Renting out your Turkish holiday home can comfortably cover its running costs, but the rental income comes with a two-country tax obligation that catches many Danish owners off guard. You do not choose between paying tax in Turkey or in Denmark. You file in both. The good news is that the Denmark–Turkey Double Taxation Agreement makes sure the same income is not actually taxed twice. This guide walks you through who taxes what, how to calculate the Turkish bill, how to declare it to SKAT, and the annual calendar that keeps you compliant.
Which country taxes what
The rule that governs everything is Article 6 of the Denmark–Turkey Double Taxation Agreement, signed in 1991 and in force since 1993. Income from immovable property is taxed in the country where the property sits. Your apartment is in Turkey, so Turkey has the first and primary right to tax the rent.
That does not let Denmark off the hook. As a Danish tax resident you are taxed on your worldwide income, so you must also declare the Turkish rent to SKAT. Denmark then applies the credit method under ligningslov § 33: it reduces your Danish tax by the Turkish tax you actually paid on that same income. The credit cannot exceed the Danish tax that falls on the Turkish slice, but in practice it prevents genuine double taxation. The sequence is always the same: Turkey taxes first, Denmark credits second.
Calculating the Turkish tax
Turkey treats you as a limited taxpayer — taxed only on Turkish-source income. Rental income is calculated like this:
1. Start with gross annual rent, converted to Turkish lira at the Central Bank rate on each payment date.
2. Subtract the residential exemption. For income earned in 2026 the residential rental exemption is TRY 58,000 per year. If you own more than one home rented privately, the exemption is applied once to your combined residential rent, not per property. There is no equivalent exemption for commercial premises.
3. Subtract a deduction. The simplest is the götürü gider (flat-rate) method: a flat 15% of gross rent with no receipts needed. Note this is 15%, not the higher figure some older guides quote. Alternatively the actual-expense method lets you deduct documented costs — repairs, insurance, management fees, mortgage interest and depreciation — if your real costs exceed 15%. Once you pick the flat-rate method you must keep it for two consecutive years.
4. Apply the progressive brackets, which start at 15% and rise in steps to 40% for the highest incomes.
For a typical Danish-owned holiday flat, the exemption plus the 15% flat deduction often leaves a modest taxable base, so the Turkish bill is frequently smaller than owners expect. A quick example: if you collect TRY 240,000 in residential rent over the year, you first remove the TRY 58,000 exemption, then take the 15% flat deduction on the gross, leaving a taxable base in the low six figures of lira that is taxed mostly at the entry 15% bracket.
Two cautions. First, this exemption is for residential letting only — commercial premises are fully taxable from the first lira. Second, short-term holiday letting can be treated differently and may trigger extra licensing and tax rules, so confirm your arrangement before you list the property on a booking platform.
Declaring it to Denmark (SKAT)
Denmark is where Danish owners most often slip up, because they assume the Turkish filing is the end of the story. It is not.
- You must declare the rental income to SKAT. Foreign rental income goes into your annual Danish assessment (TastSelv). You are not exempt simply because Turkey already taxed it.
- You claim the credit for Turkish tax paid under ligningslov § 33, which is what stops double taxation.
- You must declare ownership of the foreign property under skattekontrolloven § 8 P. This is a separate obligation from declaring the income, and it applies whether or not the property is rented.
- Ejendomsværdiskat may apply. If you use the Turkish property privately at any point in the year, Danish property value tax can apply to it. Because Turkish homes have no Danish valuation, you self-assess the market value using an approved index.
Do not assume the Turkish income is invisible to Denmark. Denmark and Turkey exchange tax information automatically, so SKAT can learn about your Turkish income and assets independently. Voluntary, accurate declaration is far cheaper than a later reassessment.
Your practical annual calendar
- Before your first rental season: Obtain a Turkish tax number (vergi kimlik numarası). You will need it to file in Turkey, and arranging it before you take your first tenant avoids a scramble at deadline. Consider appointing a local mali müşavir (licensed accountant) to handle the Turkish return.
- Throughout the year: Log each rent payment and the Central Bank exchange rate on the day you receive it. Keep invoices if you plan to use the actual-expense method.
- 1–31 March: File your Turkish annual income tax return through the GİB online declaration portal for the previous calendar year.
- End of March and end of July: Pay the Turkish tax in two equal installments.
- Danish assessment window (spring): Declare the Turkish rent and claim the § 33 credit in TastSelv, confirm your skattekontrolloven § 8 P property declaration, and settle any ejendomsværdiskat.
File in the right order, keep clean lira-converted records, and the two-country obligation becomes a predictable routine rather than a source of penalties. When the numbers are significant, a Turkish accountant plus a Danish revisor familiar with foreign property will pay for themselves.