Short answer: The Revenue Administration’s 2026 rental guide says a tenant named in Article 94 withholds 20% income tax on the gross workplace rent paid to an individual. The tenant pays the net to the landlord and the tax through the withholding return. If gross workplace rent under withholding passes 400,000 TL in 2026, the landlord declares the whole amount and credits the tax already cut. That line is a filing threshold, not an exemption. The housing exemption is 58,000 TL and does not apply to a workplace. A simplified-regime tenant does not withhold. The filing line is then 22,000 TL.
The first sentence in an Ankara office lease is often “the rent is 50,000 TL”. The contract does not say whether that is gross or net. On a gross 50,000 TL the withholding is 10,000 TL and the landlord receives 40,000 TL. If 50,000 TL was meant as net, the gross is 62,500 TL. Treating them as the same payment moves 12,500 TL a month.
This guide is a shop, office, warehouse or workshop let by an individual. Formation itself is in the company formation guide. The filing day is in the monthly tax calendar. At our office in Kızılay the rent line is on the first month’s list.
The tenant makes the cut
Withholding is the landlord’s income tax, cut by the tenant named in Article 94. Public bodies, companies, real-regime traders, the self-employed, associations, foundations and cooperatives are the practical list. The tax plate says whether this tenant is on it.
A simplified-regime trader does not withhold. An individual with no commercial activity does not either. If the tenant is on the simplified regime, the landlord receives the gross and no withholding certificate appears. That rent does not enter the 400,000 TL test. The filing line is separate: 22,000 TL in 2026. Once it is passed, the whole rent is declared, not only the excess. 22,000 TL is not an exemption.
If the landlord is a limited or joint-stock company, the payment is its corporate profit. The 20% workplace withholding belongs to an individual’s rental income. The company invoices you. The VAT line on that invoice does not replace the withholding. Do not add them into one percent. Read the VAT rate from the activity on the contract. This guide does not fix that rate.
How does a gross 50,000 TL split?
If the contract says “gross 50,000 TL a month”, withholding is 50,000 × 20% = 10,000 TL. The landlord receives 40,000 TL. The 10,000 TL goes to the tax office on the tenant’s withholding and premium return. The general day is the 26th of the following month. A weekend moves it.
If the contract says “40,000 TL net in hand”, the gross is 40,000 / 0.80 = 50,000 TL and withholding is still 10,000 TL. “50,000 TL” alone can be either, so write the word into the contract.
| What the contract says | Gross | Withholding at 20% | Landlord receives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross 50,000 TL | 50,000 TL | 10,000 TL | 40,000 TL |
| Net 40,000 TL | 50,000 TL | 10,000 TL | 40,000 TL |
| Net 50,000 TL | 62,500 TL | 12,500 TL | 50,000 TL |
| Simplified-regime tenant, gross 50,000 TL | 50,000 TL | None | 50,000 TL |
Annual gross is twelve times the month. A gross 50,000 TL is 600,000 TL a year. That is above the 2026 filing line. Do not say “I am under 400 thousand” before you leave the month and reach the year.
When does the landlord file?
If gross workplace rent under withholding passes 400,000 TL in 2026, a landlord whose only income is that rent files an annual return. The whole income goes on the return, not only the excess. Withholding already cut is credited against the computed tax. Under 400,000 TL, with no other income that must be declared, the withholding is the final tax. No annual return opens.
The test also includes housing rent above the exemption and any other income that must be declared. A landlord with one shop and no other income looks only at their own gross.
The housing exemption is 58,000 TL in 2026 and belongs to a home. It does not apply to a workplace. If any part of the property is used as a workplace, the whole rent is withheld. An owner who must declare commercial, agricultural or professional income cannot use the housing exemption.
The bars are the size of the amount, not a tax rate. 400,000 and 22,000 are filing lines. 58,000 is the housing exemption. A workplace does not use 58,000 TL.
The lump-sum expense is 15%, locked for two years
Once a return is due, net rental income has two paths. Actual expenses need documents. The lump-sum expense is 15% of the gross. A workplace has no housing exemption, so the 15% applies to the whole gross. On 600,000 TL the lump-sum expense is 90,000 TL and 510,000 TL remains.
510,000 TL sits on the 2026 tariff like this. Tax on 400,000 TL is 70,500 TL. The remaining 110,000 × 27% is 29,700 TL. Computed tax is 100,200 TL. Withholding during the year is 600,000 × 20% = 120,000 TL. After the credit, 19,800 TL stands in the landlord’s favour. How a refund or a further credit is paid depends on the other lines of the return. This example has no other income.
Choosing the lump-sum expense locks it for two years. Every property uses the same method. A letting of rights cannot use it.
Before this month closes
Mark whether the rent in the contract is gross or net. If the tenant must withhold, separate 20% of the gross, pay the net to the landlord and put the cut on the withholding return. If the landlord is not an individual, do not cut this 20% by habit. Read the invoice and the VAT line on their own.
Pay from the bank and write “rent” in the description. At year end compare the gross with 400,000 TL, or with 22,000 TL if nothing was withheld. Stamp tax is a separate table, and this guide does not fix its rate. The days are in the monthly tax calendar. A new office is in the first-year list.
Frequently asked questions
Does the landlord pay the withholding?
The tenant cuts it, files it and pays it to the tax office. The amount comes off the landlord’s gross rent. The contract shares the economic cost by saying net or gross. The obligation sits with the tenant who must withhold.
Is the rate still 20% in 2026?
Yes. The Revenue Administration’s 2026 rental guide states a 20% cut on gross rent. A home that is not used as a workplace stays outside the cut. If any part is a workplace, the whole rent is withheld.
Above 400,000 TL, is only the excess declared?
No. 400,000 TL is a filing line. Once it is passed, the whole of the withheld workplace rent goes on the return and the tax already cut is credited. Under the line, with no other income that must be declared, an annual return may not open.
Does a simplified-regime tenant also cut 20%?
No. No withholding arises. In 2026 the landlord declares the whole of that rent once it passes 22,000 TL. 22,000 TL is not an exemption.
If my landlord is a limited company, is there withholding?
This 20% belongs to an individual’s workplace rent. If the landlord is a company, the profit is corporate tax and the company invoices you. VAT is a separate line. Read the contract and the invoice together.
If I choose the lump-sum expense, can I switch next year?
Not for two years. The lump-sum expense is 15% of the gross. Every property uses the same method. A letting of rights cannot use it.
In short
In 2026, on workplace rent paid to an individual, a tenant who must withhold cuts 20% of the gross. A gross 50,000 TL means 10,000 TL of withholding and 40,000 TL net. A landlord whose annual gross passes 400,000 TL declares the whole amount. A simplified-regime tenant does not cut. The housing exemption does not apply to a workplace.
At Ankara Muhasebeci, from our office in Kızılay, we split the contract figure into gross and net and close the withholding line with the landlord’s return in the same month. Get in touch, or see tax advisory. If the office is new, company formation runs in the same file.
Settle one sentence this month: is the figure in the lease gross or net. That sentence says which amount the 20% hits. The rest is the withholding day and the 400,000 TL test at year end.
