Minimum Wage in Turkey: The Complete 2026 Guide

The minimum wage in Turkey in 2026 is TRY 33,030 per month gross (TRY 28,075.50 net, approximately USD 655), effective from 1 January 2026. The daily gross minimum wage is TRY 1,101, the hourly gross minimum wage is TRY 146.80, and the annual gross minimum wage is TRY 396,360. The 2026 figure represents a 27% increase from the 2025 net minimum wage of TRY 22,104, set by the Asgari Ücret Tespit Komisyonu (Minimum Wage Determination Commission) on 23 December 2025 and published in the Resmî Gazete.

The Turkish minimum wage (asgari ücret) applies to all employees regardless of age, sector, or qualification, and affects approximately 9 million workers, around one third of Turkey’s formal workforce. It serves as the base for SGK (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu) social security contributions, the floor for severance pay calculations, and the benchmark used by foreign workers and immigration authorities for work permit salary thresholds. A unique feature of the Turkish system is that minimum wage earnings are exempt from both income tax and stamp tax, a measure introduced in 2022 and confirmed for 2026.

This 2026 guide to the minimum wage in Turkey covers the current gross and net rates, daily and hourly equivalents, full SGK social security contribution breakdowns for employer and employee, the 2026 income tax brackets, the minimum wage tax exemption, foreign worker salary thresholds tied to the minimum wage, the wage history from 2020 to 2026, the role of the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, the recent Law No. 7566 reforms changing payroll, and what employers hiring in Turkey need to know about health insurance, payroll calculations, and total employment cost.

Effective from 1 January 2026, Turkey’s minimum wage is set as follows by the Minimum Wage Determination Commission decision dated 23 December 2025:

Why net is meaningfully lower than gross: Although the minimum wage is fully exempt from income tax and stamp tax, employees still pay 14% to SGK social security and 1% to unemployment insurance on their gross earnings. This 15% combined deduction is what brings the gross TRY 33,030 down to a net of TRY 28,075.50.

The 2026 increase in context: The 27% rise was set against official inflation forecasts of around 31% for 2025 and a target of 16% for 2026. Critics including the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş) argued the increase fails to fully compensate for cumulative inflation since 2023, when consumer prices peaked at 75%. The government response cited fiscal discipline and inflation-targeting commitments to the Central Bank as constraints. Türk-İş boycotted the final commission talks in protest at the commission’s tripartite structure, which they argue tilts decisions in favour of employer and government interests.

Mid-year adjustment possibility: Although the 2026 minimum wage was set as a single annual figure, Turkey has a precedent of mid-year increases when inflation outpaces forecasts. In 2022, the minimum wage was raised three times in a single calendar year. Employers should monitor the Resmî Gazete in June 2026 for any potential CPI-triggered revision.

Turkey’s SGK (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, the Social Security Institution) is the central system handling pension, health insurance, work accident, unemployment, and maternity benefits. SGK contributions apply to all employees from the first day of work, calculated as a percentage of gross salary up to defined floors and ceilings. The 2026 SGK earnings ceiling has been raised from 7.5× to 9× the minimum wage under Law No. 7566, expanding the contribution base for mid and high earners.

SGK earnings base limits for 2026:

• Lower earnings base: TRY 33,030/month (one-thirtieth of this figure is TRY 1,101 per day, equal to the daily minimum wage)
• Upper earnings base: TRY 297,270/month (9× the minimum wage, raised from 7.5× in 2025)
• Earnings above TRY 297,270 are not subject to additional SGK premium contributions, although they remain subject to income tax

The 4-point Treasury incentive (2-point post-2026 reform): Employers who meet specified compliance conditions (timely SGK filings, no debt to SGK, no employment law violations) qualify for a reduction in the employer share of SGK premium. Until 2025 this was a 4-point reduction (employer rate 20.75% → 16.75%); under Law No. 7566 effective 2026, the incentive is reduced to 2 points for non-manufacturing sectors (employer rate 20.75% → 18.75%). The manufacturing sector retains a 5-point reduction through the end of 2026, bringing the employer rate to 15.75% for qualifying manufacturers.

