Inheritance Tax in Turkey: What Foreign Heirs Should Know

When you inherit property or other assets in Turkey, the tax authority does not simply hand over the keys. Inheritance tax in Turkey — formally known as Veraset ve İntikal Vergisi — applies to all transfers of wealth by death, and also to gifts made between living persons. Whether you are a German national who has inherited a villa in Antalya, a Russian investor whose parent passed away leaving a Turkish bank account, or a British expat who has received property under a will, the same rules apply. Understanding them before you need to act is far better than discovering a tax bill after the fact.

Who Is Responsible for Paying?

The taxpayer under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Law (Veraset ve İntikal Vergisi Kanunu) is the person who receives the assets — not the estate. Each heir is liable for their own share. If three children inherit an apartment, each files a separate declaration and pays tax on their portion.

Certain entities are fully exempt: public institutions, registered charities, and foreign diplomatic personnel on a reciprocity basis. For individual heirs, whether Turkish or foreign, the tax applies. If you are a foreign national who owns property in Turkey, your heirs will face this obligation when the time comes.

What Is Tax-Free?

The law provides meaningful exemptions, adjusted each year for inflation. For 2026, confirmed by the official revaluation published in the Resmî Gazete, each heir who is a child or a spouse receives a tax-free allowance of 2,907,136 TL on their individual share. A spouse who inherits alone with no children benefits from a higher exemption of 5,817,845 TL.

Beyond the monetary threshold, certain categories of assets are entirely exempt regardless of value: household furniture and personal belongings, clothing, family keepsakes such as photographs and decorations, and items of sentimental or historical significance.

These exemptions apply per heir — so the combined tax-free portion for the estate as a whole grows with the number of inheriting children.

The Tax Rates

Once you subtract the exemption from your individual share, the remainder is taxed on a sliding scale. For inheritance, the 2026 rates under the law are:

• 1% on the first 3,000,000 TL
• 3% on the next 7,000,000 TL
• 5% on the next 15,000,000 TL
• 7% on the next 30,000,000 TL
• 10% on any amount over 55,000,000 TL (cumulative bracket)

These rates are low compared to many European inheritance taxes. A foreign heir receiving a modest apartment in Antalya could expect an effective tax rate well below 3% after the exemption.

Gift tax — a transfer made during the donor's lifetime without payment — carries much steeper rates, running from 10% to 30%. However, gifts between parents and children, or between spouses, are taxed at half those rates.

Declaration Deadlines

Filing late means penalties and interest. The law sets deadlines that depend on where the death occurred and where the heirs are located:

• Death in Turkey, heirs in Turkey: 4 months from the date of death
• Death in Turkey, heirs abroad: 6 months from the date of death
• Death abroad, heirs in Turkey: 6 months from the date of death
• Death abroad, heirs in the same country as the deceased: 4 months
• Death abroad, heirs in a different foreign country: 8 months

The declaration is filed at the tax authority (vergi dairesi) where the deceased last resided, or where the largest asset is situated. For many foreigners, this is the local tax office in the district where their Turkish property sits.

How the Tax Is Paid

Once the tax is assessed, it is not due all at once. The law spreads payment over three years, with six equal installments due each May and November. This makes the burden manageable even for larger estates.

There is, however, an important restriction on property: inherited real estate cannot be sold or transferred until the inheritance tax is fully paid. The land registry (tapu müdürlüğü) requires a tax clearance certificate before processing any transfer. Buyers and their lawyers should verify this before purchasing property from an estate.

Practical Steps for Foreign Heirs

For non-residents inheriting Turkish property, the process typically runs as follows:

1. Obtain a Turkish inheritance certificate (veraset ilamı) — issued by a Turkish court or notary
2. Register the property in the heir's name at the land registry
3. Obtain a Turkish tax identification number (vergi numarası) if you do not already have one
4. File the inheritance tax declaration at the relevant vergi dairesi
5. Pay the tax in installments over three years
6. Receive the tax clearance certificate before any subsequent sale or transfer

If you are based outside Turkey, each of these steps requires authenticated documents and often a Turkish power of attorney. Attempting this process without local legal support routinely leads to missed deadlines and penalties.

If you are drafting a will to manage Turkish assets, planning ahead can make this entire process significantly smoother for your heirs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Turkey tax inherited assets located abroad?

Turkish inheritance tax focuses primarily on assets located in Turkey and on Turkish citizens wherever they reside. If you are a foreign national inheriting assets located entirely outside Turkey from a non-Turkish deceased, Turkish tax is unlikely to apply — but verify this with a specialist for your specific situation.

Q: Can I sell an inherited property before paying the tax?

No. The land registry will not process the transfer without a tax clearance certificate from the tax authority. Complete the tax process first.

Q: What if my home country also has an inheritance tax on the same assets?

There is a risk of double taxation. Whether a treaty between Turkey and your country of residence reduces that burden depends on the specific agreement in place.

Q: How does the tax interact with reserved share rules?

The reserved share system under Turkish law determines the minimum portion that certain heirs must receive. Inheritance tax is then calculated on what each heir actually receives once those shares are settled.

Q: Can I refuse the inheritance to avoid the tax?

Yes. Rejecting an inheritance means you receive nothing — and owe nothing, including the tax. Rejection must be done within the legally prescribed period and in the correct form.

How Mona Hukuk Can Help

Handling inheritance tax from abroad is demanding, especially when Turkish bureaucracy, language barriers, and tight deadlines all converge at once. Mona Hukuk's team in Antalya supports foreign heirs from the initial inheritance certificate through to the final tax clearance and property transfer — managing every step so you do not have to.

Contact us at info@monahukuk.com or call +90 (242) 606 14 32 to schedule a consultation in Antalya.