Every Turkish company has ongoing accounting and tax-filing duties from the moment it is registered, whether or not it has started trading. These obligations are monthly, quarterly and annual, they are filed electronically, and they apply even to a dormant company, which must still submit nil returns. Missing them leads to penalties and interest, so compliance is a continuous routine rather than a year-end exercise.
The monthly filings are the backbone. Value added tax (KDV) returns are filed each month, reporting the VAT charged on sales and reclaiming the VAT paid on purchases. A combined withholding and social-security declaration (the Muhtasar ve Prim Hizmet Beyannamesi) is also filed monthly, covering income-tax withholding on salaries, rent and certain services together with employees' social-security contributions. If the company has staff, payroll and SGK obligations run every month alongside these.
Corporate tax is settled in stages across the year. Rather than paying only once, the company calculates and pays provisional (advance) corporate tax on a quarterly basis, based on its cumulative profit for the period. These advance payments are then credited against the final liability, which smooths cash flow for the tax authority and for the business.
The annual cycle closes with the corporate tax return, filed and paid by the end of the fourth month after the accounting year — 30 April for a company on the calendar year. Alongside it, the company prepares its financial statements and ensures its statutory ledgers are properly kept and certified. Certain companies also fall within scope of independent audit, depending on thresholds for assets, turnover and headcount.
Turkey's e-transformation rules add another layer. Depending on turnover and sector, a company may be required to issue electronic invoices (e-Fatura), electronic archive invoices (e-Arşiv) and to keep electronic ledgers (e-Defter). These systems are efficient once set up, but they must be configured correctly and used consistently, and the thresholds that pull a company into scope change over time.
Underpinning all of this is proper bookkeeping. Records must be maintained in line with Turkish accounting standards, which are aligned with international financial reporting standards, and kept in an orderly, auditable form. Accurate books are not just a legal duty — they are what make the VAT, withholding and corporate-tax filings correct in the first place, and what protect you in the event of an inspection.
The practical rhythm is monthly, not annual, and that changes how you should run the company. Invoices, receipts and bank statements need to reach your accountant every month so the VAT and withholding returns can be filed on time, which means keeping orderly digital records from the very first day. Founders who treat bookkeeping as a continuous habit rather than a year-end scramble not only avoid penalties but also get timely figures they can actually use to manage the business.
In practice, this is why a licensed independent accountant — a mali müşavir — is effectively mandatory for a Turkish company rather than a matter of choice, and why non-resident owners in particular rely on one. The recurring filings, the e-transformation systems, the payroll and the deadlines are precisely the ongoing service P&B Global provides: we keep the company compliant month to month so that you can run it from anywhere, without missing a Turkish deadline.