Health insurance under SGK: All workers covered by SGK are automatically enrolled in Genel Sağlık Sigortası (General Health Insurance, GSS), which provides access to public hospitals and state-funded health services. Private supplementary health insurance (özel sağlık sigortası) is offered by many employers as a benefit, with premiums up to 15% of monthly gross salary deductible from income tax under Article 63/3 of the Income Tax Law (capped at the annual gross minimum wage in aggregate).

A defining feature of the Turkish system since 2022 is that income earned at or below the minimum wage level is fully exempt from income tax and stamp tax. The exemption applies across the board to all employees, not just minimum wage earners: every employee benefits from a tax-free portion equal to the gross minimum wage (TRY 33,030/month in 2026), with only earnings above that threshold subject to the progressive income tax rates below.

2026 personal income tax brackets (annual):

Stamp tax (damga vergisi): Wages are subject to stamp tax at 0.759% of gross earnings. As with income tax, the portion of the wage equivalent to the gross minimum wage is fully exempt from stamp tax under the Stamp Tax Law as amended by Law No. 7349 in 2022. Employees earning above the minimum wage pay stamp tax only on the excess.

Cumulative income tax tracking: Turkey operates a cumulative income tax system where the marginal rate applied each month depends on the employee’s year-to-date taxable income. This means an employee earning a constant monthly salary may see their tax bracket shift upward during the year as cumulative income crosses each bracket threshold, with later months having higher withholding. Employers must track cumulative bases per employee to apply the correct rate each payroll cycle.

Turkey’s minimum wage has risen substantially over the past five years, reflecting both inflation and government policy commitments. The table below tracks the gross monthly minimum wage from 2020 through 2026.

Real purchasing power decline: Despite consistent double-digit increases in nominal terms, Turkish minimum wage purchasing power has fallen significantly when measured in foreign currency. In USD terms, the gross monthly minimum wage has dropped from approximately USD 405 in 2020 to USD 770 in 2026 (after recovering from a 2024 low of USD 580), but cumulative TRY depreciation against the dollar has been so severe that real purchasing power for imported goods is materially lower today than five years ago. For employers benchmarking Turkish hires against European or US salaries, this shifts Turkey from a “low-wage” market to a “FX-volatile” market that requires periodic re-benchmarking.

Turkey’s minimum wage is set by the Asgari Ücret Tespit Komisyonu (Minimum Wage Determination Commission), a tripartite body established under Article 39 of the Turkish Labour Law (Law No. 4857). The Commission comprises five representatives each from government, employers, and labour, totalling 15 members.

Composition of the Commission:

• Government: Five representatives appointed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı)
• Employers: Five representatives from the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TİSK, Türkiye İşveren Sendikaları Konfederasyonu)
• Labour: Five representatives from the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (Türk-İş, Türkiye İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu), the largest union confederation

How decisions are made: The Commission must convene at least once every two years to review the minimum wage, although in practice it has reviewed annually for the past decade and twice annually during periods of high inflation. Decisions are taken by majority vote: a quorum of at least 10 members is required, and the rate is set by the votes of those present. Decisions take effect when published in the Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette) and are binding on all employers nationwide.

2025 boycott and political backlash: Türk-İş boycotted the final 2026 wage-setting talks in December 2025, arguing that the Commission’s structure systematically disadvantages workers and that the 27% increase fails to compensate for cumulative inflation since 2023. The decision was announced by Labour Minister Vedat Işıkhan and welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, although it sparked widespread criticism on social media under the hashtag #AsgariÜcret. The political dynamics around minimum wage decisions are a meaningful part of the Turkish labour market context that international employers should understand.

Turkey’s 2026 minimum wage directly anchors the salary thresholds foreign nationals must meet to qualify for a Turkish work permit. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security sets these as multiples of the gross minimum wage, varying by occupation category.

