Labour cost: the 2026 minimum wage
The minimum wage is set annually and applied from 1 January. For 2026 there is a single rate for the year.
| 2026 minimum wage | Monthly (TRY) |
|---|---|
| Gross | 33,030.00 |
| Net to the employee | 28,075.50 |
The gross figure is also the SGK earnings floor — the minimum base on which social security premiums are calculated.
What the employer pays on top
| Contribution | Employee share | Employer share |
|---|---|---|
| Social security (SGK) | 14% | 21.75% before discount |
| Unemployment insurance | 1% | 2% |
| Total | 15% | 23.75% before discount |
A premium discount reduces the employer's rate where premiums are paid on time. From 1 January 2026 the discount is 2 points for non-manufacturing workplaces and 5 points for manufacturing, having previously been more generous for non-manufacturing employers.
For a non-manufacturing employer at the minimum wage, total monthly cost is therefore approximately TRY 40,200 — around 1.22 times gross salary. Manufacturing employers pay less because of the larger discount.
Other employment costs to budget for
- Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) — accrues at 30 days' gross wage per year of service, subject to a ceiling that is re-set twice a year. For a company that expects turnover, this is a real accruing liability, not a contingency
- Notice pay — two to eight weeks depending on service, where notice is not served
- Annual leave — 14 to 26 working days depending on seniority, plus paid public holidays
- Overtime — paid at 150% of the hourly rate, capped at 270 hours a year
- Stamp duty on payroll — 0.759% of gross
See the social security guide and the termination guide for how each is calculated.
Non-labour operating costs
Türkiye's competitive position for foreign manufacturers has historically rested on industrial electricity, natural gas, water and connectivity costs alongside labour. Those tariffs are regulated and revised frequently — the Energy Market Regulatory Authority resets electricity tariffs on a rolling basis, and industrial gas pricing tracks import costs.
We deliberately do not publish a tariff table here. A utility price list is out of date within months, and an investor sizing a plant needs a current quotation for a specific location and consumption profile, not a national average from a guide.
Organised industrial zone locations typically carry lower water, natural gas and telecommunications costs than equivalent sites outside a zone, along with property tax and municipal tax exemptions — see the investment zones guide.
The costs foreign investors under-budget
Three items regularly missing from an incoming investor's model:
Stamp duty on contracts. In most jurisdictions signing a contract costs nothing. In Türkiye it can attract duty of up to 0.948% of the contract value, subject to an annual cap per document. On a large supply or construction contract this is a material number.
Withholding on payments abroad. Group service charges, licence fees and management fees paid to a parent generally attract Turkish withholding tax, reducible by treaty but not eliminated by assumption. Budget it before the intercompany agreement is signed.
Translation, notarisation and apostille. Setting up requires a stack of foreign documents legalised and sworn-translated, and the cost and — more importantly — the elapsed time surprise people. It sits on the critical path of every formation project.