Written and fact-checked by the EORquotes research team · Data verified July 2026
Hiring an employee in Turkey costs significantly more than their gross salary. This calculator itemizes every mandatory employer contribution so you can budget an offer accurately — before you talk to an EOR provider.
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Turkey? Employing someone in Turkey costs roughly 23.75% above their gross salary in mandatory employer contributions. A 82,600 TRY per month hire costs about 102,218 TRY per month all-in — 1,226,610 TRY per year across 12 salary payments.
Cost of hiring in Turkey: key facts (2026)
- Employer contributions add about 23.75% on top of gross salary — a 82,600 TRY/month hire costs roughly 102,218 TRY per month all-in.
- Salary is paid 12 times a year.
- The 2026 minimum wage is 33,030 TRY/month (12 payments).
- Statutory paid leave is 14 days plus 15.5 public holidays, on a 45-hour week.
Hiring in Turkey in 2026: what to know
Turkey pairs a large, youthful, increasingly tech-literate workforce with a cost base well below Western Europe, and Istanbul in particular has become a genuine regional engineering hub. The lira’s volatility over the past several years means salaries are usually negotiated and benchmarked in TRY but budgeted in EUR or USD by foreign employers, so currency risk — not just headline cost — belongs in any hiring plan.
Labour law leans protective of employees: written contracts are effectively mandatory, terminations require documented just cause to avoid reinstatement claims or severance liability, and the statutory kıdem tazminatı (severance) obligation accrues from an employee’s very first year of service. None of this is unusual by regional standards, but it means the true cost of a Turkish hire is more than the payroll percentage — it includes a contingent severance liability that grows every year the employee stays.
The 2026 gross minimum wage rose to TRY 33,030/month (net TRY 28,075.50), unchanged from the second half of 2025 as Turkey moved to a single annual minimum-wage adjustment. Law No. 7566 (effective 2026) raised the disability-old-age-death insurance employer share from 11% to 12% and widened the social-security earnings ceiling from 7.5x to 9x the minimum wage, while trimming the non-manufacturing SGK incentive discount from 4 points to 2 points (manufacturing keeps a 5-point discount through 31 December 2026). The severance-pay ceiling was also revised for the second half of 2026, rising to TRY 73,729.87.
This page focuses on what a hire costs. For the full employment picture — contract types, probation, benefits, termination — see our Turkey EOR country guide.
Calculate the true cost of an employee in Turkey
How this calculator works: contributions are computed on the annual gross salary
(12 payments per year), rate ranges use the midpoint, and every rate is cited
in the sources at the bottom of this page.
What a hire in Turkey actually costs: worked examples
Example: a minimum-wage hire (33,030 TRY/month)
Employing a minimum-wage hire (33,030 TRY/month) in Turkey costs 490,496 TRY per year — an effective 40,875 TRY per calendar month, about 24% more than the monthly gross written in the contract.
| Annual gross (12 payments) | 396,360 TRY |
| Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası) (12.0%) | 47,563 TRY |
| General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası) (7.5%) | 29,727 TRY |
| Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta) (2.25%) | 8,918 TRY |
| Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası) (2.0%) | 7,927 TRY |
| Total annual employer cost | 490,496 TRY |
| Effective monthly cost | 40,875 TRY |
Example: a typical professional hire (82,600 TRY/month)
Employing a typical professional hire (82,600 TRY/month) in Turkey costs 1,226,610 TRY per year — an effective 102,218 TRY per calendar month, about 24% more than the monthly gross written in the contract.
| Annual gross (12 payments) | 991,200 TRY |
| Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası) (12.0%) | 118,944 TRY |
| General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası) (7.5%) | 74,340 TRY |
| Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta) (2.25%) | 22,302 TRY |
| Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası) (2.0%) | 19,824 TRY |
| Total annual employer cost | 1,226,610 TRY |
| Effective monthly cost | 102,218 TRY |
Where the money goes
At a typical 82,600 TRY/month salary, this is how the annual cost of employing someone in Turkey divides between take-home pay and the mandatory contributions on top:
- Annual gross (12 payments) — 991,200 TRY (80.8%)
- Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası) (12.0%) — 118,944 TRY (9.7%)
- General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası) (7.5%) — 74,340 TRY (6.1%)
- Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta) (2.25%) — 22,302 TRY (1.8%)
- Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası) (2.0%) — 19,824 TRY (1.6%)
Skip the paperwork. An EOR employs your Turkey hire through its own local entity — payroll, contributions, insurance and compliance handled for a flat monthly fee. Most teams are up and running in days:
What’s behind each employer cost in Turkey
Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası)
The largest slice of Turkey’s SGK social security package, funding retirement pensions, disability payments and survivor benefits. The employer pays 12% of gross pay on top of salary; employees contribute a further 9% deducted from their own pay.
