Plan contractor hiring in Turkey

A Turkey-resident individual can supply a foreign business directly through an independent professional activity, with a professional receipt documenting each collection. The first onboarding decision is whether the person earns serbest meslek kazancı, independent professional income, or ticari kazanç, commercial income. That distinction determines the document finance should expect: an e-Serbest Meslek Makbuzu for the professional activity, or a fatura for commercial work. Ask the contractor to identify their registered activity before setting the supplier's billing requirements. Then agree how a payment request, approval and the final tax document will fit together. A system that accepts only an invoice issued before payment needs a deliberate workflow for professional receipts.

Sources: GİB, 2026 guide to independent professional income, GİB, professional receipt and electronic invoice notice, Treasury and Finance Ministry, Tax Procedure Law

e-Serbest Meslek Makbuzu

Electronic independent professional receipt

The professional issues this receipt for money collected from the customer, so the document belongs in the payment reconciliation workflow. Taxable professionals use e-SMM, subject to the transition for new starters. Finance should agree the amount and service reference before releasing payment, then obtain and match the receipt when collection occurs. Treat the initial payment request and the receipt as records of the same fee to prevent duplicate booking. Where payment is split, ask how the professional will document each collection. Keeping the receipt tied to the amount actually collected makes later differences in fees, timing or currency easier to resolve.

Issued by: The independent professional issues it to the customer; the customer obtains their copy.

Timing: For each collection from professional activity, with the electronic application used once the supplier's enrolment obligation applies.

Sources: GİB, 2026 guide to independent professional income, GİB, professional receipt and electronic invoice notice

Fatura

Commercial invoice

A commercial supplier uses a fatura to state the amount the customer owes for the work. Its purpose differs from the collection receipt used for independent professional income, which is why a buyer should establish the supplier's activity before choosing the approval process. If the contractor presents a commercial invoice, match the issuing identity and service to the commercial business named in the agreement. Ask the supplier to provide the format required for their own electronic-document status. Do not choose a different document merely because the supplier is an individual or because another Turkish contractor used a professional receipt.

Issued by: The commercial supplier issues the document to the customer for the work supplied.

Sources: Treasury and Finance Ministry, Tax Procedure Law, GİB, professional receipt and electronic invoice notice

Banka dekontu

Bank payment record

A bank payment record can establish that the service consideration reached Turkey when the supplier claims an exported-service VAT refund. The supplier may declare the export exemption before this payment evidence exists, but the ordinary refund requires receipt of the consideration in Turkey. A further detail matters when agreeing currency: if the export invoice shows a Turkish-lira equivalent, evidence that the consideration arrived in lira can also support the refund. Share payment references promptly and ask the contractor to retain the receiving record with the service document. This record supports the refund file and does not replace the professional receipt or invoice.

Issued by: The bank provides the payment record; the supplier uses the appropriate receipt evidence in their VAT refund file.

Timing: Retain it when the payment reaches Turkey and before the supplier seeks completion of the relevant refund.

Sources: GİB, VAT General Application Communiqué, services exports

Turkish VAT can be omitted under the services-export exemption when the customer is abroad and the service is used for that customer's business abroad. The foreign address answers only the first question. Benefit abroad means the work concerns the customer's overseas activities and has no connection with its activities in Turkey. Agree the intended use in the scope and make the service description specific enough to support that answer. A foreign customer buying support for an overseas operation and the same customer buying help with sales into Turkey can produce different VAT outcomes. Resolve the intended use before approving a tax-free amount.

Sources: GİB, VAT General Application Communiqué, services exports

What an invoice has to show

• Professional receipt identity and collection details

  A serbest meslek receipt identifies the professional by name or title, address, tax office and account number, and identifies the customer by name or title and address. It also records the amount and date of collection and follows serial numbering. Give the contractor the foreign business's correct legal name and address before the first receipt is prepared. When reconciling a payment, compare the collection details with the amount received and keep the document's number in the accounting record. A receipt for a different customer or amount should return to the issuer for correction.

  Sources: Treasury and Finance Ministry, Tax Procedure Law

• The overseas customer as the document recipient

  The invoice or similar document issued in the overseas customer's name supports the services-export exemption. Use the entity that actually receives the service, with a description consistent with its overseas use. A procurement contact's name or an unrelated group company can obscure that connection. If the paying entity differs from the service recipient, explain the arrangement to the contractor before document preparation and retain the supporting agreement. Correct naming supports one condition for the exemption; the place where the service benefits the customer must still be assessed separately.

  Sources: GİB, VAT General Application Communiqué, services exports

The currency on the invoice

The foreign business and Turkish contractor can agree a foreign-currency fee, and documents issued to overseas customers can show that currency without a Turkish-lira equivalent. The domestic restrictions on foreign-currency contracts do not apply to persons established outside Turkey. State the agreed invoice currency and settlement currency clearly so that a later conversion does not become a dispute about the fee. If the contractor intends to receive lira and claim an exported-service VAT refund, arrange the invoice's lira equivalent before settlement. That display serves the refund conditions even though the general rule for foreign-customer documents does not require it.

Sources: Treasury and Finance Ministry, foreign currency contracts FAQ, Treasury and Finance Ministry, Tax Procedure Law, GİB, VAT General Application Communiqué, services exports

Making e-Fatura enrolment a condition for paying a professional

GİB expressly distinguishes professional activity documented by e-SMM from activity requiring invoices, so an electronic-invoice requirement can block the wrong supplier. A professional does not have to join e-Fatura solely because general invoice turnover rules exist. Set the supplier record to accept the professional document and agree how finance will collect it after payment. If the person also operates a commercial business, ask which activity supplied this particular service before changing the document type. The distinction belongs at supplier setup, where one incorrect mandatory field can otherwise hold up every payment.

Sources: GİB, professional receipt and electronic invoice notice

Treating the contractor's fee as an amount after Turkish social insurance

Ordinary independent commercial and professional taxpayers fall within SGK's 4/b coverage, with contributions based on the insured person's declared earnings within prescribed limits. That creates a contractor-owned contribution cost alongside the service fee. When comparing quotes, ask whether the agreed fee accounts for the contractor's own administration and insurance costs. Keep that commercial question separate from VAT on the service document and from the employer contribution process used for employees. If the person reports overlapping employment, pension status or another coverage exception, have them resolve their own insurance category before treating an estimated contribution as part of the pricing discussion.

Sources: SGK, coverage for independent workers, SGK, independent worker contribution payments, SGK, employer contribution payments

Approving export VAT treatment for work aimed at the Turkish market

A foreign company's Turkish-market customer-finding service can remain subject to VAT even when the document names the foreign company and the payment comes from abroad. The use of the service drives that result. Before approval, ask the hiring team to identify the market, operation or project receiving the benefit and compare that answer with the scope. If an overseas engagement expands to include Turkey-facing work, return the change to the contractor for a tax review before carrying forward the original tax-free amount. A payment from the same foreign customer does not settle the changed use question.

Sources: GİB, VAT General Application Communiqué, services exports