Short answer: Severance pay in Turkey (kıdem tazminatı) is 30 days' gross pay for every full year of service, with part years counted pro rata, under Article 14 of Labour Law No. 1475. It is due when an employee with at least one year of service leaves for a qualifying reason, such as dismissal other than for misconduct, retirement or resignation for just cause. The pay used for each year is capped at TRY 73,729.87 for employment ending between 1 July and 31 December 2026, and the payment is exempt from income tax, with only 0.759% stamp tax deducted.
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Calculate it with your own figures: Turkey severance pay calculator 2026 and Turkey notice pay calculator.
Severance pay is a lump sum the employer owes when an employment contract ends in one of the ways listed in the law. It rewards length of service, not the reason for leaving, but it is not paid on every exit: an employee who simply resigns usually receives none. Turkish severance pay is separate from pay in lieu of notice (ihbar tazminatı), and the two can be due at the same time.
Figures are as of 5 November 2026, from the labor laws on mevzuat.gov.tr and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (ÇSGB). This is general information, not legal advice.
Who is entitled to severance pay in Turkey?
An employee is entitled to severance pay when two conditions are met: at least one full year of service with the same employer, and an ending of the contract that Article 14 of Labour Law No. 1475 lists.
Article 14 is the only provision of the old Labour Law No. 1475 still in force; Labour Law No. 4857 of 2003 repealed the rest, and its temporary Article 1 maps the old cross-references to Articles 24, 25 and 32 of the new law. Service with the same employer is added up across contracts and workplaces and survives a business transfer.
| How employment ends | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dismissal by the employer | Any dismissal except for breaches of good faith and morality listed in Law No. 4857, Art. 25/II |
| Resignation for just cause | Reasons in Art. 24 of Law No. 4857, such as unpaid wages, health reasons or harassment |
| Compulsory military service | Leaving to perform military service |
| Retirement | Leaving to receive an old-age or disability pension or a lump sum, with proof of the application |
| Completing the non-age pension conditions | For example 15 years of insurance and 3,600 premium days for people first insured before 8 September 1999 |
| Marriage of a female employee | Leaving within one year of the marriage |
| Death of the employee | Paid to the legal heirs |
Do you get severance pay if you resign?
Not normally. A resignation without just cause gives no right to severance pay; the exceptions are the cases in the table, such as resigning because wages are unpaid, for retirement or within a year of marriage. Labor law applies to work done in Turkey regardless of the employee's nationality, but contracts governed by foreign law or postings from abroad need case-by-case legal advice.
How severance pay is calculated
Severance pay equals the gross pay base multiplied by the years of service, with months and days added pro rata, and the base for each year can never exceed the ceiling in force on the termination date.
The law uses the last wage, plus money and money-measurable benefits paid under the contract or the law. In practice this "dressed" gross wage (giydirilmiş ücret) adds regular items such as meal and transport allowances and contractual bonuses, with annual payments spread over twelve months. For piece-rate or commission pay, the average of the last year's pay over the days worked is used.
severance = base × full years + base × months ÷ 12 + base × days ÷ 365
base = min(dressed gross monthly wage, ceiling on the termination date)Dividing the day part by 365 is the common practice. A contract or collective agreement may give more than 30 days per year, but Article 14 caps the annual amount at the ceiling in all cases. The gross pay items themselves are explained in Turkey income tax brackets, and for a minimum-wage employee the base is the gross minimum wage in Turkey minimum wage.
Severance pay ceiling in Turkey for 2026
The severance pay ceiling is TRY 73,729.87 per year of service for contracts ending between 1 July and 31 December 2026, and it was TRY 64,948.77 from 1 January to 30 June 2026, according to the Ministry of Labour's ceiling calculations.
Article 14 limits each year's severance to the maximum retirement bonus paid to the highest-ranking civil servant for one year of service. That bonus is built from civil-servant pay indicators multiplied by coefficients that the Ministry of Treasury and Finance sets every six months, so the ceiling changes on 1 January and 1 July.
| Period | Monthly coefficient | Base-salary coefficient | Ceiling per year of service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January to 30 June 2026 | 1.387871 | 22.722793 | TRY 64,948.77 |
| 1 July to 31 December 2026 | 1.575512 | 25.794915 | TRY 73,729.87 |
Both coefficients rose by about 13.52% in July 2026, and so did the ceiling.
Severance pay ceiling from 1 January 2027
The ceiling for the first half of 2027 has not been announced as of 5 November 2026. It will follow the civil-servant coefficients for January 2027 in the Ministry of Treasury and Finance circular, which depend on the collective-agreement raise for that period and any inflation top-up. Until the circular appears, TRY 73,729.87 is the last official value.
Hypothetical example, not a forecast: if both coefficients rose by 10%, the ceiling would rise by the same proportion, to 73,729.87 × 1.10 = TRY 81,102.86.
Turkey severance pay calculator: worked examples
The examples assume an employer dismissal in October 2026 for a reason that gives a right to severance pay, so the TRY 73,729.87 ceiling applies; all amounts are hypothetical and calculated with Python.
Hypothetical example 1: gross salary TRY 50,000 plus regular meal and transport allowances of TRY 5,000 gross, so the dressed wage is TRY 55,000, below the ceiling. Service is 6 years, 8 months and 15 days.
