Details to Consider to Have a
Better Understanding of Your Payroll

Basic Salary

Salary is a benefit that can be represented, is provided with money, and in-kind benefits given to the employee in return for her/his service working at a specific workplace for an employer. Whether or not the salaries can be paid without being subject to social security premiums or income taxes from payments made under any name is a subject which is a confusing for foreigners in general about Turkey’s legislation. Apart from certain exceptions, it is generally essential to deduct social security (SSI) premium and income tax from in-kind or cash payments. While the social security premium withheld has a ceiling, the income tax is applied progressively, and is calculated by considering the cumulative income.

Gross Salary Concept: In Turkish Labor Law, the definition of gross salary is the salary earned by employees. However, this amount is not fully received by the employees due to the state's compulsory deductions based on the social security and tax liabilities of the employees. These deductions are applied over the gross salary and paid to the relevant authorities by the employers on behalf of the employees. Although employees are actually responsible for the payments to be made for these items subject to deductions, a deduction is made at a resource mediated by the employers to facilitate the payment and collection of these amounts for the employers and government. These deductions include income and stamp taxes, SSI employee premium, and unemployment insurance.

Gross Salary = Net Salary + SSI Employer Premium + Unemployment Insurance (Employee Contribution) + Income Tax + Stamp Tax

Net Salary Concept: The net salary represents the amount of gross salary remaining after deductions and the total amount received by the employee.

Net Salary = Gross Salary – SSI Employee Premium – Income Tax – Stamp Tax – Unemployment Insurance (Employer Contribution)

Total Employer Cost = Gross Salary + SSI Employer Premium + Unemployment Insurance (Employer Contribution)

The total employer cost of the employee is higher than the gross salary since the employer is obliged to apply deductions for the SSI employer premium and unemployment insurance items. In short, this difference arises from the employer contribution of the specified deductions.

Payment in Different Ways

That the payment of the salary is performed as allowance, compensation, cash indemnity (financial liability indemnity), fund, raise, down payment, due, attendance fee, premium, bonus, reimbursement or under any other names; or assessing the payment in the form of a certain percentage of the earning if it is not of a partnership nature, shall not change its nature.

Payment Conditions of the Salary

The salary is paid in money to the employee's bank account. It cannot be paid as bond, property, or in any other similar means. If it is determined in foreign currency type, it can be paid in Turkish currency according to the foreign exchange buying rate of the payment day. The period of payment can be arranged at least as once a week and at most once a month. The limitation period for salary receivables is five years.

Reserved Part of the Salary

More than ¼ of the monthly salaries of the employees is non-seizable and cannot be conveyed or alienated to another person. Execution deductions must be deposited into the relevant executive office account within 7 days of the salary payment date unless otherwise specified. There is no limitation for alimony debt determined by the discretion of judges regarding dependent family members.

Social Security System and Premiums in General

Social security laws in Turkey aims to assure individuals in terms of health care and retirement. The conditions to benefit from these rights are set forth in relevant laws and regulations. Pension rights are earned with different premium systems and conditions with changing laws and practices accordingly. Eligibility of the retirement differs as per the premium payment days in terms of the service period, starting date, age, and gender. The continuity of the premium paid is one of the important conditions to benefit from the opportunities related to the public health service.

Social Security Institution (SSI) Premium Deductions

The social security deduction is calculated over the total gross salary by considering certain exceptions.

SSI Premium Distributions

Regular Employee

Retired Employee

While applying the Social Security Premium deduction, the gross salary is taken as a basis and the total amount of this deduction, which corresponds to 34,5% of the gross salary, consists of the employee and employer contributions. The employee and employer contributions, which are the components of the total SSI premium, are calculated as 14% and 20,5% of the gross salary respectively and are paid by the employer until the last day of the following month. The employer can benefit from the treasury discount applied at a rate of 5% over the employer contribution of the SSI premium, if all the employees are insured and the employee and employer make their SSI premium payments on time. It is necessary to compare the minimum and maximum based amounts determined by the government with the gross salary to determine the variable to be taken as basis in calculating the premium to be paid. If the gross salary is less than the minimum base amount, a minimum amount must be taken; and correspondingly, if the gross salary is above the maximum level, the maximum base amount must be considered in the calculation.

• Social Security Premium (Employee Contribution) = 14% of Gross Salary
• Social Security Premium (Employer Contribution) = 20,5% of Gross Salary
• Social Security Premium (Total) = 34,5% of Gross Salary

SSI premium rates are applied differently for people working in the status of retired.

• Social Security Premium (Employee Contribution) = 7,5% of Gross Salary
• Social Security Premium (Employer Contribution) = 24,5% of Gross Salary
• Social Security Premium (Total) = 32% of Gross Salary

SSI Exemption

The Social Security Law provides some exemptions to specific allowances and compensation payments to reduce the employer’s cost that arises from the SSI premium calculations. The premium deduction made from these payments is reflected on the payroll with different calculation rules.

For example, these exceptions are applied at certain rates in the following situations:

• Cash meal allowance, a percentage of the daily minimum salary for each day,
• Child allowance, percentage of the minimum salary for up to two children,
• Benefits In-kind (within certain rules),
• Death, maternity, and marriage allowances,
• Duty and business travel allowances, mobile duty compensation,
• Severance payment, termination compensation, or lump sum payment in the form of severance payment,
• Investigation fees (for legal issues), notice and cash indemnity compensation,
• Private pension (BES) contributions and private health insurance paid by the employer to private health insurances and private pension system for the employee the monthly total of which does not exceed 30% of the minimum salary.

