Income tax

[Kevin Sowten]

Do ex-pat retirees have to pay tax on their pension and investment incomes in Turkey ?
If so, what is the threshold and tax rate ?

Also, does the bank deposit interest rate apply from the day you arrive or is there a qualification period ?
(i.e. do you have to have residency before you can open an account - how long does this take ?)

TIA

[tonysue]

you need a tax number to open a bank account as tax is deducted at source from any interest you accrue at 20per cent. you can get a tax number without residency, your passport with 2 copies at the tax office in Fethiye will be enough. If you are still resident in the uk then you should also declare to the uk tax any earnings from overseas earnings. Somebody else will be able to advise re threasholds but I dont think there are any on interest from investments.

[Kevin Sowten]

So am I right in thinking that the 9(ish)% bank interest rates referred
to on this forum are after the 20% tax has been deducted ?

[tonysue]

before, I think

[Connor]

The bank interest rate of 9ish% is per year.  In order to work out your turkish tax paid it is  (investment) x (interest rate) x period (as proportion of a year) giving net profit; the bank will take 20% of that profit as tax.  It works with my repo account beautifully

[grahamturner09]

As far as I am aware the Turkish government do not tax pensioners so if you are resident and registered to pay Turkish tax you then get the UK pension tax free

[grizabella]

You need the necessary forms from HMRC in the Uk to request you pay the tax on your pensions in Turkey.Once filled you nedd the local Muhtar to sign and stamp the forms before returning them to the Uk.Any back tax will be refunded but not on any Local Government or Forces pensions.The tax rate for pensions in Turkey is 0%.

[Chinook]

As far as I am aware the Turkish government do not tax pensioners so if you are resident and registered to pay Turkish tax you then get the UK pension tax free

The Turkish tax rate for pensions is 0% but at that rate nobodys going to come knocking on your door if you do not put in a tax return. In order to get your UK state pension paid gross you need as has been said to make an application to HMRC.

[Karennina]

If hubby was to retire this year or next and we applied for residency in Turkey would that then mean he could have his pension paid in to the bank without having to pay tax? thanks for any replies  

[Rimms]

I'm not sure about state pension as I'm still to young to receive that (really) but I have two occupational pensions, one of my pension providers won't pay into a foreign account and so I have no option than to be taxed at source in the UK. The other pension is paid into a bank here but only after being taxed at source in the UK and I have to pay a transfer fee each month. Apparently, I need forms translated and signed by the tax office here to apply to have my pension payed gross. I hear people have done it but it doesn't seem to be the most popular thing to do.