September 13, 2026

Türkiye’s Tax Inspection Board (VDK) has increased its focus on large-scale taxpayers, with 31.3% of large taxpayers undergoing tax inspections this year, according to information obtained from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

The VDK continues to focus its tax audit efforts on individuals in the high-income group. Various methods, including tax inspections, requests for explanations and monitoring, are being used to ensure that taxpayers properly fulfill their tax obligations.

The share of large-scale taxpayers subject to tax inspections rose to 31.3% this year, meaning that nearly one in every three large taxpayers has been audited. This compares with approximately 11% in previous years.

By comparison, the inspection rate stood at 7.3% for medium-sized taxpayers and 1.1% for small-scale taxpayers this year. While requests for explanations are used in monitoring medium-sized taxpayers, warning-oriented monitoring is preferred for smaller taxpayers.

Tax Base Increased by 48.7 Billion Liras

The VDK also launched the Second High-Income Groups Monitoring and Compliance Program this year to ensure that high-income taxpayers accurately declare their 2025 earnings.

Under the program, the tax base declared by taxpayers increased by 48.7 billion liras. A total of 16,307 taxpayers were identified for monitoring because they were considered to belong to the high-income group.

These taxpayers were divided into two categories.

The first group consisted of individuals who held stakes in Türkiye’s 42,000 largest companies by scale, but whose declared income tax payments were found to be inconsistent with the earnings identified through risk analysis.

The second group consisted of individuals who did not hold shares in any company but whose luxurious lifestyles were considered inconsistent with the amount of tax they paid.

Nearly 7,000 Taxpayers Filed Returns for the First Time

The authorities also determined that approximately 7,000 taxpayers under monitoring had never previously filed a tax return.

Following the monitoring process, most of these individuals filed tax returns and declared their income for the first time.

As a result, the increase in declared income tax reached 6.7 billion liras, while the tax withholding base reported by companies in which these individuals held stakes increased by 4.2 billion liras.

The corporate tax base of the companies in which these individuals were shareholders also increased by 33.9 billion liras.

Şimşek Calls for Voluntary Tax Compliance

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that the effective use of technology had significantly strengthened Türkiye’s tax inspection capacity.

“As part of our efforts to increase tax fairness, we are directing our inspection capacity toward large-scale taxpayers and taxpayers in the high-income group. We call on these taxpayers to voluntarily comply with their tax obligations,” Şimşek said.

The government’s intensified focus on large and high-income taxpayers is part of its broader efforts to improve tax compliance, strengthen tax fairness and increase public revenues.

Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök