Tax residence in Türkiye for Indian taxpayers

Türkiye treats you as settled, and taxes your worldwide income, if your domicile is in Türkiye or you stay there continuously for more than six months in a calendar year; temporary departures do not interrupt the stay. Foreigners who come for a definite and temporary assignment or job, study, medical treatment, rest or travel are not settled even after six months. India counts days over its tax year of 1 April – 31 March. If both countries claim you, Art. 4(2) of the India–Türkiye Agreement of 1995 decides — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, then mutual agreement; its English text, which prevails, has no nationality step.

Check your status: India and Türkiye

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Indian income-tax law, compared with the law of Türkiye and the tax treaty.

When Türkiye treats you as a tax resident

Türkiye has two grounds for full tax liability: being settled in Türkiye, or being a Turkish citizen abroad in the service of a Turkish public body or of an enterprise headquartered in Türkiye. Türkiye's tax year is the calendar year.

The Turkish Revenue Administration accepts that Turkish citizens who have lived abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit are domiciled in the country where they live. Then only the six-month rule can make them fully liable in Türkiye.

A person who stays in Türkiye continuously for more than six months in a calendar year is settled in Türkiye; temporary departures do not interrupt the stay. More than 183 days of actual presence meets this test; with fewer days, a stay of more than six months counting temporary departures may also be enough.

The exception in art. 5 GVK applies only to foreigners and overrides the six-month rule.

As a Turkish citizen you are abroad in the service and on the business of a Turkish public body or of an enterprise headquartered in Türkiye — under art. 3(2) GVK you are fully liable in Türkiye. Income that is subject to income tax or a similar tax in the country where you are is not taxed again in Türkiye.
Your domicile (the place where you live with the intention of remaining permanently) is in Türkiye — under art. 4(1) GVK you are settled in Türkiye and fully liable on your worldwide income.
You stayed in Türkiye continuously for more than six months in this calendar year — under art. 4(2) GVK you are settled in Türkiye and fully liable on your worldwide income.

When you are a nonresident

Your domicile is not in Türkiye and you did not stay there for more than six months in this calendar year — you are a limited taxpayer: Türkiye taxes only income earned in Türkiye (arts 6–7 GVK).
Although you stayed in Türkiye for more than six months, you are a foreigner there for a temporary assignment or job, study, medical treatment, rest or travel, or for reasons beyond your control — under art. 5 GVK you are not settled in Türkiye and are a limited taxpayer.

Where the rules of Türkiye clash with Indian tax rules

Collision: domicile keeps you settled in Türkiye while India counts days. Türkiye treats you as fully liable as long as your domicile — the place where you live with the intention of remaining permanently — is in Türkiye, however few days you spend there. If you also meet India's 182-day or 60-day test, both countries claim you. Art. 4(2) of the India–Türkiye Agreement decides: permanent home; with a home in both countries, centre of vital interests; if that cannot be determined, or you have a permanent home in neither, habitual abode; then mutual agreement. Text discrepancy: India's published English text has no nationality step; the Turkish text and the English text published in Türkiye's Official Gazette apply nationality before mutual agreement. The English text prevails in case of divergence, but the two published English texts differ on this point — if habitual abode does not decide, check with both competent authorities before relying on the result.
Collision: more than six months in Türkiye while resident in India. A continuous stay of more than six months in a calendar year makes you settled in Türkiye. Because the Indian tax year runs from 1 April, the same period can also fall in an Indian tax year in which you are resident — typically in the year of a move, or under the 60-day test. Art. 4(2) of the India–Türkiye Agreement then decides which country is your state of residence; ask the Turkish tax office for a certificate of residence if Türkiye is.

