Amendments Enacted Under Presidential Decree No. 9487 within the Scope of Provisional Article 67 of the Income Tax Law

Gizem Şimşek co-authored this article.

The Presidential Decree No. 9487 (“Amended Decree”), which amends the withholding tax rates set forth under Provisional Article 67 of the Income Tax Law No. 193 (“ITL”), was published in the Official Gazette No. 32800 on February 1, 2025, and has entered into force. The Decree introduces amendments to Article 1 and Provisional Article 4 of the annex to the Council of Ministers Decree No. 2006/10731 dated July 22, 2016 (“Decree”), incorporating updates regarding the taxation of income derived from capital market instruments.

Pursuant to Article 1 of the Amended Decree, the withholding tax rates to be applied by banks and brokerage firms have been determined as follows:

• 0% on income derived from shares (excluding shares of securities investment trusts) and from derivative and option contracts based on shares and share indices, including warrants traded on Borsa Istanbul,

• 0% on income derived from participation shares of equity-intensive funds,

• 0% on income derived from participation shares of venture capital investment funds and real estate investment funds held for more than two years,

• 15% on income derived from participation shares of other investment funds (money market funds, hedge funds, mixed funds, precious metal funds, debt instruments funds, etc.),

• 0% on income derived from gold-backed government domestic borrowing securities issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, mint certificates, and gold-backed lease certificates issued by asset leasing companies established under Law No. 4749 on Public Financing and Debt Management,

• 15% on income generated from short-term (less than one year) lease certificates issued by asset leasing companies and finance bonds approved by the Capital Markets Board, including gains from their disposal.

Under Article 2 of the Amended Decree, amendments made to Article 1/1-ç of the Decree have also revised the withholding tax rates applicable to income earned by non-residents, as stipulated in Article 67/11 of the ITL. Accordingly, the withholding tax rate for the category of "other gains" under subparagraph (ç) of Article 1 of the Decree has been set at 10%.

Pursuant to Article 3 of the Amended Decree, the withholding tax rates applicable to interest income from bank deposits and profit shares from participation banks, specifically for foreign exchange-protected term deposits and participation accounts, as well as deposits and participation funds converted into Turkish Lira from gold, have been revised.

For accounts converted from foreign currency into Turkish Lira, the withholding tax rates have been changed as follows:

• 15% for accounts with maturities up to 6 months (including 6 months),

• 12% for accounts with maturities up to 1 year (including 1 year),

• 10% for accounts with maturities longer than 1 year.

For accounts converted from gold into Turkish Lira, the withholding tax rates have been revised as follows:

• 15% for accounts with maturities up to 6 months (including 6 months),

• 12% for accounts with maturities up to 1 year (including 1 year).

The amendments introduced under Articles 1 and 2 of the Amended Decree will come into effect as of April 30, 2025, while the changes introduced under Article 3 have been effective as of February 1, 2025.

The provisions set forth in Articles 1 and 2 of the Amended Decree will apply to income derived from investment fund participation shares acquired on or after February 2, 2025. The withholding tax rates introduced under Article 3 of the Amended Decree will apply to term deposit accounts opened or renewed as of February 2, 2025, and to lease certificates issued on or after February 2, 2025.