Payment in Cash for Rentals is Abolished

Income Tax General Communiqué (Serie No: 328) was published on Official Gazette on 17 October 2024. 

1. Purpose and Scope

With the Communiqué issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the collections and payments related to flats and workplace rents must be documented by a document order/bank wire through financial institutions such as banks or official postal services (PTT).

2. Documentation Requirement

Rent payments for residential and commercial properties must be made through banks or PTT with a written payment proof.

Short-term rentals (e.g., weekly, daily) are also subject to this obligation. 

Payments made through courts or enforcement offices are exempt from the requirement.

In cases of co-owned real estate, payment to one of the owners via bank or PTT fulfills the documentation obligation.

3. Penalties

According to the Tax Procedure Law No. 213, non-compliance will result in a special irregularity penalty.

Penalties will be minimum 20,000 TRY for first-class merchants and self-employed individuals, 10,000 TRY for second-class merchants and farmers, and 5,000 TRY for other individuals.

The penalty is 10% of the transaction amount, with an annual cap of 20 million TRY.

If non-compliant payments are reported within five business days by willingly, no penalty will be imposed.

4. Updates
The minimum payment amounts and fines are adjusted annually according to the revaluation rate.

You can reach the full text in Turkish here. 

Published by: Av. Uğur Karacabey