You bought in Alanya, watched the city grow around your investment, and have now sold. The buyer's funds have landed in your Turkish bank account as Turkish lira (TRY), and one practical question remains: how do you get the money home, legally and without losing a fortune on the exchange rate?
The reassuring headline first. Turkey does not block the repatriation of documented property sale proceeds. There is no capital lock, no special exit permit, and no hard cap on what you can send abroad after a lawful sale. What the system does require is clean documentation and that your tax obligations are settled. Get those two things right and the rest is ordinary banking.
Step one: clear capital gains tax (if you sold within five years)
Before you move money, settle any tax due. Turkey applies capital gains tax (CGT) only to properties sold within five years of purchase, at progressive rates of roughly 15% to 40% on the gain above the annual exemption. If you held the property for more than five full years, the gain is exempt and there is no CGT to pay.
If you are inside the five-year window, file and pay the CGT before initiating a large outbound transfer. Banks routinely ask for proof of tax compliance on bigger transfers, and a tax clearance smooths the whole process.
Step two: convert your lira at any authorized bank
Here is where many sellers get confused by a single acronym: DAB (Döviz Alım Belgesi), the Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate. The DAB is a buyer-side requirement. When a foreigner purchases Turkish property, they must convert foreign currency to lira through a Turkish bank and obtain a DAB, because the Land Registry will not transfer the title deed without it.
As a seller at resale, you do not need a DAB. You are doing the opposite transaction — converting lira you already hold into your home currency. You simply walk into any BDDK-licensed bank, convert your TRY proceeds, and instruct the wire abroad. Skip the worry; the DAB was the buyer's job when they bought from you.
A note on the so-called 25% conversion rule: this was a temporary measure aimed at exporters and certain buyers during 2022–2023. It does not apply to resale property sellers, and it is not in force for sellers in 2025–2026. You are free to convert your full proceeds.
Step three: understand the MASAK threshold (a report, not a ban)
Transfers over the equivalent of USD 50,000 are reported by your bank to MASAK, Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board, under Law No. 5549. Read that carefully: the bank files the report, not you, and the report is a compliance formality, not a restriction. Your transfer still goes through.
One rule matters here. Never "structure" a transfer — that is, never split a large sum into smaller pieces to stay under USD 50,000. Structuring is exactly the pattern MASAK is trained to flag. Send your proceeds in one transfer (or a small, clearly documented number of them), referenced explicitly as property sale proceeds (gayrimenkul satış bedeli).
Step four: the SWIFT transfer itself
With tax cleared and lira converted, your bank executes an international SWIFT wire to your home account. Have these ready:
- Passport and Turkish tax ID (vergi numarası)
- Title deed (tapu) or certified copy
- The notarized sale contract
- Proof of CGT payment or tax clearance (if held under five years)
- Beneficiary IBAN and SWIFT/BIC code
Funds typically arrive in 1 to 5 business days. Compliance queues at major Turkish banks spike from November to January, so avoid year-end transfers if you can.
Currency risk: time your conversion
The single biggest variable in your final payout is not bank fees — it is the TRY exchange rate. The lira has depreciated sharply against the dollar and euro in recent years. Because you receive proceeds in lira and convert on the day of transfer, the rate that day directly sets your take-home figure.
There is no way to eliminate this risk, but you can manage it. If you are not forced to convert immediately, watch the rate and act when the spread and rate are favourable rather than transferring blindly on settlement day.
Comparing banks for FX rates
FX spreads vary meaningfully between banks. Before converting a large sum, compare quotes from at least Garanti BBVA, İş Bankası, and Yapı Kredi on the same day. On large amounts, the spread is negotiable — ask the foreign trade desk directly.
Note two practical limits: online FX platforms sometimes offer tighter spreads but usually require an established account, and Wise and Revolut do not support direct transfers from Turkish bank accounts. For most sellers, a major Turkish bank is the realistic route.
What it costs
Budget a bank fee of roughly TRY 500–2,000 plus an FX spread of 0.1%–0.5%. On a six-figure sum the spread dwarfs the flat fee, which is exactly why shopping the rate across three banks pays for itself.
Home-country disclosure
Finally, your obligations do not end at the Turkish border. Many countries require residents to declare incoming foreign funds or report gains for tax purposes, and the rules depend entirely on your nationality and residence. This is worth a brief conversation with an accountant at home — treat the Turkish transfer and your home-country disclosure as two separate, equally important steps.
A realistic timeline
For a typical resale seller: tax clearance and document gathering take the most time, conversion is same-day, and the wire lands within a week. Plan for one to two weeks end to end and you will rarely be surprised.
Selling in Alanya does not trap your money in Turkey. With your tax settled, your paperwork in order, and a little patience on the exchange rate, your proceeds will be home before you know it.