Inheritance tax Turkey 2026: gift tax, rates and foreigners

Short answer: Inheritance tax in Turkey (veraset ve intikal vergisi) applies under Law 7338 to property in Turkey, whoever owns or inherits it, and to property abroad that Turkish citizens receive, or leave to anyone but a foreigner domiciled abroad. For 2026, Communiqué 57 exempts TRY 2,907,136 per child or spouse and TRY 66,935 of a gift, with rates of 1% to 10% on inheritance and 10% to 30% on gifts. Each heir files within 4, 6 or 8 months depending on where the death occurred and where the heir lives, and pays in six installments over three years.

Yes, Turkey has an inheritance tax, and being foreign does not take a Turkish flat outside it. The heir pays, not the estate, on the municipal property tax value rather than the market price, and the paperwork takes a foreign heir time.

This guide follows Law 7338 and the Revenue Administration's (GİB) brochure No. 617 and heirs' guide No. 618, both September 2026, read on 6 November 2026. Who inherits, and whether a foreign will is valid, is succession law: it is separate, so take legal advice. This is general information, not estate planning or tax advice.

Inheritance tax in Turkey for foreigners: what is covered

Turkish tax follows the location of the property and the citizenship of the people involved, so property in Turkey is always covered and foreign property is covered only where a Turkish citizen is involved (Law 7338, Article 1).

The exemptions, standard rates and valuation rules below apply regardless of nationality or residence. Foreign diplomats and consuls with their families are exempt on the conditions in Article 3. The tax also covers gifts between living people: anything acquired without payment counts, while compensation for loss does not.

Turkey inheritance and gift tax rates and 2026 exemptions

Communiqué 57 of 31 December 2025 sets the exemptions and bands for transfers from 1 January 2026, using the 25.49% revaluation rate, and the tax is charged on each heir's share, band by band.

A gift from a parent, spouse or child is taxed at half the gift rates, except a gift from an adopted child to the adopter. Household goods, the deceased's personal effects and family keepsakes are exempt, as are immovable cultural assets registered under Law 2863.

How a Turkish flat is valued for inheritance tax

Property in Turkey is valued at the property tax value (emlak vergisi değeri) for the year of death or gift, not at market price, and debts come off before the exemption (Articles 10 to 12; guide No. 618).

• Value date: the date of death, or the date a gift is legally acquired, which also decides which year's amounts apply.
• Property value: ask the municipality for a document showing it. The property tax guide explains how it is set and capped, and the property tax calculator gives the annual charge.
• Other assets: vehicles and other movable goods at market value; listed shares at the last trade in the three years before death; foreign currency at the quoted exchange rate.
• Deductions: the deceased's provable debts and tax debts, and funeral costs, if shown on the return with documents.

Worked example: a British or German heir of a flat in Turkey

On a flat with a TRY 5,000,000 property tax value, the 2026 tax ranges from nothing to about TRY 590,000, depending mainly on the relationship between the people involved.

The friend row has the same figures as GİB's Example 4 in guide No. 618, a TRY 5,000,000 cash gift to an association. A child living in the UK, the same country as the death, has four months; a child living in Germany has eight.

When and where to file the Turkish return

Heirs file, separately or jointly, within the period set by Article 9, even when a share is below the exemption, while a gift below the exemption needs no return (brochure No. 617).

• Where: the tax office of the deceased's or donor's domicile, or of the last domicile in Turkey. If that person never lived in Turkey, guide No. 618 allows the office where the property is or where the heirs live, with the whole estate on that return.
• Filing from abroad: Article 8 lets taxpayers abroad file at a Turkish consulate; GİB's guide words this for citizens, so a foreign heir should check with the consulate first. The return is on paper, by hand or registered post, and you need a tax number.
• Documents: certificate of inheritance, any will, the municipal value document and bank and debt documents.
• Foreign certificates: Land Registry Law Article 37 requires a certificate of inheritance from a Turkish court, or a foreign one that a Turkish court has approved, before the title can move. Article 9 gives no extra time for this, so start early.
• Late filing: guide No. 618 gives this tax two extra 15-day periods. Filing in the first means no tax loss penalty or late-payment interest, only a second-degree irregularity penalty; filing within 15 days of the tax office's notice draws a first-degree one and still no tax loss penalty. After that, the heavier of a doubled irregularity penalty and the tax loss penalty applies, per heir.

Land registries also report gifts of property to foreigners to the tax office (central bank Capital Movements Circular, Article 13(9)).

Paying in installments, and the block on selling

The tax is paid in six equal installments over three years, each May and November, and inherited property cannot be sold until the tax on it is paid or covered by collateral (Article 19).

• First installment: GİB's example is a death on 5 March 2026: a return filed in April starts payment that May, and a return filed in June starts it in November.
• Paying from abroad: GİB's Digital Tax Office takes cards of banks operating abroad, and guide No. 618 also allows a transfer to the tax office's account at Ziraat Bank with your tax number in the description. The payment date is the day the money reaches that account; see bank accounts for foreigners.
• Title: heirs can register a flat before the tax is assessed, but it cannot be sold or charged until the tax on it is fully paid or collateral of a type listed in Article 10 of Law 6183 is given (guide No. 618), and the registry asks for a clearance letter.
• Bank balances: institutions pay out against proof of payment; without it they withhold 5% on inheritance and 15% on gifts (Article 17). A safe deposit box is opened only with a tax official present (Article 23).

