Millions received a text message about rent tax from the Finance Ministry. Sworn financial advisor Abdullah Tolu explains the meaning of this warning and what citizens need to do for ntv.com.tr. Those who earned more than 33,000 TL in rental income in 2024 must declare this income by submitting their annual income tax return between March 1st and April 2nd, 2025. The income tax calculated on these declarations can be paid in two equal installments: either in full or in two payments, one in March and the other in July. So far, there is no issue! A significant amount of unregistered audits were conducted in 2024! Particularly as part of the fight against the informal economy, 1.1 million “informal audits” were carried out in the field in 2024. These audits resulted in fines totaling 7.4 billion TL, and taxpayers were asked for explanations regarding 132.5 billion TL of undeclared income. Check-ups were conducted in 425,000 rented households! Brace yourself, the Revenue Administration made spot checks at 425,000 rented homes in 2024, leading to 376,000 new taxpayers who have rental income to file their returns.

Checks in rented homes will continue in 2025! Yes, the spot checks in rented homes conducted in 2024 will continue in 2025, identifying those who have rental income but fail to file their income tax returns and applying various penalties to ensure they do. With March approaching, informative messages have begun to arrive! The Finance Ministry has sent informational messages to thousands of citizens identified as having rental income in 2024, warning them to declare their rental income between March 1st and April 2nd, 2025. The message reads: “Dear Taxpayer, according to our records, you have earned taxable residential rental income in 2024. Income tax returns for 2024 will be submitted between March 1st and April 2nd, 2025. You can quickly, easily, and securely file your annual income tax return for rental income through the Digital Tax Office (dijital.gib.gov.tr) or the Ready Declaration System (hazirbeyan.gib.gov.tr) and pay your taxes using a bank account or credit card.”

The Finance Ministry’s warning message causes panic! The rent tax message from the Finance Ministry has caused panic among all recipients. The reason for the panic is that a large number of those receiving the message do not earn rental income. Citizens are very sensitive about this issue and have been reaching out frantically to the Finance Ministry, professionals, and the media since the arrival of the message, stating that they do not have such rental incomes, seeking information regarding what steps to take and where to file a complaint. How did the Finance Ministry make this determination? Based on the inspections and observations conducted in 2024, the Finance Ministry determined that there were bank transfers and ETFs exceeding the exemption limit of 33,000 TL for 2024 without descriptions such as “rent payment” or “other rent payment.” Notices were sent to these individuals to alert them of this situation! What should citizens do? Citizens should first access the information in the message from the Finance Ministry and verify its accuracy. But where and how can they file a complaint?

There are two ways to file a complaint: The First Way: If a citizen has a user code and password or an access password, they can directly log in to the digital tax office. Then, under the Ready Declaration System => My Revenues and Deductions => Payments Made to Me Section, select the 2024 year to view the list and find the Finance Ministry’s determinations. If there are errors in this information or the payment received is not rental income, go to My Transactions => I Want to Provide an Explanation => Explanation Input and Display => Select the Year for Explanation (choose 2024) => Explanation Regarding Payments Made to Me => Under the Created Section, write the correct explanation => Click Save => The system will automatically send it to the tax office. The Second Way: If this seems difficult, head to the digital tax office => My Petitions => Create New Petition => Select General Purpose Petition, providing a detailed explanation and applying through the system. Alternatively, citizens can wait to receive a letter from the tax office after the declaration period in March and then provide the necessary information and documents within the given period. Some mistakes are due to citizens! Unfortunately, a portion of the errors leading to the messages are caused by the citizens themselves. Some individuals, in order to avoid bank fees, classify certain non-rental payments as “rent payment” or “other rent payment” through the banking system. This is one of the reasons why the Finance Ministry makes mistakes. Some also mistakenly write “rent payment” in the explanation section. Additionally, due to our society’s fondness for encrypted phrases, the Finance Ministry considers terms such as “daily payment,” “debt,” “transfer,” “other,” etc., as rental payments.

It is anticipated that thousands of complaint petitions will be filed! It is expected that numerous citizens who receive the warning message will submit petitions to the Finance Ministry. If the transaction originates from rental income or another commercial activity, taxpayers must file their income statement through the procedures described by the authorities via the Revenue Administration website. If online filings are not possible, they must visit the tax offices to declare their incomes. These complaints and declarations are to be made between March 1st and April 2nd, 2025. Don’t lose your exemption right! It should be noted that if residential rental incomes are not declared or under-declared in a timely manner for 2024, the 33,000 TL exemption for the year will not be applicable. However, individuals who do not file their declarations on time or do not include residential rental incomes can still benefit from the exemption before any official findings by declaring them afterwards.