Setting up an R&D centre in Türkiye, conditions and process

An R&D centre is a unit established in a company's own facility under Law 5746 that meets defined conditions. The difference from a technopark is straightforward: a technopark is tied to a place, an R&D centre to a status. You can run the activity in your own plant, next to the production line.

In exchange, the application and maintenance burden is heavier. This guide covers the conditions, the application and the discipline that has to exist afterwards.

Minimum headcount

The classes carrying the higher threshold include motor vehicle manufacturing, aircraft and spacecraft, military combat vehicles and certain other transport equipment.

The threshold written into the law itself is higher; the figure of fifteen comes from the exercise of a power to reduce it. That means it can be changed by decision, so verify the current position when planning.

The calculation runs on the average of personnel actually working full time, taken over three month periods rather than on a single date.

What the status provides

R&D and design deduction. The full amount of expenditure is deducted from the tax base. The share of externally procured benefits and services within total project expenditure is capped.

Performance based additional deduction. Where one of the defined indicators improves sufficiently over the previous year, an additional deduction applies to part of the expenditure increase.

Income tax withholding incentive. Part of the tax calculated on the salaries of R&D, design and support personnel is written off. The rate varies with the employee's level of education, highest for staff holding a doctorate.

Employer's premium support. Half of the employer's share is met for R&D and design personnel plus support personnel within a capped ratio. It applies from the start of the month following the date the certificate is obtained, and a written application to the social security institution is required.

Stamp duty exemption. Applies to documents relating to R&D, innovation and design activity.

Customs duty exemption. Applies to goods imported by certified businesses, filed through the single window system.

VAT exemption. Applies to new machinery and equipment purchased for exclusive use in the centre.

Order based R&D. Where R&D or design is carried out on another company's order, the deduction is split between the centre and the ordering company.

The forty times cap

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, applying to payments made from 1 August 2025.

For senior, highly paid R&D staff, the value of the incentive is now set by that ceiling. It belongs in the financial model when the decision to open a centre is being weighed.

Assessment criteria

The commission assesses the application against:

• Meeting the minimum full time equivalent headcount
• Activity being carried out within Türkiye
• Adequate R&D management, technological assets and capacity
• Physical control mechanisms showing that personnel work in the centre
• Defined programmes and projects
• Organisation as a separate unit on a single site

The last two are where applications fail most often. R&D has to run in a physically separated area, and the project portfolio has to be written down, defined and traceable.

The application

1. Preparation. Expressing current personnel as full time equivalents and measuring the distance to the threshold.
2. Physical space. Planning a separate area for the R&D unit with access control.
3. Project portfolio. Defining current and planned projects with objective, duration, budget and expected output.
4. Organisation. Setting up the R&D management structure, role definitions and reporting.
5. Filing. Submitting the file through the ministry's application portal.
6. Completeness check. The ministry reviews and allows time to close any gaps.
7. Commission assessment. The assessment and audit commission decides.
8. Notification. A positive decision is notified to the relevant institutions and to the business.

With file preparation included, the process is usually measured in months. The longest step is rarely the filing itself; it is building the internal structure that satisfies the conditions.

After the status is granted

The real work starts here. Compliance is verified at defined intervals, and inspections look hardest at:

• Project definitions and project level progress records
• Project based timesheets for personnel
• Separation of time worked inside and outside the centre
• R&D expenditure tracked separately in the accounts
• Periodic tracking of full time equivalent headcount
• The support personnel ratio staying within its cap

Working outside the centre. Permitted within set ratios. For 2026 it is 100 per cent for IT personnel and 75 per cent for others, in force until 31 December 2026, with the ratio set afresh each year.

Postgraduate education. Time spent outside the centre for master's and doctoral study counts within the limits set in the law.

Venture capital fund obligation. As in technology development zones, part of exempt income above a defined threshold has to be channelled into venture capital funds or into entrepreneurs in an incubation centre. The threshold was raised from the start of 2026.

Common mistakes

Writing projects retrospectively. Definition, start date and expected output belong in the record from the outset. A definition written later looks weak under inspection.

Not keeping timesheets. The record of time spent on R&D is the basis of every incentive here.

Not separating the space. Where R&D staff also work on production and the separation exists only on paper, inspections create problems.

Not tracking headcount. After departures, a fall below the threshold can go unnoticed.

Not separating expenditure. R&D spending has to be traceable on its own in the accounts.

R&D centre or technopark

For companies running continuous, multi project R&D alongside a production line, an R&D centre fits better. For small teams building software, a technopark is usually faster. Some companies use both.

Sources and currency

This guide follows Law 5746 on Supporting Research, Development and Design Activities and its implementation and audit regulation. The forty times cap was introduced by Law 7555. Last reviewed 23 September 2026. Thresholds and ratios change by presidential decision, so verify them before filing.

Next step

If you are weighing an R&D centre, the first task is seeing where your current team stands as full time equivalents. We produce that, and the steps needed to reach the threshold, in the first assessment. It is free.