Hiring in Türkiye: what an employee really costs in 2026
Minimum wage, the new social security ceiling, employer contributions after the 2026 changes, the minimum wage exemptions and two worked examples from gross to net to total cost.
For a foreign group budgeting headcount in Türkiye, the gap between gross salary, net pay and total employer cost is the first thing to get right. This guide walks through the 2026 rules and two worked examples. For your own numbers, use our payroll calculator.
Salaries are agreed net, budgets are gross
Employees in Türkiye usually negotiate net monthly pay. Because income tax is cumulative over the calendar year, the same gross salary produces a lower net later in the year as income moves into higher brackets. Many employers therefore agree a fixed net and let the gross rise during the year. Decide early which of the two your offer letters and budgets fix, because the cost difference by December can be significant.
The 2026 building blocks
- Minimum wage: TRY 33,030.00 gross and TRY 28,075.50 net per month, for the whole of 2026.
- Social security base: at least the minimum wage and at most TRY 297,270.00 per month. The ceiling was raised from 7.5 to 9 times the minimum wage from 1 January 2026.
- Employee deductions: 14% social security and 1% unemployment insurance on the capped base, then income tax and stamp tax.
- Employer contributions: 21.75% social security and 2% unemployment insurance, 23.75% in total. The employer pension share rose from 11% to 12% in 2026.
- Incentive: employers with no overdue social security debts get a reduction of 2 points (5 points in manufacturing) in 2026. In 2025 the general reduction was 4 points.
- Income tax on wages: 15%, 20%, 27%, 35% and 40%, with bracket limits at TRY 190,000, 400,000, 1,500,000 and 5,300,000 of cumulative annual taxable income.
- Stamp tax: 0.759% of gross pay.
- Minimum wage exemption: the income tax and stamp tax that would fall on the minimum wage are exempt for every employee, so everyone benefits, not only minimum wage earners.
Example 1: an employee on the minimum wage
Gross TRY 33,030.00. Employee contributions of 15% leave TRY 28,075.50 net, with no income tax or stamp tax because of the exemption. The employer pays 23.75% on top, TRY 40,874.63 in total, or TRY 40,214.03 with the 2-point incentive.
Example 2: gross TRY 50,000 per month
| January | TRY |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | 50,000.00 |
| Employee social security (14%) and unemployment (1%) | −7,500.00 |
| Income tax (15% of 42,500 less the minimum wage exemption of 4,211.33) | −2,163.67 |
| Stamp tax (0.759% of 50,000 less the exemption of 250.70) | −128.80 |
| Net pay | 40,207.53 |
| Employer contributions at 23.75% | 11,875.00 |
| Total employer cost | 61,875.00 |
From May the employee's cumulative income passes TRY 190,000 and the net starts to fall, so the annual cost of a fixed-net arrangement is higher than twelve times January.
Other costs to budget
- Severance: Turkish labour law gives employees with at least one year of service a severance payment on most types of termination, based on one month's gross pay per year of service up to a cap set every six months. Many groups accrue for it from day one.
- Bonuses and benefits such as meal cards, private health insurance and transport are common and have their own tax treatment.
- Payroll filing: the combined withholding and social security return is due on the 26th of the following month, and contributions are paid by the end of that month.
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Sources: minimum wage determination 2025/1; Gelir Vergisi Genel Tebliği No. 332; Law No. 5510 and Law No. 7566; Alomaliye SGK guide 2026; Cottgroup, legal deductions in payroll 2026; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Türkiye (reviewed 09.09.2026). General information, not payroll or legal advice. Last checked 4 November 2026.
For information only; not tax, legal or investment advice. Rules change, so check the official source before acting.