General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası)
Funds Turkey’s national health insurance scheme (SGK-administered universal healthcare). The employer pays 7.5% of gross pay; the employee pays a further 5% from their own wage.
Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta)
A flat-rate short-term insurance branch covering workplace accidents and occupational illness. It is paid entirely by the employer — employees contribute nothing to this component.
Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası)
Funds Turkey’s unemployment benefit (işsizlik ödeneği) scheme. The employer pays 2% of gross pay, the employee pays 1%, and the state tops up the fund with a further 1%.
What the employee pays in Turkey
Employer contributions are only one side of the ledger. Employees in Turkey pay their own 15% social-security contribution out of gross salary, plus progressive income tax withheld at source — the exact rate depends on income level and personal situation. That is why gross salary, net take-home and total employer cost are three different numbers. This page focuses on the employer side: what a hire actually costs your budget.
Salary structure in Turkey
Salary is paid 12 times a year — Turkey has no statutory 13th-month bonus, though some employers pay a discretionary ikramiye (bonus) under individual or collective agreements. In practice: a 2,000 TRY monthly salary in Turkey means 24,000 TRY in annual gross pay (12 × 2,000), and every employer contribution above is calculated on that annual figure — which is why the calculator works on an annual basis before showing you the effective monthly cost.
EOR vs opening your own entity in Turkey
Incorporating in Turkey (typically a limited liability şirket) means notarized articles, a tax office and SGK registration, and a local accountant on retainer — a process that commonly takes four to eight weeks before a first payslip can run, and carries ongoing statutory bookkeeping obligations regardless of headcount. An EOR sidesteps all of it: the provider’s existing Turkish entity employs the hire, applies SGK contributions and the severance/notice framework correctly, and issues one consolidated monthly invoice. Given the compliance risk around Turkish termination rules specifically, most companies hiring one to a handful of people in Turkey find an EOR meaningfully lower-risk, not just faster. Providers such as Deel and Remote are the usual starting points — or compare quotes from several at once.
Key employment facts for Turkey
Beyond the payroll numbers, these statutory rules shape what a Turkey hire costs and how the relationship works day to day:
| Working hours | 45 hours/week |
| Paid annual leave | 14 days |
| Public holidays | 15.5 |
| Maximum probation | 2 months |
| Notice period | 2–8 weeks depending on tenure (2 weeks under 6 months, 4 weeks 6 months–1.5 years, 6 weeks 1.5–3 years, 8 weeks over 3 years) |
| Severance | Kıdem tazminatı: 30 days’ gross pay per year of service after 1+ years’ tenure and qualifying termination, capped at a government-set ceiling (TRY 73,729.87 for Jul–Dec 2026) |
Hire in Turkey without an entity
We match you with vetted EOR providers for Turkey — free, in one request:
Or go direct to a provider covering Turkey:
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to employ someone in Turkey?
On top of gross salary, employers in Turkey pay roughly 23.75% in mandatory contributions (Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası), General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası), Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta), Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası)), and salary is paid 12 times per year rather than 12, which raises the annual base the contributions apply to. Concretely: even a minimum-wage hire (33,030 TRY/month) costs about 490,496 TRY per year all-in. Use the calculator above for an itemized total at your exact salary level.
What payroll taxes do employers pay in Turkey?
Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası) (12.0%). General health insurance (genel sağlık sigortası) (7.5%). Work accident & occupational disease insurance (kısa vadeli sigorta) (2.25%). Unemployment insurance (işsizlik sigortası) (2.0%). The biggest single item is Disability, old-age & death insurance (malullük, yaşlılık ve ölüm sigortası) at 12.0% — see the plain-language breakdown of each contribution earlier on this page for what it funds and who pays what.
How many salary payments per year are required in Turkey?
12. Salary is paid 12 times a year — Turkey has no statutory 13th-month bonus, though some employers pay a discretionary ikramiye (bonus) under individual or collective agreements. When budgeting, multiply the monthly salary by 12, not 12: a 2,000 TRY contract is 24,000 TRY a year in gross pay before any employer contributions.
What is the minimum wage in Turkey?