Important compliance notes: These thresholds exclude all benefits (housing, bonuses, allowances) and must be maintained throughout the full validity of the employee’s work permit, not just at hire. Falling below the threshold mid-permit can trigger work permit revocation. Foreign nationals who remain covered under the social security system of their home country may be exempt from Turkish SGK premiums for up to three months, extendable if a social security treaty with the home country provides for a longer period.

Calculating the total cost of a minimum-wage employee in Turkey involves four components: the gross salary, employer SGK and unemployment contributions, severance accrual, and the minimum wage support payment from the Treasury (where eligible).

Standard 2026 monthly cost calculation for a minimum wage employee (assuming standard non-incentive employer SGK rate):

Net pay calculation for the employee:

• Gross monthly salary: TRY 33,030.00
• Employee SGK 14%: TRY 4,624.20
• Employee unemployment 1%: TRY 330.30
• Income tax: TRY 0 (exempt up to minimum wage level)
• Stamp tax: TRY 0 (exempt up to minimum wage level)
• Net monthly take-home: TRY 28,075.50

Severance pay accrual (kıdem tazminatı): Turkish employers accrue 30 days of gross salary per year of service as severance pay liability, payable on termination (with limited exceptions). For a minimum wage employee, this represents an additional TRY 33,030 per year in liability accrual, or roughly TRY 2,752.50 per month. The severance ceiling for higher earners is updated periodically by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

Minimum wage support (asgari ücret desteği): For 2026, eligible employers receive a Treasury-funded subsidy of TRY 1,270 per month per minimum wage employee (raised from TRY 1,000 in 2025), deducted directly from the SGK premium owed. Eligibility depends on workplace employee count and timely SGK declarations.

The 2026 minimum wage is TRY 33,030 gross / TRY 28,075.50 net per month

Effective 1 January 2026, the Turkish minimum wage rose 27% from the 2025 rate. The daily minimum is TRY 1,101, hourly TRY 146.80, and annual gross TRY 396,360. Approximately 9 million workers (33% of the formal workforce) earn at or near minimum wage.

Minimum wage earnings are exempt from income tax and stamp tax

Under reforms introduced in 2022 and continued for 2026, every employee in Turkey benefits from an income tax and stamp tax exemption equal to the gross minimum wage (TRY 33,030/month). Only earnings above this threshold are subject to progressive income tax (15% to 40%) and stamp tax (0.759%).

Total employer cost is approximately 23% on top of gross

Employer SGK premium (20.75% standard, 16.75% with 4-point incentive in manufacturing-adjacent sectors, 15.75% for manufacturing) plus 2% unemployment insurance brings the typical total employer cost to around 22.75% on top of gross salary. A minimum wage hire costs approximately TRY 40,500 per month in total, before allowances or severance accrual.

The 2026 reform under Law No. 7566 changed several SGK parameters

Key changes: SGK earnings ceiling raised from 7.5× to 9× the minimum wage (now TRY 297,270/month); MYO occupational disease premium up 1 point (employer 11% to 12%); Treasury-supported employer incentive cut from 4 points to 2 points for non-manufacturing; minimum wage support raised from TRY 1,000 to TRY 1,270 per month per eligible worker.

Foreign worker salaries are tied to multiples of the minimum wage

Work permit thresholds: 1× minimum wage (TRY 33,030) for general roles, 2× (TRY 66,060) for specialists and teachers, 3× (TRY 99,090) for department managers, 4× (TRY 132,120) for engineers and architects, 5× (TRY 165,150) for high-level managers and pilots. These must be maintained throughout the work permit’s validity, not just at hire.

Mid-year adjustment is possible but not guaranteed

Turkey raised the minimum wage twice in 2022 and 2023 in response to high inflation. While the 2026 figure is expected to hold for the full calendar year, employers should monitor the Resmî Gazete in mid-year for any CPI-triggered revision.

Consider an EOR for compliant Turkish hiring

For international companies without a Turkish entity, an Employer of Record (EOR) handles SGK registration, monthly cumulative income tax tracking, payroll declarations, severance accrual, and work permit salary threshold compliance. See our Best EOR in Turkey guide for verified provider rankings.