Answers to 10 frequently asked questions about rental income tax returns

Property owners who earn rental income will be able to file their tax returns between March 1 and April 1 (as March 31 falls on a weekend).

According to information compiled from the Revenue Administration (GİB), the rental income tax return filing process, which closely concerns millions of property owners, began today.

This year, the GİB has also included tenants in the process with a "rental notification form." Tenants can access the form by logging into the system with their user information and passwords if they are subscribers to the Digital Tax Office, or they can access the necessary information using their e-Government password. This method aims to compare the rental income declared by property owners with the declarations made by tenants.

The practice aims to identify those who report low rental amounts, those who make incorrect declarations, or those who do not declare at all. Furthermore, it is planned to prevent tax loss and evasion.

Here are the answers to 10 frequently asked questions regarding rental income tax returns:

Question 1: Who is required to file a tax return?

Property owners who earned more than 21,000 liras annually from residential properties or 150,000 liras from commercial properties in 2023 will pay income tax.

Question 2: When can property owners who earn rental income file their tax returns?

Tax returns can be filed between March 1 and April 1 (as March 31 falls on a weekend).

Question 3: How will the rental income tax return be filled out?

Property owners will be able to fill out the "ready-to-file tax return system" via the Revenue Administration's website "gib.gov.tr" and will be able to access the ready-to-file return from the Digital Tax Office.

Question 4: What is the exemption amount for residential rental income?

Those who earned 21,000 liras or less in annual residential rental income in 2023 will not pay income tax. The income tax exemption for 2024 has been announced as 33,000 liras.

Question 5: Who cannot benefit from the exemption?

Those who are required to declare their commercial, agricultural, or professional earnings; those who earned more than 21,000 liras in residential rental income annually; those whose total gross amount of wages, movable capital, real estate capital income, and other earnings and revenues—obtained separately or together—exceeds the 550,000 liras determined for 2023; and those who do not declare their rental income on time or declare it incompletely will not be able to benefit from the exemption.

Question 6: Is it mandatory for expatriates to file a tax return for properties they rent out in Turkey?

Citizens living abroad are taxed under the scope of limited liability regarding the earnings and revenues they obtain in Turkey.

Question 7: How will the tax return be filed if a residence is owned by more than one person?

Each individual must declare the rental income corresponding to their own share.

Question 8: Will there be a penalty if the tax return is not filed or is declared incompletely?

A special irregularity penalty will be imposed if tax returns, which are required to be filed electronically, are not filed on time. Additionally, if the tax is not accrued on time, a tax loss penalty equal to the tax amount will be applied.

Question 9: How will the income tax accrued through the rental declaration be paid?

Payments can be made via the Digital Tax Office (dijital.gib.gov.tr) or the mobile application between 02:00 and 23:45 using debit/credit cards of contracted banks, via bank transfer from a bank account, using cards belonging to banks operating in foreign countries, through banks authorized to collect taxes, at tax office counters, and at PTT branches.

Question 10: Can payments be made in installments?

The first installment of the accrued taxes, along with the stamp duty, can be paid until April 1, and the second installment until July 31.

News Source: 12punto