Figures last checked: . The Turkish exemption threshold for 2026 is reported inconsistently by our sources, so it is given here as a figure to confirm, not to rely on.
Short lets now need a permit
Since 1 January 2024, Turkey's Law No. 7464 on short-term residential rentals for tourism purposes requires a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism before you let a home for up to 100 days at a time. The permit must be in place before the rental agreement is signed, it is applied for online, and the home carries a plaque showing it holds one. Listing platforms are obliged to remove homes without a permit.
The fines are the part investors underestimate. Sources describe 100,000 lira for a first breach with 15 days to obtain the permit, 500,000 lira if letting continues after that, and 1,000,000 lira for a further breach. Letting the same home more than four times in a year without a permit draws the top fine. Those amounts were set in the law at the end of 2023 and we have not found a 2026 revaluation, so treat them as the position in the law rather than this year's exact figure.
On a complex the permit is not yours alone to decide. In a building with more than one independent unit, the written consent of all the owners in that building is required, and on a site made up of several buildings the consent applies to the building the home is in. A home bought on a complex where the neighbours will not sign cannot be let short term, whatever the agent said during the viewing. Longer lets of more than 100 days fall outside this law and are ordinary residential tenancies under the Turkish Code of Obligations.
Turkish tax on the rent
As a UK resident you are a non-resident taxpayer in Turkey and are taxed there only on Turkish-source income, which includes rent from a Turkish property. The rate scale for individuals in 2026 runs from 15 per cent to 40 per cent, and the return is filed by 25 March of the following year, through a tax representative if you are not there yourself.
Residential rental income enjoys an annual exemption. PwC's Turkey summary gives TRY 58,000 for 2026; another Turkish source still quotes TRY 33,000, which was the 2024 figure. The amount is indexed every year and set in the Revenue Administration's communiqué, so ask your Turkish accountant for this year's number rather than reading it off a website, including ours. Expenses can be deducted on a lump-sum basis, 15 per cent of the gross rent with no receipts, or as actual costs with evidence.
Two further points for short lets. Sources mention an accommodation tax of 2 per cent on tourist accommodation and a possible VAT position for short-term lets run as a business; we could not confirm either against an official source for a private owner, so raise both with a Turkish accountant before you set your nightly rate.
Your UK return
A UK resident is taxed on worldwide income, so the Turkish rent goes on the foreign pages of your self assessment return, the SA106. HMRC's notes allow a property income allowance of 1,000 pounds across all your property income; above that you complete the foreign pages, and you choose between the flat allowance and deducting actual expenses such as the management fee, repairs, insurance and Turkish property tax.
Under the 1986 UK and Turkey double taxation agreement, income from immovable property may be taxed in the country where the property is situated, and the UK, as the country of residence, gives relief for the Turkish tax. You claim that as foreign tax credit relief on the same foreign pages; the credit is capped at the UK tax due on that income. Keep the Turkish assessment and proof of payment, because the credit is only given for tax actually paid.
HMRC does not need to be told that you own a holiday home abroad if it is not let. It does need to know about the rent, and it increasingly does know: tax authorities exchange financial account information automatically, so an undeclared Turkish bank account that receives rent is a poor place to hide.
When you sell
A gain on the sale of a Turkish property by a UK resident is within UK capital gains tax, converted into sterling at the rates on the dates of purchase and sale, so a weaker lira can produce a sterling loss on a lira gain, or the reverse. Turkey has its own rules on gains from property sold within five years of purchase, and relief for any Turkish tax paid is claimed on the UK return under the same treaty. Take advice from a UK accountant before you sell, not after, because the timing of the sale and of the currency conversion can change the answer.
What this means for the numbers
Work from net figures. From the gross rent, deduct the management fee, the service charge (aidat), insurance, repairs, the Turkish tax after the exemption and expenses, and the UK tax after relief. Then look at the occupancy a short-let home in Alanya or Fethiye realistically reaches outside the summer, and at whether the complex will grant the permit at all. Only after that does the yield mean something.
The finance side matters too. Rental income does not change the fact that borrowing in lira is expensive, and a UK lender that allows a further advance for an overseas purchase does not take the Turkish rent into account in the way it would UK buy-to-let income. Our finance guide sets out what UK investors realistically raise.
Preparing to let in Turkey
- Ask, before you buy on a complex, whether the other owners will consent to short lets.
- Apply for the tourism rental permit before the first booking, not after.
- Appoint a Turkish accountant or tax representative to file the annual return.
- Confirm this year's residential rental exemption and the accommodation tax position.
- Keep Turkish assessments and payment proofs for the UK foreign tax credit.
- Declare the rent on the SA106 pages of your self assessment return.
- Budget for the service charge, insurance and management fee in lira.
- Take UK capital gains advice before you sell.
Questions UK investors ask
Further reading
What people ask us
Across our network, 59 of the 356 enquiries we received between 27 May and 9 October 2026 gave investment as the purpose of the purchase, and 18 of the 285 written messages raised rental income or buy-to-let specifically. Those are network-wide figures, not Turkey alone, but they are why this guide starts with the permit and the two tax returns rather than with the gross yield.
Who made this guide. Bas Terpstra makes, reviews and approves every guide, with AI tools and public sources as the starting point. Rules and amounts change, so use this as general information and check the details for your own situation.
This guide is general information and not personal financial, legal or tax advice. Turkish letting and tax rules and UK tax rules change regularly. Have your position reviewed by a Turkish accountant and a UK accountant before you let or sell.