Türkiye came close to a dedicated crypto tax regime in March 2026. A bill submitted to parliament on 2 March proposed a 0.03% crypto-asset transaction tax and a 10% withholding tax on platform gains, and the Plan and Budget Committee accepted those articles unchanged two days later. On 26 March the General Assembly struck them out “to be reassessed”, and the law that emerged, Law No. 7577, contains no crypto provisions. As of November 2026, crypto is therefore taxed only through general rules written for other things. Below: those rules, the Revenue Administration (GİB) rulings, the shelved proposal, and the EU’s DAC8 and OECD’s CARF.
Is there a crypto-specific tax rule in force?
No. When we reviewed the consolidated tax laws GİB publishes, in October 2026, none of the articles of the Income Tax Law (No. 193), Corporate Tax Law (No. 5520), VAT Law (No. 3065), Tax Procedure Law (No. 213), Stamp Duty Law (No. 488), Inheritance and Gift Tax Law (No. 7338) or Expenditure Taxes Law (No. 6802, which contains BSMV) used the word “kripto”. Of the 23 laws adopted in 2026 up to early October, the only one mentioning crypto is Law No. 7589, a Criminal Code amendment on the penalty for handing over access to bank, payment or crypto platform accounts for fraud, not a tax rule.
Law No. 7518 of 2024 defined crypto assets in the Capital Markets Law (Law No. 6362, Art. 3(1)(bb)) as intangible assets created and stored electronically with distributed ledger or similar technology that can represent value or rights, but it amended no tax law. The 2026 bill confirms the gap: its general rationale says it would define crypto assets in the Income Tax Law and “provide certainty” on their taxation.
How the general rules apply today
Turkish income tax reaches only the seven income categories in Article 2 of Law No. 193. For a private investor the difficult one is “other gains”, which covers capital gains and occasional gains. The capital gains article (Mükerrer Article 80) is a closed list: securities and other capital market instruments, certain rights, copyrights, partnership shares, a business, and real estate and certain other assets sold within five years of acquisition. Crypto assets are not on it, which is exactly the gap the bill tried to close. Where the law is silent, views differ. Some read the closed list as leaving an individual’s occasional crypto gains outside income tax; others argue that frequent, organised trading can amount to commercial activity. No published ruling settles the point for someone trading on their own account.
| Tax | General principle today |
|---|---|
| Income tax, individuals (Law 193) | Commercial income (Art. 37) where there is a commercial organisation; capital gains only for items listed in Mükerrer Art. 80, which does not mention crypto |
| Corporate tax (Law 5520) | Art. 6: corporate income follows the commercial income rules of Law 193, so crypto gains of a company form part of its taxable earnings |
| VAT (Law 3065) | Art. 1: deliveries and services in commercial activity are taxable; GİB treated fees for crypto registry (KVMKS) services as subject to VAT (2025 ruling); the transfer of the crypto asset itself is not addressed |
| BSMV (Law 6802, Art. 28) | Applies to banks, bankers and insurers; GİB found fees for crypto registry services outside BSMV (2025 ruling) |
| Stamp duty (Law 488) | Art. 1: only papers listed in Table (1), such as signed contracts, are taxed |
| Inheritance tax (Law 7338) | Crypto held on a platform is part of the estate and must be declared by the heirs (2020 ruling) |
What GİB has said in published rulings
We found three crypto rulings (özelge) in GİB’s published database. Each was issued to one applicant on its facts under Article 413 of the Tax Procedure Law, and its penalty protection is tied to that applicant acting in line with it. They show the administration’s reasoning, not general rules.
- Edirne Tax Office Directorate, No. 60938891-120.01.02.09[GVK: 3-1]-E.33826, 23 September 2020. Bitcoin in a deceased user’s account at a Turkish platform company had to be declared by the heirs for inheritance tax; failing that, the company could pay out the balance after withholding 5% under Article 17 of Law No. 7338.
- Ankara Revenue Office, No. E-38418978-120[37-20/38]-358364, 9 August 2022. An individual paid for buying bitcoin in Türkiye, on a continuing basis, for a friend abroad earned commercial income under Article 37 of Law No. 193, to be declared on the annual return.
- Istanbul Revenue Office, No. E-39044742-130[Özelge]-1219373, 26 September 2025. Fees for services through the Crypto Asset Central Registry System (KVMKS), run by a company operating financial markets and exchanges, are not banking transactions under Article 28 of Law No. 6802, so they fall outside BSMV, and they are subject to VAT.
The 2026 proposal and what happened to it
The vehicle was omnibus bill No. 2/3560, submitted on 2 March 2026 by 48 MPs. The Plan and Budget Committee accepted it on 4 March 2026, adopting Articles 1 to 6 “as is” (report, Order No. 259). Its crypto provisions were:
| Bill article | Proposal |
|---|---|
| Art. 1 (new Art. 35, Law 6802) | Transaction tax on crypto sales and transfers made or intermediated by crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), who pay it; 0.03% (“on binde üç”) of the sale price or fair value at transfer; monthly return by the 15th; President may cut the rate to zero or raise it up to fivefold |
| Arts. 3 and 4 (Law 193, Arts. 70 and Mükerrer 80) | Crypto assets added to Art. 70 (leasing income); disposals would give rise to capital gains, and disposals by a business to commercial income |
| Art. 5 (new Mükerrer Art. 94, Law 193) | 10% quarterly withholding by platforms subject to Law 6362 on crypto gains; first-in-first-out cost; losses carried forward within the year; final tax for individuals other than business income; off-platform income declared annually; President may cut the rate to zero or double it |
| Art. 7 (Law 3065, Art. 17(4)(g)) | VAT exemption for crypto deliveries within the transaction tax |
The articles survived committee. On 26 March 2026 the General Assembly accepted motions striking Articles 1, 3, 4 and 5, with the stated reason that each article was removed “to be reassessed”, and amended Article 7 to drop the crypto VAT exemption. The rest passed on 2 April 2026 as Law No. 7577 (Official Gazette 17 April 2026, No. 33227). No law adopted since, up to early October 2026, has revived the proposals.