33,030 TRY per month, paid 12 times per year — 396,360 TRY annually in gross terms. Employer contributions come on top of that; see the minimum-wage worked example above for the true all-in cost.
Can I hire in Turkey without opening a local company?
Yes — that is exactly what an Employer of Record does. The EOR already operates a legal entity in Turkey: it employs your hire on your behalf, runs compliant payroll including the full ~23.75% of employer contributions, and sends you one monthly invoice. You direct the day-to-day work; the EOR carries the legal employment relationship.
How fast can I hire in Turkey through an EOR?
Typically days rather than months. The slow parts of employing in Turkey — entity setup, social-security and tax registrations, mandatory insurances — already exist on the EOR’s side. In practice your timeline is usually the candidate’s own notice period with their current employer (notice periods in Turkey run 2–8 weeks depending on tenure (2 weeks under 6 months, 4 weeks 6 months–1.5 years, 6 weeks 1.5–3 years, 8 weeks over 3 years)).
What does an EOR service cost in Turkey?
Providers charge a flat monthly fee per employee on top of the statutory employment costs shown in the calculator above — the statutory costs are the same whoever you pick, but the fee is not. The same Turkey hire can be priced very differently across providers, which is why comparing several quotes at once pays for itself.
What is the notice period and probation limit in Turkey?
Probation runs up to 2 months, and statutory notice is 2–8 weeks depending on tenure (2 weeks under 6 months, 4 weeks 6 months–1.5 years, 6 weeks 1.5–3 years, 8 weeks over 3 years). Getting these right in the contract from day one matters — an EOR applies the correct local terms automatically, which is where compliance risk usually hides.
How is severance calculated in Turkey?
Kıdem tazminatı: 30 days’ gross pay per year of service after 1+ years’ tenure and qualifying termination, capped at a government-set ceiling (TRY 73,729.87 for Jul–Dec 2026). Because severance exposure grows with tenure, it is worth understanding before you make an offer — the calculator above covers ongoing cost, while severance is a separate end-of-employment liability.
How many paid leave days are mandatory in Turkey?
Employees are entitled to 14 days of paid annual leave plus 15.5 public holidays, on a 45-hour working week. Paid leave is part of the true cost of a hire even though it does not show as a payroll contribution.
Is Turkey a cost-effective place to hire compared with neighbours?
It depends on the role, but the honest comparison is total employer cost, not gross salary — the effective on-cost here is about 23.75%. Use the calculator for your exact salary, then compare against nearby markets from the country index linked below before you commit to a location.
Compare Turkey with other markets
Employer costs swing widely between countries — the same salary can cost far more or less depending on where you hire. See the full employee-cost calculator index for every country, or jump to a neighbour:
Compare EOR providers for Turkey
Knowing the cost is half the decision — the other half is which provider handles your Turkey hires best. These head-to-heads weigh entity model, strengths and pricing approach specifically for Turkey:
- compare Deel and Multiplier in Turkey
- Multiplier or Playroll for a Turkey hire?
- Turkey: Deel vs Remote compared
- Remote vs Oyster for hiring in Turkey
More Turkey resources
Costs are only part of the picture. Our Turkey EOR country guide covers contract types, benefits, termination rules and compliance for Turkey in depth — the questions that come up after the budget is approved.
Sources
Every number on this page traces to an official or authoritative source, checked on the date shown. Spot something outdated? Tell us and we will verify and correct it.
- Employer SGK contribution components: 12% disability/old-age/death, 7.5% general health insurance, 2.25% work accident insurance, 2% unemployment insurance (23.75% total): Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (SGK) (accessed 2026-07)
- 2026 minimum wage: TRY 33,030 gross / TRY 28,075.50 net per month: Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı (CSGB) (accessed 2026-07)
- Annual paid leave: 14/20/26 days by tenure band (İş Kanunu Madde 53): T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (4857 Sayılı İş Kanunu) (accessed 2026-07)
- Notice periods 2/4/6/8 weeks by tenure; probation max 2 months, extendable to 4 by CBA (İş Kanunu Madde 17, Madde 15): T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (4857 Sayılı İş Kanunu) (accessed 2026-07)
- Standard working week 45 hours, max 11 hours/day (İş Kanunu Madde 63): T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (4857 Sayılı İş Kanunu) (accessed 2026-07)
- Severance pay ceiling Jul-Dec 2026: TRY 73,729.87 (Law No. 1475 Art. 14): Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı (CSGB) (accessed 2026-07)