-entity operating model.
E-TUYS reporting
Understand recurring foreign-investment information responsibilities.