Company Formation in a Technopark

Defining the Project and Choosing the Zone

The R&D or design project to be carried out in the zone is prepared and the technopark where the company will operate is chosen. Because the exemptions are limited to activities carried out in the zone, the scope of the project is clarified at this stage.

Application to the Managing Company and Project Evaluation

Each R&D or design project of an entrepreneur wishing to be located in the zone is evaluated by the Project Evaluation Committee (Proje Değerlendirme Komisyonu) set up by the managing company. The committee has at least three members: two academic staff members specialized in the field and one sector specialist or licensed individual participation investor (lisanslı bireysel katılım yatırımcısı); for projects suitable for incubation, it consists of at least one academic staff member. A project found suitable receives a project approval certificate (proje kabul belgesi) and is allocated space in the zone. (Implementing Regulation on Technology Development Zones)

Company Formation and Lease Agreement

The company is formed under the general provisions on joint stock companies (Anonim Şirket) and limited liability companies (Limited Şirket). The lease agreement for the premises in the zone is concluded taking the project period into account and in line with the managing company’s operating directive (işletme yönergesi). (Implementing Regulation on Technology Development Zones)

Tax and Social Security Registrations

The company’s tax registration and its registration with the Social Security Institution (SGK) are created together with the formation. To benefit from the salary incentives, R&D, design and support staff are tracked separately. The number of support staff may not exceed 10% of the number of R&D and design staff; for firms with up to 15 staff in total, this ratio is 20%. (Law No. 4691, Provisional Art. 2) For details, see our Payroll Services page.

Accounting and Tracking of Exemptions

• Exempt profit is limited to software, design and R&D activities in the zone; these profits are tracked separately from other activities.
• The managing company checks whether staff benefiting from the income tax withholding incentive actually work in the zone.
• Time spent outside the zone: Apart from the cases listed in the law, time spent outside the zone is also included in the income tax withholding incentive, provided that it does not exceed, as a general rule, 20% of the total number of staff working in the zone or of their total working time subject to the incentive. The President is authorised to increase this ratio up to 100%. Under Presidential Decree No. 10766 (Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı), until 31 December 2026 this ratio is applied as 100% for IT staff whose qualifications are defined by the Ministry and 75% for other staff. From 1 January 2027, unless a new Presidential Decree is published, the 20% ratio in the law applies. For this, the approval of the managing company must be obtained and the Ministry must be informed. (Law No. 4691, Provisional Art. 2)

For details, see our Accounting and Bookkeeping page.

Determining Whether the Obligation Arises

The law sets the threshold at TRY 1,000,000, the rate at 2% and the annual cap at TRY 20,000,000; the President is authorised to reduce these amounts and rates to zero or to increase them up to five times. (Law No. 4691, Additional Art. 3) Under Presidential Decree No. 10803, from 1 January 2026, income tax and corporate tax payers whose exempt profit on the annual tax return is TRY 5,000,000 or more are subject to this obligation. Once the threshold is reached, the amount to be transferred is calculated as 3% of the entire exempt profit. (Presidential Decree No. 10803, Art. 1/2)

Transfer to a Temporary Account

The calculated amount is transferred to a temporary account on the liabilities side of the balance sheet. From 1 January 2026, the amount to be transferred is capped at TRY 100,000,000 per year (the cap in the law is TRY 20,000,000); this cap applies to the amount to be transferred, not to the profit. (Law No. 4691, Additional Art. 3; Presidential Decree No. 10803)

Investment by Year-End

By the end of the year in which the account was created, the amount in the temporary account is used in one of the following ways:

• Purchasing units of venture capital investment funds set up to invest in entrepreneurs resident in Türkiye
• Contributing it as capital to venture capital investment trusts (girişim sermayesi yatırım ortaklığı)
• Contributing it as capital to entrepreneurs operating in incubation centres

If the investment obligation is not met on time, 20% of the exempt profit cannot benefit from the exemption for that year, and the taxes not collected on time for this reason are assessed without a tax loss penalty (vergi ziyaı cezası). (Law No. 4691, Additional Art. 3)