Does Your Company Provide Digital Services in Turkey?
Turkey applies a Digital Service Tax (DST) to certain online services provided to users located in Turkey. The tax targets large-scale digital businesses that generate significant revenue from the Turkish market.
If your company offers digital services to Turkish users, you may fall within the scope of DST.
Scope of Digital Service Tax
Digital Service Tax applies to revenues derived from the following activities.
Digital Advertisement Services
DST covers a broad range of online advertising activities, including:
- Search engine advertisements, such as priority display in search results
- Banner advertisements
- Audio, visual, or written ads published in digital media
- Advertisements shown before, during, or after videos or user-generated content
- Ads transmitted online through software on electronic devices
- Pop-up advertisements
- Advertisements published on digital versions of newspapers, magazines, or broadcasting platforms
Sale of Contents in Digital Platforms
DST also applies to revenues from the sale of digital content, such as:
- Software, programs, and applications used on electronic devices
- Image, sound, and text-based digital content, including movies, TV series, videos, photos, articles, magazines, and newspapers
- Digital games, game add-ons, and game codes, whether played online or offline
- Game-related packages, including extra playing time, in-game items, virtual currency, or character development features
Running Digital Platforms Where Users Can Interact
DST applies to platforms that enable user interaction, including:
- Digital platforms that allow users to share written, visual, or audio content
- Platforms where users can comment on shared content
- Platforms enabling interaction between users in other ways
- Digital marketplaces that mediate the sale or purchase of goods or services
- Platforms that facilitate payment, delivery, return, or advertising related to such transactions
Digital Service Tax Liability and Revenue Thresholds
DST liability depends on whether the company is part of a consolidated group under IFRS.
Companies Outside a Consolidated Group
A company has DST liability if both of the following thresholds are exceeded:
- Revenue from covered digital services in Turkey exceeds TRY 20 million, and
- Global revenue from covered digital services exceeds EUR 750 million
If both conditions are met, the company must file and pay DST.
Companies Within a Consolidated Group
For companies that are members of an IFRS consolidated group, DST liability arises if both thresholds below are exceeded at group level:
- Consolidated revenue from covered digital services in Turkey exceeds TRY 20 million, and
- Consolidated global revenue from covered digital services exceeds EUR 750 million
If both thresholds are met, DST applies.
Special Certification Requirement
If a company is part of a consolidated group and only the Turkey revenue threshold is exceeded, the company must certify its status.
In this case, the company must submit a report prepared in accordance with international auditing standards.
The report must be issued by independent auditors from at least five different countries, including Turkey.
Digital Service Tax Base and Rate
Tax Base
The DST base equals the total revenue generated in Turkey from:
- Digital advertisement services
- Sale of contents in digital platforms
- Running digital platforms where users can interact
Tax Rate
The Digital Service Tax rate is 7.5%.
DST Payable
Digital Service Tax payable = Tax base × 7.5%
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