Remote Work in a Turkish Technopark: The 100% / 75% Ratios and the 31 December 2026 Question

In the HR function of companies operating in a Turkish technopark, the same question circulates in the final quarter of every year: “Are we going back to the office in January?”

The question is not technical, it is calendrical. Permission to work outside the zone is granted by Presidential Decision, and those decisions expire. The current authorisation runs to 31 December 2026. Whether an extension comes, and at what ratio, is not knowable today.

This article covers both the current rule and what being prepared for that date actually means.

The current ratios

The rules in force set two different ratios:

Personnel type	Proportion that may work outside the zone
IT personnel whose scope is determined by the Ministry	100%
Other project personnel	75%

The 100% allowed for IT personnel means, in practice, “can work without ever coming to the zone” — and since the pandemic this is the regulation that has shaped how software companies work. It is the basis on which a company registered to a technopark in Ankara can employ a developer living in İzmir.

For other project personnel, 75% means a quarter of the work has to take place in the zone.

The critical point: this is a ceiling

What companies most often overlook is that these ratios are not a right but a cap. When the ratio is exceeded:

• The income tax withholding exemption cannot be applied to the wage attributable to the excess,
• The employer’s social security support cannot be used for the same portion,
• Treating the income arising from that work as exempt becomes contestable.

So the company that stops tracking on the basis that “everyone works remotely anyway” only learns it has lost the incentive during an audit.

How should tracking work?

Simple on paper, and the part most often neglected in practice. What is needed is a per-employee record of in-zone and out-of-zone work, and regular reporting of it to the zone management company.

The arrangement that works looks like this: for each employee, on a monthly basis, the number of days spent in the zone, the number spent outside it, and the project worked on are recorded; that record is consistent with payroll and with the notifications made to the zone.

Tables produced after the fact do not help — because once they contradict the entry and exit records, the table itself becomes the problem.

What should be planned for 31 December 2026?

Known today: the current authorisation expires on 31.12.2026. Unknown: whether an extension will come and, if it does, whether the ratio will stay the same.

Past experience suggests these decisions are issued close to year-end — so it will probably become clear in December. Working with that uncertainty, two things are reasonable:

One: do not dispose of physical capacity entirely. A company that has reduced its space in the zone to zero will face a problem in January it cannot solve if the ratio drops. Leasing an office and physically placing personnel takes weeks.

Two: keep the place of work flexible in employment contracts. With a contract that commits to fully remote working, calling staff back to the zone when the legislation changes opens a separate argument on the employment law side. Stating in the contract that the place of work may change in line with legislation reduces that risk.

Those two keep the company in a manageable position even if no extension arrives.

The communication problem with staff

A non-technical but real issue: this uncertainty generates unease in the team at the end of every year. For a developer hired on the expectation of fully remote work, “one day a week in the office from January” is a change to their working conditions.

My experience: companies that raise this in October rather than December experience less friction. Saying up front that this is an uncertainty tied to legislation is better than making a sudden announcement in December.

In short

Work outside the zone is permitted at 100% for IT personnel and 75% for other project personnel, and the authorisation runs to 31.12.2026. The ratios are a ceiling; once exceeded, the incentives are lost for that portion, and this only becomes apparent in an audit. As the date approaches there are two things to do: set up per-employee tracking properly, and keep both physical capacity and contract wording flexible in case no extension comes.

For the full picture of payroll incentives see the payroll incentives article; for the boundary of the exemption, the scope article.

Sources

• Law No. 4691 on Technology Development Zones — Legislation Information System
• Presidential Decision setting ratios for working outside the zone (dated 28.12.2023, no. 32413) — Official Gazette
• Ministry of Industry and Technology, rules on the definition of IT personnel — sanayi.gov.tr

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This article reflects 2026 legislation and is provided for general information only; it is not legal or tax advice. The out-of-zone working ratio and its duration can be changed by Presidential Decision — verify the decision in force before planning.