Draft Law On Crypto-Asset Transaction Tax And The Taxation Of Income Derived From Crypto-Assets

As is known, the first comprehensive regulation regarding crypto-assets in Türkiye was introduced by Law No. 7518 on Amendments to the Capital Markets Law, which was published in the Official Gazette dated 2 July 2024 and numbered 32590. With this regulation, crypto-asset service providers were brought under the regulatory and supervisory authority of the Capital Markets Board; their operating principles, custody obligations and supervisory mechanisms were determined.

However, there has been no explicit regulation clarifying under which tax regime the income derived by investors from crypto-assets should be assessed. This has led to uncertainties in practice.

Most recently, the Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws (the "Draft Law"), submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 02.03.2026, aims to eliminate this uncertainty and to establish a clear legal framework for the taxation of crypto-assets. As stated in the rationale of the Draft Law, the regulation aims to enhance tax security and prevent unregistered income.

Within the scope of this information note, the regulations proposed by the Draft Law concerning the taxation of investors deriving income from crypto-assets are addressed.

Crypto- Asset Transaction Tax

The Draft Law proposes a new tax titled "Crypto-asset Transaction Tax" under the Law on Expenditure Taxes No. 6802.

Pursuant to this, crypto-asset sale or transfer transactions carried out or intermediated by crypto-asset service providers will be subject to crypto-asset transaction tax.

Under the proposed regulation, a crypto-asset transaction tax at the rate of 0.03% (three per ten thousand) will be calculated over the sale amount or the fair market value as of the date of transfer for each crypto-asset sale and transfer transaction. The tax will be declared and paid monthly by the service providers.

Taxation of Income Derived from Crypto-Assets

Nature of Income Derived from Crypto-Assets

Pursuant to Article 3 of the Draft Law, amendments are introduced to the Income Tax Law No. 193. Furthermore, under Article 4 of the Draft Law, considering that crypto-assets constitute intangible assets created using distributed ledger technology and representing value or rights, it is regulated that gains arising from their disposal shall be taxed as capital gains.

Accordingly, gains derived from the disposal of crypto-assets are proposed to be subject to taxation under the capital gains regime.

Taxation of Crypto-asset Income

Article 5 of the Draft Law introduces a dual taxation mechanism for income derived from crypto-assets.

For income obtained through Crypto-Asset Service Providers subject to the Capital Markets Law No. 6362, taxation through withholding at source is envisaged. For income derived outside such platforms, taxation through annual declaration is proposed.

Accordingly, crypto-asset service providers (platforms subject to Law No. 6362) are required to withhold tax at a rate of 10% on income and gains derived from crypto-assets.

Under the Draft Law:

• The withholding obligation shall not vary depending on the taxpayer status or the type of taxpayer;
• In cases where multiple acquisitions of the same type of crypto-asset exist and only part thereof is disposed of, the "first-in, first-out" (FIFO) method shall be applied in determining the gain;
• Losses arising from the purchase and sale of the same type of crypto-asset may be offset against gains within the same calendar year;
• Commissions paid in connection with the purchase and sale transactions, as well as the proposed crypto-asset transaction tax, shall be taken into account in determining the withholding tax base;
• The withholding shall constitute final taxation for individuals and non-resident taxpayers;

• Where the income is derived within the scope of a commercial activity, such income shall be included in the determination of commercial profit; however, taxes withheld at source may be credited against the income or corporate tax calculated in the relevant annual tax return.

Income derived from crypto-asset transactions carried out outside crypto-asset service providers (platforms subject to Law No. 6362) is proposed to be declared through the annual income tax return.

VAT Exemption for Crypto-asset Transactions

Article 7 of the Draft Law proposes the addition of a provision under the "other exemptions" section of Article 17 of the VAT Law, which regulates VAT-exempt deliveries of goods and services.

Accordingly, the delivery of crypto-assets falling within the scope of the crypto-asset transaction tax is proposed to be exempt from VAT.

Effective Date

Pursuant to Article 18 of the Draft Law, the provisions regarding crypto-assets shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the publication of the Law after its enactment.

This period is considered a transition period, particularly for crypto-asset service providers to adapt their technical infrastructure and reporting systems to the new regulations.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.