Statutory accounting in Turkey runs on its own rules: a mandatory uniform chart of accounts, books kept in Turkish and in Turkish lira, an electronic invoicing and ledger regime that now covers almost every company keeping books on the balance sheet basis, and a filing calendar that does not pause. For a foreign-owned company, the work is not only keeping the books — it is keeping two sets of numbers reconciled.
We provide accounting services in Turkey to companies whose shareholders sit abroad and whose group reporting runs on a different framework, a different chart of accounts and a different calendar from the one the Turkish authorities require. The section below sets out what the local regime actually demands, because that is what determines how much of a finance function a company needs here.
What Turkish Statutory Accounting Requires
Four requirements shape everything else, and none of them is optional or negotiable with the tax office.
Turkish companies do not design their own chart of accounts. The account codes, their numbering and the structure of the financial statements are prescribed. A group chart of accounts has to be mapped onto it, not substituted for it.
Statutory books are kept in Turkish and in Turkish lira. Foreign currency transactions are recorded at the rates prescribed for tax purposes, and the resulting differences are a recurring source of divergence from group figures.
Companies keeping books on the balance sheet basis can no longer issue paper invoices. Where a company is within the electronic invoice regime, the electronic ledger obligation follows from the start of the next year.
Tax legislation requires records to be retained for five years from the beginning of the following year; commercial legislation requires ten. The longer period governs in practice, and archives built to the shorter one create problems in a later audit or transaction.
The Electronic Document Regime
This is where most newly established and newly acquired companies get caught, because the thresholds are assessed on the previous year’s figures and the transition date is fixed regardless of when the company notices.
| Obligation | Who is caught | From when |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic invoice | Gross sales of TRY 3 million or more in 2025 | 1 July 2026 |
| Electronic invoice, lower threshold | Gross sales of TRY 500,000 or more for e-commerce, real estate and motor vehicle trading, and internet advertising | 1 July 2026 |
| Electronic invoice, no threshold | Certain licensed sectors, regardless of turnover | On entering the sector |
| Electronic archive invoice | Companies on the balance sheet basis, for all invoices | 1 January 2026 |
| Electronic ledger | Companies within the electronic invoice regime | Start of the following year |
Where a company within the regime issues a paper invoice, it is treated as not having been issued. Two consequences follow, and the second is the one that damages commercial relationships: a special irregularity penalty is assessed on the issuer, and the recipient cannot deduct the amount as an expense or recover the value added tax on it. A supplier who has not completed the transition therefore creates a problem for every customer it invoices.
The Compliance Calendar
Turkish filing is monthly, not quarterly. A company with employees files something every month of the year.
| Filing | Frequency | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Value added tax return | Monthly | Output and input tax, exemptions, reverse charge on services received from abroad |
| Withholding and premium service return | Monthly | Payroll withholding, social security premiums, withholding on rent and professional fees |
| Provisional corporate tax return | Quarterly | Corporate tax on the period result |
| Corporate tax return | Annual | Filed by the end of the fourth month following the accounting period |
| Electronic ledger and certification files | Monthly or quarterly | Journal and general ledger, with the certification files uploaded within the prescribed period |
| Transfer pricing form and documentation | Annual | Related party transactions, filed with the corporate tax return |
| Beneficial ownership notification | Annual and on change | Ultimate beneficial owners of the company |
| Foreign investment reporting | Annual | Companies and branches with foreign capital |
Where Statutory Books and Group Reporting Diverge
This is the part that consumes the most time in a foreign-owned company, and the part that generic accounting providers underestimate. The Turkish books are not a translation of the group numbers; they are prepared under a different measurement framework, and the difference has to be explained every period rather than discovered at year end.
