A Turkish tax number, the vergi kimlik numarası or vergi numarası, is often the first official number a foreigner needs in Türkiye. Estate agents, banks and insurers ask for it, and you will see it on forms long before you have a residence permit. The good news is that it is free and, in most cases, you can get it online in a few minutes. This guide reflects the position in November 2026.
- Who needs a Turkish tax number
- Tax number or foreigner ID number: which one do you have?
- Step 1: Gather what you need
- Step 2: Apply online through the Digital Tax Office
- Step 3: Go to a tax office if the online system rejects you
- Getting a number from abroad
- Step 4: Use your number correctly
- Step 5: Look up a forgotten number
- What changes once you get a residence permit
- Bottom line
- Frequently asked questions
**Key points**
– Foreigners without a foreigner identity number (yabancı kimlik numarası, YKN) use a passport-based tax number, officially called a **potential tax identification number** (potansiyel vergi kimlik numarası). – You can apply online through the Revenue Administration’s (GİB) **Digital Tax Office** at dijital.gib.gov.tr. The form is called "Yabancılar İçin Potansiyel Vergi Kimlik Numarası Başvurusu (Potential Tax Number Application for Foreigners)". – Tax offices (vergi dairesi) also issue numbers in person, mainly when the online system cannot verify your passport details. – Getting the number is free. – Once you hold a residence permit and a YKN, the YKN is used as your tax number.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check your own situation with the tax office, a lawyer or an accountant.
Who needs a Turkish tax number
You do not need to earn money in Türkiye to need a tax number. University and law-firm guides for foreigners list these common uses:
– **Opening a bank account**, at least at some banks. – **Buying health insurance**, which many residence permit applicants need. – **Paying residence permit and permit card fees.** – **Registering some utilities or services**, depending on the provider. – **Family members** who come with you and do not yet have their own YKN. Each person needs their own number.
For **buying property**, the land registry’s official guide for foreign buyers (Your Key Türkiye) lists the foreigner identity number as the document it checks. If the migration system does not return an answer, the sale can go ahead with a tax number. If you have no YKN, the land registry assigns one during the application. In practice you will still want a tax number early, because banks may ask for one when you open an account. See our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner for the full process.
Tax number or foreigner ID number: which one do you have?
There are two kinds of number, and it helps to know which one you are dealing with.
– **Potential tax number (passport-based).** This is a 10-digit tax number linked to your passport. It is for foreigners who are not yet registered in Türkiye’s foreigners’ register. It is designed for people with no taxable activity in Türkiye. – **Foreigner identity number (YKN).** This number is issued to foreigners who are registered in Türkiye, typically after a residence permit is granted. It is printed on the residence permit card. Turkish government announcements describe these numbers as starting with **99 or 98**. The YKN is assigned by the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs (NVİ), using data sent by the migration authority.
Under the Revenue Administration’s Tax Identification Number General Communiqué No. 4, the YKN is used as the tax number for foreigners who hold one. If you already have a YKN, you usually do not need a separate potential tax number.
Step 1: Gather what you need
For an **online application** you need the details the form asks for (checked on the live form in November 2026):
– your name, surname, gender, date and place of birth; – your mother’s and father’s first names; – your country, passport number, and the passport’s issue and expiry dates; – a mobile phone number and an address; – a browser that can open or download PDF files, because the result arrives as a PDF.
For an **in-person application** at a tax office you need:
– your original passport; – a photocopy of the passport identity page; – a short signed application form or petition, which the tax office can give you.
Step 2: Apply online through the Digital Tax Office
GİB moved its online services from the old Interactive Tax Office (İnteraktif Vergi Dairesi, ivd.gib.gov.tr) to the **Digital Tax Office** (Dijital Vergi Dairesi). The application page for foreigners is at dijital.gib.gov.tr/foreigners/kimlikNoBasvuru. The form has Turkish and English labels.
1. Open the page "Yabancılar İçin Potansiyel Vergi Kimlik Numarası Başvurusu (Potential Tax Number Application for Foreigners)". 2. Leave the **Foreign Identity Number** field empty if you do not have a YKN. 3. Enter your details exactly as they appear in your passport, in capital letters. Enter dates as day.month.year, even if the label suggests a different format. 4. Fill in your parents’ first names, country, passport dates, phone number and address, and type the security code. 5. Tick the box confirming the information is accurate, click **BAŞVUR (APPLY)** and then confirm. 6. Download the PDF letter. Your number appears on it, labelled "T.C./Vergi Kimlik Numarası" or "Potansiyel Vergi Kimlik Numarası".
The system checks your identity against official records. Sabancı University warns that your details must match the record made when you entered Türkiye. A common problem is the Turkish letter **İ** (dotted capital I) versus **I**. If your name fails, try again with the other letter.
Save the PDF somewhere safe; banks and agents often ask to see the letter.
Step 3: Go to a tax office if the online system rejects you
If the online form says your identity and passport details **could not be verified**, go to a tax office in person. University guidance based on GİB’s rules says tax offices accept in-person applications from people who get this warning, and that the online route should be used otherwise.
1. Find a tax office near you. Any tax office can issue a potential tax number. 2. Go to the desk marked **Sicil İşlemleri** (registration procedures), or one signed for tax numbers for foreigners. 3. Hand over your passport, the photocopy and the signed form. 4. The officer issues a letter with your number, usually while you wait if your documents are in order.
Staff may not speak English. A simple sentence helps: "Yabancı uyruklu biriyim, vergi numarası almak için geldim" (I am a foreign national and I have come to get a tax number).
