Technopark advantages in Türkiye, exemptions and payroll incentives

A technology development zone, known in Türkiye as a technopark, is an area established under Law 4691 that gives companies operating inside it advantages on tax and social security. For software companies it is the most common route, because the application burden is lighter than R&D centre status.

This guide covers what the advantages are, how long they run, and what matters in practice.

What you receive

The date matters. 31 December 2028 came from an extension made in 2021. When planning beyond it, do not assume another extension.

The forty times cap on payroll incentives

A 2025 amendment limited the income tax withholding incentive and the stamp duty exemption to the portion of salary not exceeding forty times the gross minimum wage. It applies to salary payments made from 1 August 2025.

In practice this means that for senior, highly paid staff the incentive is no longer calculated on the whole salary but on the part up to that ceiling. Budget planning has to reflect it.

Work beyond forty five hours a week and additional work payments fall outside the incentive entirely.

The support personnel ratio

Support personnel are those who do not take part directly in R&D or design but help the activity run. Their number cannot exceed one tenth of total R&D and design personnel. For zone companies with up to fifteen staff in total, the ratio is one fifth.

Where the ratio is exceeded, the excess staff draw no incentive. In small teams this calculation belongs before the hire, not after.

Working outside the zone

The law counts a defined proportion of time spent outside the zone as within scope. The statutory ratio is twenty per cent, and the President is empowered to raise it up to one hundred.

For 2026 the applicable ratio is 100 per cent for IT personnel and 75 per cent for other personnel, in force until 31 December 2026. Because the ratio is set afresh each year, remote working arrangements should be planned around it and checked at the start of each year.

Separately, activity that has to be carried out outside the zone within a project, and time spent in postgraduate education, follow their own rules.

The venture capital fund obligation

Companies whose exempt income exceeds a defined threshold must transfer part of it to a temporary account and, by year end, place it in venture capital investment fund units, a venture capital investment trust, or as capital into entrepreneurs in an incubation centre.

The threshold was raised from the start of 2026. Failing to comply means part of the exempt income loses the exemption. Because this is discovered at year end and cannot then be fixed, it has to be tracked through the year against the profit forecast.

Other provisions

Reduced rent for incubation companies. Companies in incubation centres pay reduced rent for a limited period, with a deeper reduction where they hold a publicly funded R&D project.

Qualified personnel employment support. Salary support is available for hiring graduates of designated programmes, up to a set proportion of total personnel.

Capital support deduction. Income and corporate taxpayers providing capital support to projects in the zone can apply a deduction within defined limits, provided the investment stays in place for a minimum period.

Academics founding companies. Specific provisions allow academic staff to establish and hold shares in companies in the zone.

Technopark or R&D centre

The two rest on different laws and work on different logic.

For small teams building software, a technopark is usually faster. For companies running R&D alongside a production line, an R&D centre can fit better.

Applying and operating

The application goes to the managing company of the zone. Project definition, team structure and business plan are assessed. If accepted, a unit opens in the zone under a lease.

The real work starts after that. In practice the following has to be set up:

• Recording project definitions at the outset, with expected output and duration
• Keeping project based timesheets for personnel
• Tracking time inside and outside the zone separately
• Separating exempt and non exempt income in the accounts
• Monitoring the support personnel ratio
• Following the venture capital fund obligation through the year

Where this discipline is missing, the problem surfaces during inspection and is hard to fix retrospectively.

Sources and currency

This guide follows Law 4691 on Technology Development Zones and its implementing regulation. The forty times minimum wage cap on payroll incentives was introduced by Law 7555. Last reviewed 23 September 2026. Ratios and thresholds change by presidential decision, so check them at the start of each year.

Next step

If you are deciding between a technopark and an R&D centre, let us build both scenarios from your team structure and project portfolio. The first assessment is free.