One institution, three former funds
The Turkish social security system was consolidated in 2007, when the three insurance funds — SSK, Emekli Sandığı and Bağ-Kur — were merged into a single body, the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, SGK). The unified system became fully operational at the beginning of 2008.
For an employer, everything runs through SGK: registration of the workplace, monthly declaration of employees and their earnings, premium payment, and the incentive claims that reduce it.
Premium rates for 2026
Premiums are calculated as a percentage of the employee's gross earnings, within a floor and a ceiling.
| Branch | Employer share | Employee share |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term risks | 2.25% | — |
| Disability, old age and death (long-term) | 12% | 9% |
| General health insurance | 7.5% | 5% |
| SGK subtotal | 21.75% | 14% |
| Unemployment insurance | 2% | 1% |
| Total | 23.75% | 15% |
The state also contributes 1% to unemployment insurance.
Employer premium discount
Where premiums are declared and paid on time, an employer discount applies. From 1 January 2026 this is 2 percentage points for non-manufacturing workplaces and 5 percentage points for manufacturing workplaces.
Earnings floor and ceiling
| 2026 | Monthly (TRY) | Daily (TRY) |
|---|---|---|
| Floor (taban) | 33,030.00 | 1,101.00 |
| Ceiling (tavan) | 297,270.00 | 9,909.00 |
The floor equals the gross minimum wage. The ceiling was raised from 7.5 times to 9 times the floor with effect from 1 January 2026 — a substantial change, and the one most likely to affect a foreign-owned company, because premiums are now payable on a much larger portion of senior and expatriate salaries than in 2025.
Unemployment insurance
Employees, employers and the state contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund at 1%, 2% and 1% of the employee's gross salary respectively. Contributions are paid monthly alongside social security premiums and declared on the same return. Employer contributions are deductible from taxable income, and the employee's contribution is deductible from the employee's income tax base.
Foreign employees and totalisation agreements
A foreign individual who remains covered by the compulsory social security system of a home country that has a social security agreement in force with Türkiye is not liable for Turkish social security contributions.
The exemption is not automatic. Proof of foreign coverage — a certificate of coverage issued by the home country institution — must be filed with the local social security office. Without it on file, full Turkish contributions are generally imposed, and recovering them afterwards is difficult and slow.
Türkiye has bilateral social security agreements with a substantial number of countries, mostly in Europe but extending further. Whether your employee's home country is covered, and what the certificate is called there, is worth confirming before the assignment starts.
Employment incentives
Turkish law offers a series of social security premium supports and income tax withholding allowances tied to employment — some general, some regional, some sector-specific, and several available only for additional headcount above a baseline.
None of them apply automatically. Someone has to identify eligibility each month, elect the correct incentive, and declare it properly. For a company with growing headcount the amounts are significant, and they are among the most commonly unclaimed reliefs in Turkish payroll.
Our payroll service includes a monthly review of your staff list against the incentives in force, and we handle the harder cases ourselves — eligibility disputes, SGK audits and the treatment of terminations.