Getting a number from abroad
Many buyers want a tax number before they travel. The online form can be completed from anywhere, but it only works if the system can verify your identity. If it cannot, you will need a tax office visit.
We could not find a current official procedure from the Foreign Ministry or Turkish consulates for issuing tax numbers to foreign nationals, so check with your nearest consulate before relying on that route.
Step 4: Use your number correctly
– Give the number together with your passport. Your name must match exactly. – If you are buying, give it to your lawyer and bank early. Our explainer on the costs of buying a home covers the title deed fee and other charges you will pay alongside it. – If you are renting, landlords and agents may ask for it for the contract. See our guide to renting a home in Turkey as a foreigner. – Having a tax number does not, by itself, make you liable to tax. If you later earn rental income from a Turkish property, separate filing rules apply.
Step 5: Look up a forgotten number
If you have lost the PDF or forgotten the number, you have three options:
– **Online.** Legal guidance for foreigners refers to a "Potential Tax Number Inquiry for Foreigners" option on GİB’s online system. Re-entering the same passport details in the foreigners’ application section also shows whether a number already exists. – **At a tax office.** Take your passport and ask for your number or a new copy of the letter. – **By email.** GİB’s Tax Communication Center (VİMER) answers questions in English at [email protected]. Its phone line works in Turkish only.
What changes once you get a residence permit
When your residence permit is granted, you are entered in the foreigners’ register and receive a YKN starting with 99 or 98. From then on:
– The YKN is used as your tax number. Under GİB’s Communiqué No. 4, foreigners who have a YKN use only the YKN as their tax number in the transactions it covers. – Universities that guide foreign staff advise that the old passport-based tax number is no longer used once the YKN is issued. – Foreigners already registered as taxpayers must tell their tax office about the new YKN. The communiqué gives one month to do this. – With a YKN you can also get an e-Devlet password for online public services. See our guide to getting an e-Devlet password as a foreigner.
Thinking of a property-based permit? Read our explainer on the 200,000 dollar residence permit rule and our guide to health insurance for foreign residents. For everyday budgeting, see cost of living in Turkey in 2026.
Bottom line
Apply online first: it is free, quick and you get an official PDF straight away. Go to a tax office only if the system cannot verify you. Keep the letter safe, and once you have a residence permit, use your YKN instead.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How much does a Turkish tax number cost?
A: Nothing. The application is free, both online and at a tax office. You only pay if you choose a private agent to apply for you.
Q: Can I get a Turkish tax number online?
A: Yes. Use the "Potential Tax Number Application for Foreigners" page on GİB’s Digital Tax Office at dijital.gib.gov.tr. The number arrives as a PDF letter.
Q: Is the tax number the same as the foreigner ID number?
A: No. The potential tax number is passport-based and is for foreigners without a YKN. The YKN, which starts with 99 or 98, comes with registration in Türkiye, typically with a residence permit, and then serves as your tax number.
Q: Do I need a tax number to buy property in Turkey?
A: The land registry checks your foreigner identity number and can assign one during the application, with a tax number as a fallback. Banks handling the purchase money will also ask for a tax number, so most buyers get one early.
Q: I lost my tax number. What should I do?
A: Check online through GİB’s foreigners’ section, visit any tax office with your passport, or email VİMER at [email protected].
Planning to buy? Download our free property guide for a step-by-step checklist.
Sources
- Online form ‘Yabancılar İçin Potansiyel Vergi Kimlik Numarası Başvurusu (Potential Tax Number Application for Foreigners)’ (Revenue Administration, Digital Tax Office)
- Tax ID for foreigners: free; online via dijital.gib.gov.tr; result as PDF labelled ‘T.C./Vergi Kimlik Numarası’ or ‘Potansiyel Vergi Kimlik Numarası’; in-person documents; tax offices accept in-person applications when identity cannot be verified online (Bursa Uludağ University)
- Tax ID: free; uses (bank account, health insurance, residence permit fees); each dependant needs own number; no longer used once Foreigner ID issued (Istanbul Technical University)
- Online steps: leave identity number empty, dates as day.month.year, details must match entry record, İ/I errors; Sicil İşlemleri desk; passport + copy (Sabancı University)
- Tax number for foreigners: uses incl. utilities in some cases; online application; in-person same-day; ‘Potential Tax Number Inquiry for Foreigners’ lookup (CCS Law via Legal 500, 11 Sept 2025)
- Online form needs parents’ names and phone number; official application free; lookup by re-entering details (Ikamet, updated May 2025)
- GİB notice: potential tax numbers for foreigners obtained online; tax offices do not accept applications for numbers obtainable online except where identity cannot be verified (English translation of GİB notice)
- Vergi Kimlik Numarası Genel Tebliği (Seri No: 4), 22 May 2010: YKN used as tax number for foreigners who hold one; ten-digit VKN for foreigners without YKN; notify tax office within one month
- Vergi Kimlik Numarası İç Genelgesi 2006/1: foreigners without taxable activity may apply to any tax office with passport for a potential tax number
- Foreign buyers’ property acquisition guide: foreigner identity number checked, tax number if migration system does not respond, land registry assigns YKN if none; foreign currency purchase document (Your Key Türkiye, Land Registry and Cadastre)
- Foreigner identity numbers beginning with 99 or 98 (Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 10 May 2023)
- Foreigner identity number assigned by NVİ, applications via migration authority (NVİ instruction, 12 Sept 2014)
- VİMER answers in English at [email protected], phone in Turkish only (GİB Guidebook on Rental Incomes for Non-Resident Taxpayers 2025)
Photo: Yabancı / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