What else to know

Different tax years: 1 April in India, the calendar year in Türkiye. India counts your days over its tax year (1 April – 31 March); Türkiye's six-month test looks at a continuous stay of more than six months within a calendar year, and temporary departures do not interrupt it. Türkiye also treats you as settled whenever your domicile is in Türkiye, whatever the days. The 183-day limit for salary in Art. 15(2)(a) of the India–Türkiye Agreement is counted in the calendar year for Turkish tax and in the financial year for Indian tax.
Turkish citizen living in India with a residence permit: limited taxpayer in Türkiye. The Turkish Revenue Administration accepts that a Turkish citizen who has lived abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit is domiciled abroad and taxed in Türkiye only on Turkish-source income. Türkiye will treat you as fully liable again if you return permanently or stay in Türkiye for more than six months in a calendar year.
Working in Türkiye while resident in India (Art. 15(2)). Pay for work physically done in Türkiye is Turkish-source income. If India is your treaty residence, Türkiye does not tax it only if all three conditions of Art. 15(2) are met: not more than 183 days in Türkiye in the calendar year concerned, an employer that is not resident in Türkiye, and pay not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base of the employer in Türkiye. Otherwise Türkiye taxes the pay for your Turkish work days and India gives a deduction under Art. 22(2)(a).
How India relieves Turkish tax. If India is your state of residence, you report Turkish income in your Indian return and deduct the Turkish tax paid on it, up to the Indian tax attributable to that income (Art. 22(2)(a)). Claim it with Form No. 44 (rule 76 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026), with a certificate of the Turkish income and tax and proof of payment.
If Türkiye is your state of residence: Indian income is mostly exempt in Türkiye. Under this Agreement Türkiye generally uses the exemption method: income that may be taxed in India — for example pay for work done in India or rent from Indian property — is exempt from Turkish tax, although Türkiye may take it into account for the rate on your other income (Art. 22(3)(a)). For dividends, interest, royalties (Arts 10–12) and certain gains (Art. 13(6)), Türkiye instead credits the Indian tax up to the Turkish tax on that income (Art. 22(3)(b); art. 123 GVK).
Moving to Türkiye: 20-year exemption for foreign income. If you become settled in Türkiye from 1 January 2026 and had neither domicile nor tax liability there in the three preceding calendar years, income you earn outside Türkiye — including income from India — is exempt in Türkiye for twenty years (repeated art. 20/D GVK). It is not declared, and Indian tax on it cannot be credited in Türkiye.
Social security: no India–Türkiye agreement listed. Türkiye is not on EPFO's list of countries with which India's social security agreements operate. An employee posted from India to Türkiye therefore cannot use an EPFO certificate of coverage, and contributions may be due in both countries. Check with your employer and the Turkish Social Security Institution (SGK) before the posting starts.
Which treaty applies: the 1995 India–Türkiye Agreement. The Agreement signed at New Delhi on 31 January 1995 applies (notified in India by S.O. 74(E) of 3 February 1997). It entered into force on 1 February 1997 (India's notification; Art. 27(1): first day of the month following the later notification); Türkiye's MLI list gives 30 December 1996, the date of publication in its Official Gazette. It has effect in India for years beginning on or after 1 April 1994. The Hindi, Turkish and English texts are equally authentic and the English text prevails in case of divergence — but on Art. 4(2) India's published English text and the Turkish and English texts published in Türkiye's Official Gazette differ (only the latter have a nationality step). Residence: Art. 4(2); employment: Art. 15; relief: Art. 22 (India credit; Türkiye exemption with credit for dividends, interest and royalties); mutual agreement: Art. 25.

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Agreement between the Republic of India and the Republic of Turkey for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income — signed at New Delhi on 31 January 1995. The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

Terms you will come across in Türkiye

ikametgâh: domicile — the place where you live with the intention of remaining permanently (Civil Code, arts 19–20)
Türkiye'de yerleşmiş: settled in Türkiye — domicile there or a continuous stay of more than six months in a calendar year (art. 4 GVK)
tam mükellefiyet: full tax liability on all income earned in and outside Türkiye
dar mükellefiyet: limited tax liability on income earned in Türkiye only
mukimlik belgesi: Turkish certificate of residence, issued by the tax office
Gelir Vergisi Kanunu (GVK): Income Tax Law No. 193

Questions

My Indian employer posts me to Türkiye for eight months. Am I settled there?

Not necessarily. Foreigners who come for a definite and temporary assignment or job are not regarded as settled even if they stay more than six months (art. 5 GVK), so Türkiye taxes only income earned in Türkiye. A domicile in Türkiye would make you settled whatever the days.

Does Türkiye tax my salary for work there while I remain resident in India?

Not if all three conditions of Art. 15(2) are met: not more than 183 days in Türkiye in the calendar year concerned, an employer not resident in Türkiye, and pay not borne by a Turkish permanent establishment or fixed base. Otherwise Türkiye taxes the pay for Turkish work days, and India deducts that tax from Indian tax on the same income (Art. 22(2)(a)), claimed with Form No. 44.