- Mapping the uniform chart of accounts to the group chart
- Measurement differences between tax legislation and the group framework
- Depreciation rates and useful lives set for tax purposes
- Provisions recognised for group purposes but not deductible locally
- Foreign exchange translation at prescribed rates
- Inflation adjustment where the statutory conditions are met
- Non-deductible expenses that carry no group equivalent
- Different closing calendars and reporting deadlines
Where the statutory conditions are met, financial statements are adjusted for inflation for tax purposes under a prescribed methodology. The adjustment changes the carrying value of non-monetary items, the depreciation base and the taxable result, and it does not correspond to anything in most group reporting frameworks. Whether it applies in a given year depends on the published index thresholds, so it should be confirmed for each period rather than assumed either way. Where it applies, the reconciliation between statutory and group figures has to be rebuilt, not adjusted.
Our approach is to maintain the reconciliation as a standing schedule rather than an annual exercise. The group receives its own reporting package on its own calendar, and the bridge to the statutory result is documented line by line — which is also what an auditor, a tax inspector and an acquirer’s due diligence team each ask for first.
How We Work
Suitable where a finance team is already in place and needs the local framework, the chart of accounts mapping and a review before filing. We advise on treatment, review the returns and flag exposure before it becomes an assessment.
The company handles transaction entry and we take responsibility for the statutory close, the returns, the reconciliation to group and the year-end reporting. The common model for companies with one or two finance staff locally.
Bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, payroll and its related filings, statutory reporting and group reporting. The company retains approval authority; we run the process.
What is included
- Bookkeeping under the uniform chart of accounts
- Bank and cash reconciliation
- Sales invoicing and receivables management
- Payables and supplier management
- Employee expense claims
- Payroll and its statutory filings
- Value added tax and withholding returns
- Provisional and annual corporate tax returns
- Electronic invoice and ledger operation
- Monthly management reporting to the group
- Statutory and year-end financial statements
- Audit support and reconciliation schedules
Reporting is delivered in the group’s own format, exported in the file types the group’s consolidation process expects, and the chart of accounts is mapped to the group’s structure wherever the uniform chart permits. Where the company already uses an accounting or enterprise system, we work within it rather than requiring a migration.
Taking Over From Another Accountant
A large part of our work begins with a handover rather than an incorporation. Where the accounting has been maintained elsewhere, the first task is establishing what is actually in the records before assuming responsibility for them.
| Reviewed at handover | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Filed returns against the ledger | Returns and books diverge more often than expected; the difference has to be identified before the next filing carries it forward |
| Carried-forward value added tax | A balance that cannot be substantiated is a balance that will be disallowed |
| Prior year losses | Their availability depends on having been declared correctly in each year |
| Book certification and electronic ledger files | Missing certifications or unfiled certification files carry penalties and cannot be remedied retrospectively |
| Shareholder current account | The most common source of deemed dividend and transfer pricing exposure in owner-managed companies |
| Cash and inventory balances | Balances that do not exist physically are a recurring finding in tax inspections |
| Depreciation schedules | Rates and useful lives applied inconsistently across years |
| Transfer pricing form and documentation | Frequently omitted entirely where related party transactions exist |
| Social security position | Outstanding premium debt follows the company, not the previous accountant |
The review is documented and shared before the engagement starts, so the company knows what it is inheriting and what will need correcting. Where corrections are required, we set out the options and the exposure attached to each before anything is filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must accounting records in Turkey be kept in Turkish and in Turkish lira?
Can a company in Turkey still issue paper invoices?
When does a company have to move to electronic invoicing?
How often are tax returns filed in Turkey?
How long must accounting records be retained?
Why do the Turkish statutory accounts differ from our group figures?
When does a company become subject to independent audit?
Can you take over the accounting from our current provider?
As the Ozbek CPA team, we provide accounting services in Turkey to foreign-owned companies, branches and liaison offices — statutory bookkeeping under the uniform chart of accounts, the monthly and annual filing calendar, electronic invoice and ledger operation, payroll and its related returns, reporting to the group in its own format, and the reconciliation between the two sets of figures. Contact us.
