What is the Turkish DST?
Türkiye’s Dijital Hizmet Vergisi (Digital Services Tax — DST) entered into force on 1 March 2020 under Law No. 7194 (Dijital Hizmet Vergisi Kanunu). It imposes a 7.5% tax on the gross revenue (excluding VAT) derived from specified digital services provided to users located in Türkiye. The DST targets large digital platforms operating cross-border, regardless of physical presence.
In-scope digital services
- Digital advertising services targeted to Turkish users (programmatic, sponsored content).
- Sale of digital content (music, video, games, e-books, software).
- Platform/intermediation services connecting users (marketplaces, app stores).
- Data sales regarding Turkish users.
Thresholds and exemptions
- Global revenue threshold: EUR 750 million from digital services worldwide.
- Türkiye revenue threshold: TRY 20 million from in-scope services in Türkiye.
- Both must be met in the preceding fiscal year.
- Exemptions: revenue from banking and Telecommunication Authority licensed payment service providers, R&D platforms.
Compliance mechanics
Monthly DST returns and payments are due by the end of the following month. Non-resident taxpayers must register with the Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı (GİB) digital portal. Non-compliance escalation: revenue authorities can request internet service providers to block access — a strong enforcement lever uniquely available under Turkish DST.
Do: monitor global and TR revenue against thresholds; register and file via GİB digital portal if in-scope.
Don’t: assume DST is duplicative of corporate tax — DST is gross-receipts based and applies regardless of profitability or PE.
DST in the financial model
Türkiye’s digital services tax runs at 7.5% on gross in-scope revenue — advertising, intermediation, digital content and related data services — for groups above the dual thresholds (global and Turkish revenue). Because it taxes revenue rather than profit, the modelling consequence is blunt: a thin-margin marketplace can owe DST exceeding its Turkish profit, and the tax interacts with transfer-pricing design (which entity books Turkish-source digital revenue). Contract practice has followed: platform agreements increasingly include DST gross-up or pass-through clauses, and pricing pages quietly absorbed the cost. The forward-looking note: DST regimes were built as interim measures pending OECD Pillar One; until that settles, treat DST as a permanent line in Türkiye-facing digital P&Ls and a standard diligence question on revenue characterisation.