| TAX CIRCULAR: 2026-96 | DATE: 07.07.2026 |
With the Law No. 7524 dated July 28, 2024, the repealed Article 17 of the Income Tax Law was rearranged, and a regulation was made regarding the wage exemption for benefits provided to employees by giving them share certificates free of charge or at a discount.
Later, with Article 3 of the Law No. 7582 dated May 21, 2026, this application was amended, and new limits were determined to be effective from June 4, 2026. Based on this, the amendments made in the Communiqué Serial No. 326 were published with the General Communiqué on Income Tax Serial No. 335.
The changes introduced by the new regulation are as follows:
Change in the Exemption Upper Limit: The upper limit taken into account for exempting the fair value of the share certificates, which are given to the employees by employers qualifying as a techno-initiative company and are considered as wages, from income tax as of the date they are given, has been increased from the annual gross wage to twice the annual gross wage.
Changes in Holding Periods: The holding periods foreseen for the acquired share certificates to be exempt from income tax have been shortened as follows:
Old Regulation (Law No. 7524):
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If disposed of within three full years, the entire exempted tax was collected from the employer.
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If disposed of within four to six years, 75 percent of the exempted tax was collected from the employer.
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If disposed of within seven to twelve years, 25 percent of the exempted tax was collected from the employer.
New Regulation (Law No. 7582):
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If disposed of within two full years, the entire exempted tax will be collected from the employer.
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If disposed of within three to four years, 75 percent of the exempted tax will be collected from the employer.
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If disposed of within five to six years, 25 percent of the exempted tax will be collected from the employer.
These refunds will be collected from the employer along with default interest, without applying a tax loss penalty.