- 6 years: 55,000 × 6 = TRY 330,000.00
- 8 months: 55,000 × 8 ÷ 12 = TRY 36,666.67
- 15 days: 55,000 × 15 ÷ 365 = TRY 2,260.27
Gross severance is TRY 368,926.94. Stamp tax at 0.759% is TRY 2,800.16, leaving TRY 366,126.78.
Hypothetical example 2: dressed wage TRY 140,000 and exactly 10 years of service. The base is capped at the ceiling: 73,729.87 × 10 = TRY 737,298.70. After TRY 5,596.10 stamp tax, the payment is TRY 731,702.60. Without the ceiling it would have been TRY 1,400,000.
| Dressed gross wage | Base used | Service | Gross severance | Net after stamp tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRY 33,030 | TRY 33,030.00 | 1 year | TRY 33,030.00 | TRY 32,779.30 |
| TRY 55,000 | TRY 55,000.00 | 6 years 8 months 15 days | TRY 368,926.94 | TRY 366,126.78 |
| TRY 90,000 | TRY 73,729.87 | 3 years 6 months | TRY 258,054.55 | TRY 256,095.92 |
| TRY 140,000 | TRY 73,729.87 | 10 years | TRY 737,298.70 | TRY 731,702.60 |
Stamp tax can be lower in practice: in a private ruling (özelge) issued to one employer on 13 December 2023, the Revenue Administration (GİB) accepted that any part of the month's minimum-wage stamp tax exemption not used on the salary can be applied to severance or notice pay paid in the same month.
Is severance pay taxed in Turkey?
Severance pay within the legal limit is exempt from income tax and social security contributions, and only 0.759% stamp tax is deducted.
- Income tax: Article 25/7 of Income Tax Law No. 193 exempts severance pay due under Law No. 1475. GİB's February 2026 guide for wage earners says the exemption covers the amount up to the maximum civil-servant retirement bonus for the years worked; anything above it is taxed as wages.
- Extra payments: amounts paid under a mutual termination (ikale) agreement, or as job-loss or job-security compensation, count against the same exemption limit, so the excess is taxed as wages.
- Stamp tax: 0.759% under Table (1) IV-1-b of Stamp Duty Law No. 488.
- Social security: Article 80/b of Law No. 5510, as amended by Law No. 7577 of 2 April 2026, excludes severance and notice pay from the contribution base; contribution rules are in Turkey social security (SGK).
Foreign employees who will be taxed in another country on the same payment should check their home-country rules and any tax treaty.
Turkey notice period and pay in lieu of notice
Under Article 17 of Labour Law No. 4857, an open-ended employment contract can be ended with two to eight weeks' notice depending on length of service, and the party that does not give notice owes the wage for the notice period.
| Length of service | Notice | Hypothetical pay in lieu at TRY 55,000 a month |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 2 weeks | TRY 25,666.67 |
| 6 months to 18 months | 4 weeks | TRY 51,333.33 |
| 18 months to 3 years | 6 weeks | TRY 77,000.00 |
| More than 3 years | 8 weeks | TRY 102,666.67 |
These periods are minimums and contracts can extend them. The employer may end the contract at once by paying the notice wages in advance. During the notice period the employer must give at least two hours a day of paid leave to look for a new job (Article 27). Pay in lieu of notice has no ceiling, uses the same dressed wage and, unlike severance pay, is subject to income tax as well as stamp tax. Notice obligations bind the employee too: an employee who resigns without notice and without just cause owes notice pay to the employer.
Claims for severance and notice pay become time-barred five years after the contract ends (Law No. 4857, additional Article 3). If severance is paid late, a court awards interest at the highest deposit rate for the period of delay, which differs from the statutory interest rate. Retirement pensions, which often trigger severance pay, are covered in Turkey pension age.
Frequently asked questions
How much is severance pay in Turkey?
30 days' gross pay, including regular benefits, for each full year of service, with part years added pro rata. For terminations between 1 July and 31 December 2026, the pay used for each year is capped at TRY 73,729.87.
How many years do you need to work for severance pay in Turkey?
At least one full year with the same employer. Service beyond the first year is counted in months and days and added pro rata.
Do I get severance pay if I resign in Turkey?
Only in the cases the law lists, such as resigning for just cause under Article 24 of Labour Law No. 4857, for retirement, for military service or, for female employees, within one year of marriage. A plain resignation gives no right to severance pay.
What is the severance pay ceiling for 2027?
It had not been announced as of 5 November 2026. It will follow the civil-servant pay coefficients set for January 2027 by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance; until then the last official ceiling is TRY 73,729.87.
Is severance pay taxable in Turkey?
Severance pay within the legal limit is exempt from income tax and social security contributions. Only 0.759% stamp tax is deducted, and amounts above the limit are taxed as wages.
Sources
- Mevzuat: Labour Law No. 1475, Article 14 on severance pay (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Mevzuat: Labour Law No. 4857, Articles 17, 24, 25, 27, 120, additional Article 3 and temporary Article 1 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security: Severance pay ceiling calculation from 1 January 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security: Severance pay ceiling calculation from 1 July 2026 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Mevzuat: Income Tax Law No. 193, Article 25/7 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- GİB: Tax guide for wage earners, February 2026, severance pay exemption (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Mevzuat: Stamp Duty Law No. 488, Table (1) IV-1-b (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Mevzuat: Law No. 5510, Article 80/b as amended by Law No. 7577 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- GİB: Private ruling of 13 December 2023 on tax exemptions for severance and notice pay (Turkish) (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.