The 5-Year Exit Clock: How Capital Gains Tax Should Shape When You Sell Your Alanya Property

The 5-Year Exit Clock: How Capital Gains Tax Should Shape When You Sell Your Alanya Property When you budget a property purchase in Alanya, you probably account for the title-deed transfer tax, the agent commission and the annual property tax. The cost that almost nobody plans for is the one at the other end of ownership: the capital gains tax you may owe when you sell. Get the timing right and that cost is zero. Get it wrong by a few months and it can quietly eat tens of thousands of lira out of your net proceeds. This guide treats capital gains tax as a budgeting problem, not a legal abstraction. The goal is simple: know what you will keep after a future sale, and let that number shape when you list. The rule in one sentence In Turkey, the profit from selling a property you bought is taxable income — called "değer artış kazancı" (value-increase gain) under Article mükerrer 80 of the Income Tax Law — but only if you sell within five full years (60 months) of the title-deed (tapu) registration date. Hold past the five-year mark and the entire gain is exempt, no matter how large. Property you inherited or received as a gift is exempt regardless of how soon you sell. How the exit cost is actually calculated The taxable gain is not your headline profit. You start from the sale price and subtract: your indexed purchase price — the original price uplifted by the domestic producer price index (Yİ-ÜFE), but only when that index has risen 10% or more between the month you bought and the month you sell; documented costs you paid: the title-deed transfer tax, notary fees and other sale-related charges; the annual exemption — 150,000 TRY for a sale in 2026 (up from 120,000 TRY in 2025). Whatever remains is taxed on the progressive income-tax scale.

A worked net-proceeds example Suppose you buy in 2026 and consider selling in 2028 (inside the window) versus 2031 (past it). In 2028 your real, inflation-indexed gain — say 1,000,000 TRY after indexation and costs — is reduced by the 150,000 TRY exemption, leaving 850,000 TRY taxed at progressive rates. In 2031 the same property sold past the five-year mark produces a tax bill of exactly zero. For many owners, the difference between those two dates is the single biggest line item in their exit budget. Build it into your plan before you buy Write down your tapu date the day you get it — your five-year clock starts there, not at reservation or final payment. If you may need to sell early, model the tax now so the figure does not surprise you later. Indexation usually shields most of the paper gain, leaving only the real gain taxable. Keep every receipt: purchase taxes, notary, renovation invoices and agent fees all reduce the taxable amount. Capital gains tax sits alongside the other ownership costs covered in our The Complete Guide to Property Taxes and Legal Costs in Turkey and the recurring charges in our Property Tax in Turkey for Foreigners: Complete 2026 Guide. If you let the property earn before you exit, the income side is covered in our guide to Rental Income in Alanya: A Realistic Guide to Yields, Taxes, and Property Management. The smartest exit plan is usually the simplest one: where you can, let the five-year clock run out. Where you cannot, know the number in advance and price it into the decision.