If foreign nationals want to buy a house in Turkey, they need to obtain a tax identification number from a tax office so that they can do their financial transactions quickly and smoothly.

As Art Alanya, we can obtain a tax identification number on your behalf. Leaving your passport with us is sufficient for us to carry out these procedures. However, you can find all the information below about what a tax identification number is and how the process goes.

What is a tax identification number?

Natural or legal persons pay their taxes to the government through a 10-digit tax identification number (tax number). In addition, this number cannot be used by any other person or institution. In this way, the state provides control and monitoring of all monetary transactions.

Every natural and legal person residing in Turkey has a tax number. Real persons and sole proprietorships can perform their transactions with their TR identity numbers, as well as obtain a tax identification number, but legal entities can only perform their transactions with a tax identification number.

How do Turkish citizens get a tax identification number?

They can apply by taking the original or a notarized photocopy of the TR ID card, and legal entities by taking the founding agreement and/or registration request to the tax office where the workplace is located.

Why do foreigners have to obtain a tax identification number?

Foreign nationals residing in Turkey are required to obtain a tax number in order to carry out taxable transactions. For example, they cannot open a bank account without this personal legal knowledge.

To summarize the reason: 

• Open a bank account
• Creating invoice subscriptions
• Paying real estate and municipal tax debt
• Pay the residence fee
• They need to get this number for transactions such as applying for a driver's license.

The required documents are:

• Original passport
• Photocopy of the passaport

You can go to any tax office with the above documents and apply in person. Your tax identification number will be ready in 10 to 15 minutes. Once you have your number, you can also open a bank account. Then you can easily perform your deed transactions to finalize the property purchase. You can ask us any questions about opening a bank account or deed transactions. We always help our customers working with Art Alanya for all the transactions they will encounter after the sale.

What is a potential tax number?

Legal entities who are not citizens of Turkey can obtain a potential tax identification number and perform their establishment procedures under the name of "potential". The potential tax number then becomes the permanent tax number of the legal entity. Click on the “Potential Tax Identification Number for Foreigners” option from the “Verifications” tab on the Interactive Tax Office website. After you fill out the form, your potential tax number will be defined by the system.

Do foreigners pay tax in Turkey after obtaining their tax identification number?

During the sale, Real Estate Purchase and Sale Tax is paid once and Real Estate Tax is paid to the municipality for each year.

How to query the tax identification number?

If you want to query via e-government, after opening your account, type "Verification of Tax Identity Number" in the search box and click it. The page that opens will redirect you to the official site of the "Revenue Administration Internet Tax Office". On the right panel, you will also see the "Tax Identity Number Inquiry" page.

To keep this process shorter, you can directly open the Interactive Tax Office website. Go to the “Verifications” category from the menu and click on the “Tax Identification Number Inquiry” option. After you fill in the required information completely, you can carry out your query.