If I move to Türkiye, is my Indian income taxed there?

If Türkiye is your treaty residence, it generally exempts income that India may tax but takes it into account for the rate; for dividends, interest, royalties and gains under Art. 13(6) it credits Indian tax instead (Art. 22(3)). If you settle in Türkiye from 1 January 2026 after three years without domicile or tax liability there, foreign income is exempt in Türkiye for 20 years (repeated art. 20/D GVK).

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

GVK (Income Tax Law No. 193), art. 3 — Persons settled in Türkiye, and Turkish citizens living abroad who are attached to Turkish public offices or institutions or to organisations or enterprises headquartered in Türkiye and are abroad on their business, are taxed on all income earned in and outside Türkiye (full liability). Those in the second group are not taxed again on income that is subject to income tax or a similar tax in the country where they are.
General Communiqué on Income Tax No. 210 (Official Gazette 06.03.1998, No. 23278) — GİB Guide on Rental Income for Limited Taxpayers (February 2025, Publication No. 553) — Turkish citizens who have lived abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit are taxed as limited (non-resident) taxpayers on their income from Türkiye; those abroad in the service of Turkish public bodies or of enterprises headquartered in Türkiye are excluded.
GİB ruling of the Balıkesir Tax Office Directorate, 19.09.2013, B.07.1.GİB.4.10.15.01-125[10-2013/849]-88 — Citing Communiqué No. 210: the domicile of Turkish citizens who have lived abroad for more than six months with a work or residence permit is accepted to be in the country where they live and they are taxed as limited taxpayers; those who return permanently or stay in Türkiye for more than six months in a calendar year are fully liable.
GVK, art. 4 — Settled in Türkiye are: 1) persons whose domicile is in Türkiye (domicile as defined in art. 19 et seq. of the Civil Code); 2) persons who stay in Türkiye continuously for more than six months in a calendar year — temporary departures do not interrupt the stay.
Turkish Civil Code (Law No. 4721), arts 19–20 — Domicile is the place where a person lives with the intention of remaining permanently; no one can have more than one domicile at a time. Domicile changes only when a new one is acquired; a person who has left a domicile abroad and not yet acquired one in Türkiye is domiciled where he or she currently lives.
GVK, art. 5 — Businessmen, scientists, experts, officials, press correspondents and similar persons who come for a definite and temporary assignment or job, foreigners who come for study, medical treatment, rest or travel, and persons who stay in Türkiye for reasons beyond their control such as detention, imprisonment or illness are not regarded as settled in Türkiye even if they stay longer than six months.
GVK, art. 6 — Individuals not settled in Türkiye are taxed only on income earned in Türkiye (limited liability).
GVK, art. 7/3-a and final paragraph — For limited taxpayers, salary is earned in Türkiye if the service is performed in Türkiye or is «evaluated» in Türkiye — i.e. paid in Türkiye or, if paid abroad, booked in the accounts of the payer in Türkiye (or of the person on whose behalf it is paid) or set off against its profit.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(1)–(2) — Residential status is determined for each tax year. An individual is resident in India in a tax year if in India for 182 days or more in that year, or for 60 days or more in that year and 365 days or more in the four years preceding it.
Art. 15(2) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — Remuneration of a resident of one State for employment exercised in the other State is taxable only in the first State if (a) the recipient is present in the other State for not more than 183 days in aggregate in the calendar year concerned in the case of Türkiye, and in the financial year concerned in the case of India, (b) the employer is not a resident of the other State, and (c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base of the employer in the other State.
Art. 4(2) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — Individual resident of both States: (a) resident of the State in which he has a permanent home; with a permanent home in both, of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests); (b) if that State cannot be determined, or he has no permanent home in either State, of the State of habitual abode; (c) in India's published English text, if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither, the competent authorities settle the question by mutual agreement. The Turkish text and the English text published in Türkiye's Official Gazette instead have (c) nationality and (d) mutual agreement.
Art. 4(2)(c)–(d) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — text in Türkiye's Official Gazette, 30.12.1996, No. 22863 — Turkish text and the English text published in the same issue: if he has a habitual abode in both Contracting States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national; if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
