Short answer: A payslip starts from gross pay. Employee social security is 14 percent and unemployment insurance is 1 percent, deducted up to the contribution ceiling. The remainder is the income-tax base. Tax follows the bracket of the year-to-date base. Stamp duty is 0.759 percent of gross pay above the minimum wage. Net pay is the result of these lines.
A job advertised as a “net wage” starts the argument on the first line of the payslip. Net is what remains of gross. Without a gross figure, the net cannot be agreed. The rates on this page are the 2026 parameters of the salary calculator on this site. If a parameter changes, the figure in the tool is the one to use. One month’s net does not stand for the whole year.
Which lines come off gross pay?
Employee shares are calculated on earnings subject to contribution. Those earnings are gross pay up to the social-security ceiling. The ceiling is nine times the monthly gross minimum wage. For 2026 the calculator uses a gross minimum wage of 33,030 TRY. Gross pay above the ceiling does not enter employee social security or unemployment. The income-tax base is what remains of gross after those deductions.
| Line | 2026 parameter | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Employee social security | 14 percent | Contribution earnings, up to the ceiling |
| Employee unemployment | 1 percent | The same ceiling |
| Income tax | The bracket of the cumulative base | Gross minus employee social security and unemployment |
| Stamp duty | 0.759 percent | The part of gross above the minimum wage |
Income tax and stamp duty that fall on the minimum wage are exempt. The exemption does not wipe the tax on pay above the minimum wage. It removes only the slice that corresponds to the minimum wage. A payslip is not shown below the minimum wage. That rule is also on the first employee checklist.
Why does income tax change from month to month?
Wage tax is calculated on the base accumulated from January, bracket by bracket. The same gross can produce a lower net later in the year if it enters a higher bracket. That is the ordinary reason take-home pay changes when there has been no rise. The brackets are the wage tariff, and they match the 2026 bands in the calculator.
| Cumulative base for the year | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 190,000 TRY | 15 percent |
| Up to 400,000 TRY | 20 percent |
| Up to 1,500,000 TRY | 27 percent |
| Up to 5,300,000 TRY | 35 percent |
| Above that | 40 percent |
The bracket is not one month’s gross. It is the total of the bases inside the year. An employee who starts mid-year accumulates from the start date, not from January. A base carried over from a previous employer is checked separately. Ignoring the carry-over leaves the year-end tax short.
Where is the employer’s cost?
Take-home net is not the employer’s cost. Employer cost adds the employer social-security share and the employer unemployment share to gross, then subtracts the selected Treasury discount. The calculator’s employer social-security share is 21.75 percent. That share is long-term insurance at 12 percent, general health at 7.5 percent and short-term insurance at 2.25 percent. Employer unemployment is 2 percent. The calculation uses contribution earnings.
The Treasury discount in Article 81 of Law No. 5510 appears in the tool as two choices. Two points for a non-manufacturing workplace, five points for manufacturing. The discount is not written on every payslip without a check. An incentive code is chosen at hiring and is not copied to every new employee. Eligibility is checked before hiring, as in the first employee article.
Turning a net figure back into gross also changes the employer share. If the advert stated a net amount, the gross equivalent is worked out before the start. An advance or an extra cash payment that is missing from the payslip splits the bank from the return. Paying the wage from the bank closes that split.
Which day is the withholding return?
The wage month is reported on the withholding and contribution return by the 26th of the following month. The contribution and the tax are paid in the same period. If the day is a holiday, the next business day applies. That day is separate from VAT on the 28th. The full calendar is in the monthly tax calendar.
The day count on the payslip matches the day count on the declaration. Sick leave, unpaid leave or a start in the middle of the month creates a missing day. A blank reason inflates contribution days. In an exit month the same line matches the notice in the leaving a job article.
The link to the timesheet and the file
The payslip is the timesheet turned into figures. If the gross in the contract, the days on the timesheet and the base on the payslip each tell a different story, the withholding line cannot be held. A rise in the middle of the month is visible on the contract and the payslip from the day it applies. An oral rise separates the bank transfer from the payslip.
Annual leave is not credited on day one. The right builds with service. Folding unused leave into the wage confuses both the payslip and a later claim. For a foreign employee, a work permit does not change the payslip rates. A line opened without the permit does not complete the insurance.
The service that runs the payslip, the incentive and the return on one file is on the payroll and social security page. Severance and notice pay are calculated apart from this line. Their deductions are not the same as the payslip net. The ceiling on the exit day and the notice weeks sit in the severance calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Does one month’s net stay the same all year?
No. Income tax follows the bracket of the base accumulated from January. As the bracket rises, the same gross can produce a lower net.
Does the minimum-wage exemption wipe all the tax?
No. Income tax and stamp duty on the minimum-wage slice are exempt. Tax on the part above it remains. Stamp duty applies to gross pay above the minimum wage.
Is employer cost the same as net pay?
No. Cost adds the employer social-security and unemployment shares to gross and subtracts the selected Treasury discount. Net is what the employee receives.
What is the social-security ceiling?
Contribution earnings do not exceed nine times the gross minimum wage. For 2026 the calculator uses 33,030 TRY. The part above the ceiling does not enter employee social security or unemployment.
Is the Treasury discount automatic?
No. The tool offers 2 points for non-manufacturing and 5 points for manufacturing. It is not applied without an eligibility check.
When is the withholding return filed?
By the 26th of the month after the wage month. Contribution and tax are paid in the same period. VAT is on the 28th.
Conclusion
A payslip is read from gross. Employee social security is 14 percent, unemployment is 1 percent, income tax follows the cumulative bracket, and stamp duty is 0.759 percent of the part above the minimum wage. Net is what those deductions leave. Employer cost is the share added on top of gross, less the Treasury discount that was actually selected.
Ankara Muhasebeci closes the payslip, the timesheet and the return in the same month from the Kızılay office. To see your own wage in the tool, open the salary calculator, or write to us and we will open the file.
