How to sell property in Turkey as a foreigner: tax, steps and money transfer (2026)

Short answer: a foreigner who owns property in Turkey can sell it with the same rights as a Turkish citizen, and the transfer at the land registry is usually completed in a single day. The seller pays a title deed fee of 2% of the sale price; if the property is sold within five years of the registration date, capital gains tax may apply (the 2026 exemption is 150,000 TL). After taxes, the remaining proceeds can be transferred abroad through banks.

For a foreigner who bought a home in Izmir, the day of sale is often more confusing than the day of purchase. When you bought, you had a consultant, a translator and perhaps a lawyer handling the citizenship file. When you sell, the questions change: Will there be tax? Do I need to come to Turkey? Which account does the money go to, and when? How do I get it out of the country? In this guide I go through the sale in order, from the first check to the moment the money reaches your account.

What to check before you list the property

Most sales that stall do so because of a registry problem discovered after a buyer has been found. So the first step is for you to see the title record before the buyer does.

1. Annotations on the title deed. Is there a mortgage, a lien (haciz), a registered lease or another restriction? If your loan is paid off but the mortgage is still registered, you need a release letter from the bank before the sale.
2. Citizenship annotation. If you bought the property for citizenship by investment, the title carries a "not to be sold for three years" annotation. A sale is not possible before this period ends; once it ends, you apply to the land registry to have the annotation removed.
3. Residence permit. If your short-term residence permit is based on this property, you will need a different basis at the next renewal. If you plan to keep living in Turkey, plan this before the sale.
4. Property tax and service charges. The land registry checks property tax (emlak vergisi) debt before the transfer, and unpaid tax can stop the process. Building service charge (aidat) debt is usually settled between you and the buyer.
5. DASK policy. For residential sales the registry asks for a valid compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) policy. Renew it before the sale if it has expired.

The sale process, step by step

The process is almost identical to a sale by a Turkish citizen. The differences are in the documents, the language and the flow of money.

1. Set the right price. Base it on properties that actually sold in recent months, not on listing prices. If the buyer is a foreigner, the registry also requires a valuation report from a licensed appraiser, so a price far below or far above that report can complicate the transfer.
2. Work with a licensed consultant. Sign a written authorisation agreement with a consultant who holds a real estate trading licence. The regulatory ceiling for the service fee is 2% of the sale price plus VAT per party.
3. Put the preliminary agreement in writing. If you take a deposit, record the amount, the transfer date and what happens if either party withdraws. A deposit paid through a bank also leaves a trail you may need later.
4. Book the land registry appointment. Applications are made through the Web Tapu portal or directly at the land registry office. The fee is calculated with the application.
5. Prepare the documents. Passport, the Turkish tax number you obtained when buying, a passport photo taken within the last six months, and the DASK policy. If you do not speak Turkish, a sworn translator must be present at the registry.
6. Receive the payment through a bank. Cash leaves no trail and is hard to prove later. If the buyer is a foreigner, they first convert their foreign currency at a bank and obtain a Foreign Currency Purchase Certificate (DAB); the registration cannot be completed without it.
7. Sign at the land registry. The official deed of sale is signed by both parties at the registry office. Ownership passes to the buyer the moment the title is registered.

Can you sell without coming to Turkey?

Yes, with a power of attorney. There are two routes: a power of attorney issued at the Turkish consulate in the country where you live, or one issued by a local notary, apostilled and translated into Turkish with a certified translation. The consulate route usually leads to fewer surprises.

Besides the authority to sell, the power of attorney must explicitly include the authority to collect the sale price and to carry out banking transactions. A document that only authorises representation at the land registry may not be enough for the bank side. Choose your attorney carefully: with this document they can sell the property and receive the money on your behalf. Pick someone you trust, limit the authority to a single property, and require that the sale price be paid directly into your own account.

What costs and taxes does the seller pay?

How does the five-year rule work?