What is the Transferred SSI?

Unemployment insurance is based on the gross salary. The employee and employer contribution of the deduction corresponding to respectively 1% and 2% of the gross salary represent the total unemployment insurance and consists of 3% of the gross salary. The employer is obliged to pay the SSI premium mentioned above along with the unemployment insurance deduction on the last day of the following month at the latest. The method of calculating unemployment insurance deduction is the same as the method used in SSI premium calculation.

• Unemployment Insurance (Employee Contribution) =1% of Gross Salary
• Unemployment Insurance (Employer Contribution) = 2% of Gross Salary
• Unemployment Insurance (Total) = 3% of Gross Salary

The unemployment premium is not calculated for retired employees.

Income tax is applied to the financial income of business organizations and individuals and is collected on the salary income in the case of being an employee. For this tax, employers are obliged to apply deductions to the remaining part of the gross salary after deducting the SSI Premium and Unemployment Insurance deductions that are not subject to income tax and pay this amount to the tax office on behalf of the employee until the 26th of the following month.

The salary income in Turkey is a valid progressive taxation system through the cumulative income. The tax base is calculated as follows.

Income Tax Base = Gross Salary – SSI Employee Premium – Unemployment Insurance (Employee Contribution)

According to the tax table of the Turkish Revenue Administration, the income tax rate varies according to the determined cumulative income brackets. The cumulative income tax base is monitored annually and reset at the beginning of each year.

According to the table, if the income level reaches a higher level, a standard tax is collected for the part of the income up to the upper limit of the previous level, and a different tax rate is applied for the remaining part. The highest rate subject to income tax application is 40%. The amount of income tax is calculated as follows.

Income Tax Amount = Income Tax Base x Income Tax Rate (%)

Income Tax Exemptions

It is aimed to increase the net salary obtained through various exemptions in paying the income tax of the personnel. Here, we are going to elaborate some items that provide deductions from income tax. Income tax deductions require extensive knowledge and mastery of complex calculation rules.

• Exemption for benefits ensured by providing meal in workplace premises or places other than the workplace (part of the daily wage according to the amount announced each year),
• Child allowance (by age range),
• Marriage and maternity allowance,
• Private pension system and various private insurances,
• Discounts based on the degree of disability.

It is a deduction mechanism calculated by the marital status and the number of children of the employee and deducted from the income tax. For the married employees, whether the spouse works or not and the ages of the children affect the calculations.

What is BES?

Private Pension System (shortly “BES” with the Turkish abbreviation) is a private pension system that facilitates employees to earn an income that they can maintain their living standards during retirement by directing their savings accumulated during their active working lives into long-term investments. Employees voluntarily participate in this system and create an additional income to the retirement income provided by the social security system.

The Difference Between Social Security and BES

BES, which entered into force in accordance with the Private Pension Savings and Investment System Law No. 4632, is based on collecting and evaluating savings and paying lump sum or salary to the person. This system does not provide health services or other services available in the Social Security Institution. BES is not an alternative, but a complement to the compulsory social security system.

Employer Contributed BES

Individuals can directly participate in the system on their behalf, and their employers can also add their employees to the system through a group pension contract. Employers who conclude a group pension contract can directly write an expense for the contributions they have paid on behalf of their employees (such that they cannot exceed 15% of the salary earned in the month of payment and the annual minimum salary annually). Benefits provided by the employer can be implemented in several ways.

Mandatory Pension Program

In accordance with the provisions of the Private Pension Savings and Investment System Law No.4632 on mandatory pension program that entered into force on January 1, 2017, employers are obliged to include their employees in the Mandatory Pension Program (shortly “OKS” with the Turkish abbreviation) under certain conditions. In this context, for the private sector, employers transfer at least 3% of their employees' earnings based on premium and for public institutions, they transfer at least 3% of the monthly wage based on pension premium to the system by making the deduction on the employee's payroll. Employees have the right to stay in this system as long as they wish.

Stamp Tax in Turkey is regulated by Law No. 488. The responsible persons (taxpayers) of the stamp tax are the persons who sign the papers with a certain price. In other words, the parties signing the contract are responsible for the calculation and payment of the stamp tax. As stipulated in the Law; salary, wage, daily pays, attendance fees, dues, specialist pays, bonus, meal and rental allowance, subsistence, compensations, and any similar money received in return for service (including down payments), fall into the scope of stamp tax.

Stamp tax is calculated over the total of gross payments and deducted from this amount. The rate applied for the stamp tax is 0,759% (7,59 per thousand).

Stamp Tax = Total of Gross Salary x Stamp Tax Rate (0,759%)

For example, if the gross salary is TRY 5.000,00 and the gross of an additional payment made in that month is TRY 2.500,00, the stamp tax is calculated as below.

[(5.000,00 + 2.500,00) * 7,59] / 1000 = 56,925 TRY

The stamp tax deducted from the employee is paid by the employer to the tax office with declaration.

Other than salary payments, stamp taxes are applied at different rates depending on the nature of the transaction. For example, apart from the stamp tax calculated on the salary, a separate declaration stamp tax (fixed amount) is paid when the taxes to be paid are declared. If any commercial contract involves an amount, a stamp tax will be paid over this contract by calculating at current rates. Similarly, stamp tax is calculated in rental contracts, as well.