Company Formation & Entity Setup in Turkey
Limited Şirket and Anonim Şirket incorporation, Trade Registry (MERSIS) filing, and post-formation compliance setup.
TurkeyCurrency
TRY (Turkish lira)
Legal forms
Limited Şirket (LLC) · Anonim Şirket (AŞ, joint-stock company)
Minimum share capital
Limited Şirket: TRY 50,000 · Anonim Şirket: TRY 250,000 (at least 25% blocked in a Turkish bank pre-registration)
Registration body
Trade Registry (Ticaret Sicili), filed via the MERSIS central registration system
Formation timeline
1–2 weeks for a Limited Şirket with complete documentation
Corporate tax rate
25% standard (30% for financial institutions) · domestic minimum tax floor of 10% of pre-exemption income applies to all corporate taxpayers (from FY2025)
How company formation works in Turkey
Turkey's standard corporate tax rate is 25% (30% for financial institutions), applied after deductions and exemptions — but since 1 January 2025 a parallel domestic minimum tax regime requires every corporate taxpayer to also compute liability at 10% of taxable income before most exemptions and deductions, paying whichever of the two results is larger. Unlike the OECD Pillar Two minimum tax it echoes, Turkey's version is not restricted to large multinational groups above a consolidated-revenue threshold: it applies broadly, which caps the practical effect of investment incentives, R&D deductions and other reliefs that would otherwise reduce a company's effective rate below 10%.
Discuss your Turkey market-entry structureMatched to your business objective
Limited Şirket (LLC)
The standard vehicle for an operating subsidiary of a foreign company — the default choice for most market-entry engagements in Turkey.
Anonim Şirket (AŞ, joint-stock company)
Used for larger operations, more formal governance needs, or entities seeking to raise capital publicly.
Branch
Useful for testing the Turkey market before committing to a subsidiary, or for keeping a single legal entity across borders. Creates a taxable presence — profits are generally taxed in Turkey.
Representative office
For market research and liaison activity only — cannot sign contracts, invoice, or trade locally in most jurisdictions.
What it takes to register, and how long
Formation runs through the Trade Registry (Ticaret Sicili), filed via the MERSIS central registration system, typically taking 1–2 weeks for a Limited Şirket with complete documentation.
- Domestic minimum tax floor — from FY2025 — every corporate taxpayer computes liability under both the standard 25% regime and a parallel 10% pre-exemption calculation, paying whichever is higher; unlike OECD Pillar Two, this is not limited to large groups
- Inflation-accounting trigger vs. suspension — — the statutory test (PPI up >10% in-year and >100% over three years) remains law, but a December 2025 act suspends the adjustment requirement for FY2025–2027 regardless of whether the test is met, with presidential power to extend it further
- Dividend withholding tax increase — — raised from 10% to 15% by Presidential Decree effective December 2024, applying to distributions to both resident and non-resident shareholders, subject to treaty relief
- Independent audit thresholds raised for 2026 — — total assets TRY 500M (up from TRY 300M), net sales revenue TRY 1B (up from TRY 600M), employee threshold unchanged at 150; 2 of 3 criteria over the last two fiscal periods trigger mandatory audit
Frequently asked questions
Talk to a Turkey formation expert
The domestic minimum tax and the inflation-accounting suspension both point to the same planning discipline: Turkish tax positions that look settled under current decrees rest on statutory triggers that remain in force and can reactivate. Companies should treat both as live variables to monitor annually, not settled facts to file away.