Under repeated Article 80 of the Turkish Income Tax Law, if you sell a property you acquired for consideration within five years of acquiring it, the profit counts as a capital gain (değer artışı kazancı). The period starts on the date the title was registered in your name. After five years, no capital gains tax arises however large the profit. Property acquired through inheritance or gift is outside this rule.

When the gain is calculated, the purchase price is adjusted for inflation. If the producer price index (Yİ-ÜFE) rose by 10% or more between the month of purchase and the month of sale, the purchase price is increased by that rate before being deducted from the sale price. Expenses you incurred for the sale can also be deducted.

On paper the example shows a profit of 4 million TL, but after the inflation adjustment the taxable part falls to less than a third of that. The exact calculation should be made by your accountant using the official index values for the month of sale.

When is the tax return filed?

What matters here is whether you are tax resident in Turkey. A foreigner who stays in Turkey for more than six months in a calendar year is generally treated as a full taxpayer and reports the gain on the annual return in March of the following year. A seller who is not resident in Turkey is a limited taxpayer and must report the gain to the tax office where the property is located on a one-off return (münferit beyanname) within 15 days of the sale. This short deadline is the detail most often missed.

Your tax position in your home country is a separate matter. In most of the double taxation treaties Turkey has signed, gains from selling real estate are taxed in the country where the property is located, and tax paid in Turkey can usually be credited in your country of residence. Confirm this with a tax adviser in your own country.

How do you transfer the sale proceeds abroad?

For people who are not resident in Turkey, the proceeds from selling property in Turkey can be transferred abroad through banks after taxes and similar obligations have been paid. In practice the flow looks like this:

1. The price is paid in Turkish lira into your account at a Turkish bank. Even if the buyer is a foreigner, their currency is converted at a bank first, so the seller receives lira.
2. You convert the lira into foreign currency. You can do this at the same bank; comparing quotes from a few banks helps you see the exchange rate spread.
3. You give the transfer instruction. The bank usually asks for proof of the sale: the land registry sale document and the payment receipt. If the sale was taxable, keep the tax return and payment receipt ready too.

A change to how payments are made at the registry is also on the way. The Ministry of Trade is making the Secure Payment System mandatory: the sale price moves through a secure account at the same moment as the title transfer. The start date was first announced as 1 July, then 1 October 2026; the Ministry's announcement of 28 September 2026 postponed it to 1 December 2026. Once the system is live, the amount deposited by the buyer will pass to the seller's account as soon as the transfer is complete. I explain the buyer side in detail in how foreign buyers pay at the land registry.

Property bought for citizenship or residence

For property bought for citizenship by investment, a three-year no-sale annotation is placed on the title; as of 2026 the minimum investment is 400,000 US dollars. A sale is not possible before this period ends. After it ends you can sell freely, and your citizenship is not affected.

If your buyer is also a foreigner planning to invest for citizenship, discuss one point at the start: a property already used in a citizenship application is generally not accepted for a new application. This can reduce your chance of selling to buyers looking for a citizenship investment, so price and target buyers should be chosen with that in mind.

The three most common mistakes

• Declaring a low price at the land registry. If a low price was declared when you bought, a sale within five years calculates your gain from that low purchase price and the tax grows. Declaring a low price when you sell conflicts with the buyer's DAB and valuation report if the buyer is a foreigner. I covered this in the under-declaration article.
• Accepting cash. Money without a trail is exactly the money the bank will ask you to document when you transfer it abroad. The full price should come through a bank.
• A power of attorney that is expired or too narrow. Without banking authority, a power of attorney can leave the registry transaction half finished.

In short: as a foreigner you can sell your property in Turkey, and the transfer can be completed at the land registry in one day. Your share of the title deed fee is 2%; if you sell within five years you must declare the gain on time, and after taxes the proceeds can be sent abroad through a bank. If you would like help setting your sale price or planning the process step by step, write to me. For real estate consultancy, feel free to get in touch.