SOCIAL SECURITY PREMIUM SUPPORT FOR ACCOMMODATION ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR HAS ENTERED INTO FORCE
Accommodation businesses in the tourism sector face high personnel costs, particularly during the off-season, due to the seasonal nature of their operations. To ease this structural burden, a measure initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly's General Assembly on 24 July 2026 and entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette dated 31 July 2026, No. 33326. The measure is introduced under Article 11 of Law No. 7590, which adds Provisional Article 36 to Law No. 4447.
Scope and Calculation of the Support
Private-sector accommodation establishments holding a tourism business license (turizm işletmesi belgesi) from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism are eligible for a social security premium support for the May-December 2026 period, limited to the months in which the facility is actually operating (up to 8 months). The support amount is calculated by multiplying the number of premium payment days reported for employees insured under long-term insurance branches pursuant to Article 4/1(a) of Law No. 5510, as declared in the relevant monthly withholding and premium service declaration, by TRY 116.67. For an employee reported for a full month (30 days), this amounts to TRY 3,500.10; the amount is reduced proportionally for partial-month declarations (e.g., TRY 3,266.76 for 28 days). The resulting amount is offset against the employer's social security premium obligations and funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
This is not a support contingent on new hiring; existing employees who meet the conditions are directly covered. There is no requirement to maintain the prior year's headcount, no wage ceiling for eligible employees, and no requirement to create additional employment.
Eligibility Conditions
The support is available to private-sector accommodation establishments holding a tourism business license under Law No. 2634 (Tourism Encouragement Law). Publicly owned facilities, facilities holding only a municipal permit without a tourism business license, and facilities holding only a tourism investment license (not yet an operating license) are excluded. Employees subject to the social security support premium (retirees), foreign nationals, and employees working abroad are also excluded from the calculation.
To benefit from the support, the following conditions must also be met:
- Monthly premium and service declarations / withholding and premium service declarations for the May-December 2026 period must be filed within the legal deadlines,
- Accrued premiums must be paid within the legal deadlines,
- The establishment must have no outstanding debt to the Social Security Institution (SGK) for premiums, administrative fines, or related late payment penalties and interest (or such debt must be under a payment plan or deferral).
No separate application is required to benefit from this support.
Where an establishment also benefits from other social security premium incentives, supports, or reductions in the same period, the amount of SGK premium remaining after those incentives are applied forms the ceiling for this support.
Tax Neutrality
Under the seventh paragraph of Provisional Article 36 of Law No. 4447, amounts covered by the Fund under this support are not treated as income, expense, or cost for income and corporate tax purposes. In other words, the support does not constitute taxable income, and the corresponding portion of the premium cannot separately be deducted as an expense. Any premium amount actually borne by the employer that falls outside the scope of the support remains deductible under the general rules.
Audit and Clawback Risk
For the May-December 2026 period, if a court decision or an investigation by authorized inspection or audit personnel finds that an establishment failed to register employees as insured, registered an employee who was not actually working, or failed to report (or under-reported) an employee's premium-based earnings, the amount covered by the Fund is recovered together with late payment penalties and interest, and the establishment becomes ineligible for the support for the remaining periods. Where an under-reporting of premium-based earnings not exceeding one-tenth of the monthly gross minimum wage (TRY 3,303 for 2026) is identified, the establishment may continue to benefit from the support if the shortfall is remedied within 15 days of SGK's notice.
In addition, the support is subject to clawback, together with late payment penalties and interest, in cases such as: closing an existing business and reopening it under a different name or trade name, transferring employees between companies under common management or control, changing ownership of a sole proprietorship, or other collusive arrangements aimed at artificially qualifying for the support. Where a genuine transfer, merger, or change of business structure has occurred, the commercial rationale and supporting documentation (transfer agreements, employee movements, changes to the tourism license) should be clearly documented.
Pending Implementation Matters
Article 11 of the Law is in force and applies retroactively from the May 2026 period; however, as of the date of this circular, the SGK incentive/law code, the application and activation method, and the procedure for offsetting or refunding amounts relating to the May-July 2026 period have not yet been announced. These matters are to be clarified through implementing regulations to be issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, in consultation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Until these regulations are published, incentive codes should not be selected and no amended declarations should be filed for past periods on a self-initiated basis. We will provide further guidance once SGK's implementing circular is issued, including with respect to the treatment of past-period offsets.