A later sale of inherited or gifted property creates no value increase tax, for residents and non-residents alike (Income Tax Law repeated Article 80); see capital gains tax in Turkey. Rent from it is covered in rental income tax.

Tax paid abroad, and the 1% rate linked to Article 20/D

Turkish law deducts foreign inheritance tax from the base only for assets abroad belonging to Turkish citizens, so UK or German tax on a Turkish flat does not reduce the Turkish bill under this rule (Article 12(c)).

Where it applies, the deduction is capped at the value of those assets, needs documents, and reduces the base rather than the tax. Relief for Turkish tax is then a question for the home country. HMRC's manual, read on 6 November 2026, lists ten UK inheritance tax conventions, none with Turkey; for property in the country that taxed it, UK unilateral relief gives a credit capped at the UK tax on that property (IHTM27187). Germany credits foreign inheritance tax on foreign assets on application where no treaty applies, also capped (section 21 of its Inheritance Tax Act).

Law 7582, published on 4 June 2026, added a 1% rate for transfers on death linked to people who benefit from the Article 20/D foreign income exemption, within its 20-year period (Article 16). Neither the law nor GİB's September 2026 guides Nos. 616 to 618 say whether that means what such a person leaves, inherits, or both, so ask the tax office in writing. It does not cover gifts. The saving appears only above the first band: on a TRY 20,000,000 base, the normal bands give TRY 740,000 and the flat rate TRY 200,000. GİB's guides do not say the exemption in Article 4 changes.

Can a foreigner inherit property in Turkey, and 2027 amounts

A foreign citizen can inherit, but under Land Registry Law Article 35 property inherited outside its limits, for example by a national of a country not on the President's list, must be disposed of within up to one year set by the Finance Ministry, or it is sold and the proceeds paid to the heir.

Turkish law governs succession to real property in Turkey, whatever the deceased's nationality (Law 5718, Article 20); see can foreigners buy property in Turkey. If no heir registers within two years of the death, the registry may ask a court for a certificate and register the heirs as joint owners (Land Registry Law, additional Article 1).

The 2027 exemptions and bands had not been announced as of 6 November 2026. Articles 4 and 16 raise them by the revaluation rate, and the President may raise or cut the bands by up to half; the 25.49% rate behind the 2026 amounts was announced on 27 November 2025 and the amounts on 31 December 2025. The death or gift date decides the year.

Frequently asked questions

Does Turkey have inheritance tax?

Yes. Law 7338 taxes property in Turkey passing on death or as a gift, whatever anyone's nationality, and property abroad that Turkish citizens leave or receive, with an exception for foreign recipients not domiciled in Turkey. For 2026, rates are 1% to 10% on inheritance and 10% to 30% on gifts.

What is the inheritance tax exemption in Turkey for 2026?

TRY 2,907,136 for the share of each child or spouse, TRY 5,817,845 for a spouse with no descendants, and TRY 66,935 for gifts. Parents, siblings and other heirs have no exemption.

Do foreigners pay inheritance tax on property in Turkey?

Yes. Property in Turkey is covered whoever owns or inherits it; GİB's guide gives a gift between two foreigners as an example. A Turkish citizen's property abroad passing to a foreigner not domiciled in Turkey is outside the tax.

How long do I have to file an inheritance tax return in Turkey?

Four, six or eight months from the death, depending on where it occurred and where you are. An heir files even below the exemption. A gift is reported within one month if it exceeds the exemption.

Can I sell an inherited flat before paying the tax?

No. Article 19 of Law 7338 lets you register the flat but blocks a sale until the tax on it is fully paid or collateral of a type listed in Law 6183 is given.

Sources

• Mevzuat: Inheritance and Gift Tax Law No. 7338, consolidated text read 6 November 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• Resmî Gazete: Inheritance and Gift Tax General Communiqué No. 57, 31 December 2025, No. 33124 (5th duplicate) (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• GİB: Inheritance and gift tax brochure, No. 617, September 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• GİB: Heirs' tax obligations guide, No. 618, September 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• Resmî Gazete: Law No. 7582, 4 June 2026, No. 33270, Articles 2 and 4 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• GİB: Guide to the exemption for foreign income, No. 616, September 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• Mevzuat: Land Registry Law No. 2644, Articles 35 and 37 and additional Article 1 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• Mevzuat: Private International and Procedural Law No. 5718, Article 20 on succession (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• Mevzuat: Income Tax Law No. 193, repeated Article 80, gains on property acquired without payment (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• TCMB: Capital Movements Circular, Article 13(9), gifts to foreigners (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• HMRC: Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM27161, Double Taxation Conventions: introduction (opens in a new tab)
• HMRC: Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM27187, unilateral relief under IHTA 1984 section 159(2) (opens in a new tab)
• Gesetze im Internet: German Inheritance Tax Act (ErbStG) section 21, credit for foreign inheritance tax (German) (opens in a new tab)

This guide is general information, not investment, legal or tax advice. Amounts, rates and rules in Turkey change often: check the date given for each figure and the official source before you rely on it, and ask a licensed adviser about your own situation. Sources, checks and corrections: see the editorial policy.