Companies holding crypto in treasury
On accounting there is official guidance. A decision of the Public Oversight Authority (KGK) dated 16 December 2024, published in the Official Gazette on 19 December 2024, amended the reporting standard for large and medium-sized companies (BOBİ FRS). Crypto assets in scope are measured at fair value through profit or loss and shown under a new “Digital Assets” line, for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
On tax, the Tax Procedure Law has no crypto-specific valuation rule, so whether a fair value gain is taxable before disposal is a question the law does not expressly answer. Crypto also cannot be used to pay for anything: the TCMB regulation published on 16 April 2021 bans its direct or indirect use in payments, as our stablecoin article explains.
CASPs: what they report to the tax authority today
No crypto-specific periodic tax reporting duty is in force. Under Article 148 of the Tax Procedure Law, anyone dealing with taxpayers must give the information the Ministry or tax inspectors request. Under Article 4(2)(ü) of General Communiqué No. 529 on the Tax Procedure Law, CASPs must report beneficial ownership information on their customers’ transactions when GİB requests it. The shelved bill would have made platforms the taxpayers of the transaction tax and the withholding agents for the 10% tax, and made intermediaries liable for assessments based on the data they hold. For licensing, see our CASP compliance page and our fintech law hub.
The EU and OECD contrast: DAC8 and CARF
The EU chose reporting first. Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) required member states to apply its rules from 1 January 2026. Reporting crypto-asset service providers report their EU users’ exchange transactions and transfers, and member states exchange the data within nine months after each calendar year, starting with 2026. A Turkish platform is caught only through an EU link: MiCA authorisation, or tax residence, incorporation, management, a regular place of business or a branch in a member state.
DAC8 builds on the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), approved on 26 August 2022. The OECD Global Forum list, updated on 14 September 2026, names Türkiye among jurisdictions committed to first CARF exchanges by 2028, and in committee the bill’s sponsors and government representatives referred to an information-exchange agreement entering into force on 1 January 2027. We found no published Turkish rule yet implementing CARF reporting for CASPs.
Where to start
- Individuals: keep records of every cost, disposal, transfer and fee, on Turkish and foreign platforms, and take advice before treating frequent trading or staking and lending income as tax-free.
- Heirs: crypto on a platform is part of the estate for inheritance tax.
- Companies: apply the BOBİ FRS fair value rules or the applicable TFRS treatment, document the tax position on unrealised gains, and keep crypto out of payment flows.
- CASPs: charge VAT on fees, be ready for GİB information and beneficial ownership requests, and build data systems that could support withholding and CARF reporting.
- Everyone: watch new omnibus bills; the March 2026 articles were set aside to be reassessed.
Do individuals pay tax on crypto gains in Türkiye?
No provision taxes them expressly. The capital gains article of the Income Tax Law does not list crypto assets, and no published GİB ruling covers an individual’s own trading. Views differ, particularly where trading is frequent and organised. The 2026 proposal to tax such gains at 10% was removed from the bill and is not law.
Was the 0.03% crypto transaction tax enacted?
No. It was Article 1 of bill No. 2/3560. The committee accepted it, but on 26 March 2026 the General Assembly struck it from the bill to be reassessed, and Law No. 7577 contains no crypto provisions.
Do Turkish crypto platforms report customer data to the tax office?
As far as we found, only on request: Article 148 of the Tax Procedure Law and, for beneficial ownership, General Communiqué No. 529. There is no CARF-style periodic reporting yet, although Türkiye has committed to first CARF exchanges by 2028.
Sources. Bill No. 2/3560 and Plan and Budget Committee report, Order No. 259 (TBMM); General Assembly minutes, 74th sitting, 26 March 2026; Law No. 7577 (Official Gazette 17.4.2026, No. 33227); Income Tax Law No. 193, Arts. 2, 37, 85 and Mükerrer 80; Corporate Tax Law No. 5520, Art. 6; VAT Law No. 3065, Art. 1; Expenditure Taxes Law No. 6802, Art. 28; Stamp Duty Law No. 488, Art. 1; Tax Procedure Law No. 213, Arts. 148 and 413; Inheritance and Gift Tax Law No. 7338, Art. 17 (consolidated texts on gib.gov.tr); GİB rulings of 23.9.2020, 9.8.2022 and 26.9.2025; General Communiqué No. 529 on the Tax Procedure Law, Art. 4 (Official Gazette 13.7.2021, No. 31540); Law No. 6362, Art. 3(1)(bb), added by Law No. 7518 (Official Gazette 2.7.2024, No. 32590); KGK decision of 16.12.2024 amending BOBİ FRS (Official Gazette 19.12.2024, No. 32757); TCMB Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments (Official Gazette 16.4.2021, No. 31456); Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (OJ L, 24.10.2023), Arts. 1 and 2 and Annex VI; OECD Global Forum, Jurisdictions committed to implement the CARF (update of 14.9.2026).
This article is general information and not legal advice; a specific situation should be assessed with counsel.
