A New Era at the Land Registry

From Business Turkey Today

Extract:
Underreported property sales fuelled major tax losses
For many years in Turkey, it was common practice for a property with a real market value of 10 million lira to be declared at the land registry at a much lower assessed value, such as 3 million lira. While this reduced costs for buyers and sellers, it also led to serious tax losses and expanded the informal economy.

Declared prices and bank transfers must match
Although municipality-set assessed values are expected to remain below actual market prices in 2026, concealing the real sale amount will no longer be possible due to mandatory bank transfers.

As of 2 January 2026, buyers and sellers will be required to transfer the full declared sale price through the banking system. The amount stated at the land registry must be paid in full via bank transfer. Banks will request explanations and, when necessary, supporting documents showing the purpose of the payment. This measure will effectively prevent property sales from being recorded at artificially low values.