Art. 22 India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — India (Art. 22(2)(a)): deduction from Indian tax equal to the income-tax paid in Türkiye, not exceeding the Indian tax attributable to that income. Türkiye (Art. 22(3)): income that may be taxed in India is exempt from Turkish tax, but may be taken into account for the rate on the remaining income; for income under Arts 10, 11, 12 and 13(6) Türkiye deducts the tax paid in India instead, up to the Turkish tax attributable to that income.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 159 — Where an agreement for relief from double taxation applies, the Act applies only to the extent more beneficial to the assessee (s. 159(4)). A non-resident may claim treaty relief only with a certificate of residence from the other country's government and the prescribed documents (s. 159(8)).
Income-tax Rules, 2026, rule 76; Forms No. 44 and 45 — A resident gets credit for foreign tax in the tax year in which the income is taxed in India; credit is the lower of the Indian tax on that income and the foreign tax, per source and per country. Form No. 44 with a certificate of income and tax and proof of payment, within 12 months from the end of the tax year if the return was filed on time.
GVK, art. 123 — Foreign taxes of a similar nature paid abroad by fully liable taxpayers on income earned abroad are deducted from the Turkish income tax attributable to that income; any excess is disregarded. Conditions: a personal tax on income, and payment proved by documents from the competent authorities certified by the Turkish embassy or consulate there. If the documents arrive late, the tax on the foreign income is deferred for one year.
GVK, repeated art. 20/D (Law No. 7582, art. 4, Official Gazette 04.06.2026) — Income earned outside Türkiye by individuals who had neither domicile nor tax liability in Türkiye in the last three calendar years before becoming settled is exempt for twenty years; such income is not declared, related expenses are not deductible and foreign tax on it cannot be credited.
EPFO — International Workers: Social Security Agreements — India's social security agreements operate with Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Austria, Canada, Australia, Japan, Portugal, Brazil and Quebec; Türkiye is not on the list.
GVK, art. 103; General Communiqué on Income Tax No. 332 (Official Gazette 31.12.2025, No. 33124, 5th repeat) — 2026 tariff: up to TRY 190,000 — 15%; up to TRY 400,000 — 20%; up to TRY 1,000,000 (salaries TRY 1,500,000) — 27%; up to TRY 5,300,000 — 35%; above — 40%.
GVK, art. 86 — Fully liable taxpayers need not file an annual return for salary from a single employer taxed by withholding up to the fourth bracket amount. Limited taxpayers need not file for salary, professional fees, income from movable and immovable capital and other income fully taxed by withholding in Türkiye.
GVK, art. 92 — The annual return is filed in March of the following year (extended to the last day of March by VUK Circular No. 115) with the competent tax office; persons leaving the country during the year file within 15 days before departure.
GVK, art. 23/13 and 23/19 — Retirement, disability, widow's and orphan's pensions paid by foreign social security institutions are exempt; so are wages paid out of foreign profits to persons employed abroad in construction, repair, installation and technical services.
Art. 4(2)(a) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — Resident of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, resident of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests).
Art. 4(2)(b) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — If the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, the individual is deemed a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4(2)(c) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — India's published English text (notification S.O. 74(E)): if he has an habitual abode in both Contracting States or in neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement — there is no nationality test. The Turkish text and the English text published in Türkiye's Official Gazette (30.12.1996, No. 22863) instead apply nationality (c) and only then mutual agreement (d). The English text prevails in case of divergence, but the two countries' published English texts differ on this very point.
Art. 4(2)(c)–(d) India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) — text in Türkiye's Official Gazette, 30.12.1996, No. 22863 (Decree 96/8779) — Turkish text and the English text published in the same issue: if he has a habitual abode in both Contracting States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national; if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
Art. 25 India–Türkiye Agreement (1995) (mutual agreement procedure) — A person who considers that the actions of one or both States result in taxation not in accordance with the Agreement may present the case to the competent authority of the State of which he is a resident; the competent authorities endeavour to resolve the case by mutual agreement.

Case law

Council of State (Danıştay), 4th Chamber, E. 2021/8176, K. 2022/8419, 19/12/2022 — In a VAT case (art. 13/i VAT Law — sale of dwellings to foreigners) the Chamber assessed the condition «not settled in Türkiye» under arts 4 and 5 GVK: the condition must be met on the date of the sale; a certificate from the tax office that the buyer is not settled is only evidence, and obtaining it after the sale does not bar the exemption for a buyer who proves the conditions. The decision concerns VAT but applies the income tax settlement criteria.

Updated 04/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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