Register as an individual business or professional.

Agree the classification first

“Şahıs işletmesi” and “serbest meslek” should not be used interchangeably without checking the activity. Your accountant should establish the income category, activity code, tax-office registration, accounting method and any chamber or professional registration. These decisions affect the document you issue and how income is reported.

Foreign nationals must resolve the right to perform the activity, which can involve an independent work permission or another appropriate route. Article 28 holders have a separate work-rights position, subject to professional rules. A tax registration does not replace an immigration/work authorisation.

A practical registration sequence

1. Engage an authorised accountant using a written scope and fee agreement. Identify who files, who pays and who handles notices.
2. Confirm the place of business and proof of use. Review landlord consent, local licences and any rent withholding implications.
3. Prepare identity, address, activity and start-date information. Use the official Digital Tax Office or relevant tax office submission process.
4. For individuals, GİB states the commencement notification is due within 10 days of starting. Plan it before trading; do not wait for the first annual return.
5. Complete any tax-office verification and obtain the taxpayer details/tax plate. Review which taxes and periods have actually been opened.
6. Set up the required books, e-notification access and e-document process. Depending on classification, this may include Defter-Beyan, e-SMM, e-Arşiv or e-Fatura. Confirm current entry rules and thresholds.
7. Resolve SGK status and any treaty-based coverage, then open a suitable account and test the first invoice/receipt workflow with your accountant.

Your first customer payment

Use the correct issuer identity, tax number, sequence, description, currency and tax treatment on the required document. A PDF generated in a generic invoicing app does not necessarily satisfy Turkish e-document obligations.

For overseas customers, retain evidence of the customer’s status, contract, service location and use abroad. Ask separately about VAT export treatment and any income deduction. Match gross invoice or receipt amounts to platform fees, foreign withholding, currency conversion and net receipts.

Keep a business cashbook or ledger through the accountant’s agreed system. Mixing personal transfers and trading receipts makes both tax and bank checks harder. Explain every capital introduction, loan or reimbursement rather than describing everything as sales.

Ongoing and closing obligations

You may have periodic returns or minimum administrative obligations even in a month with no revenue. Ask which nil returns, contributions and professional charges remain. Retain filing acknowledgements and payment receipts, not just the accountant’s confirmation email.

GİB’s self-employment guidance explains five-year tax-record preservation measured from the following calendar year; other records or disputes may require longer. Agree a retention schedule for your complete business and exemption file.

Notify business/address changes and eventual cessation through the correct process. Closing a bank account or stopping invoices does not close a taxpayer registration, social-security liability or chamber membership.

Your document checklist

This is a preparation list. The receiving authority or bank may require additional or different documents.

• Engagement letter and filing authority
• Identity and business-address evidence
• Activity code and commencement notification receipt
• Tax plate and registered-tax summary
• E-document access and test invoice/receipt
• SGK status confirmation and monthly compliance checklist

Ask your adviser

• Am I commercial or professional self-employed for tax purposes?
• Which e-documents and books apply from day one?
• What must still be filed when I earn nothing?