What is the 1% e-commerce withholding tax, and whom does it cover?
The e-commerce withholding tax is a 1% advance tax that marketplaces deduct from the payout payments they make to sellers. The legal basis was built in two steps: first, Law No. 7524 (August 2024) added provisions to Article 94 of the Income Tax Law and to Articles 15 and 30 of the Corporate Tax Law allowing withholding on e-commerce payments. Then Presidential Decision No. 9284 (Official Gazette: 22 December 2024) set the rate at 1%, and the application took effect on 1 January 2025.
The scope is sales made through the intermediary service providers defined in Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce: all tax-registered sellers on marketplaces such as Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Amazon TR, and N11 (whether a sole proprietorship or a capital company) are subject to the deduction. Out of scope: those who sell only through their own website and collect payment with their own virtual POS, those benefiting from the tradesman exemption, and simplified-procedure taxpayers.
From which amount is the withholding tax deducted?
The most common mistake is calculating the 1% from the VAT-included sale price. The correct way: the withholding tax is deducted from the VAT-excluded base. First the VAT is separated out from the sale amount, then 1% is applied to the remaining base:
| Step | Operation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sale (VAT included, 20%) | — | 1.200,00 TL |
| VAT-excluded base | 1.200 / 1,20 | 1.000,00 TL |
| Withholding tax (1%) | 1.000 × 0,01 | 10,00 TL |
The VAT rate directly affects the result: for a product with 1% VAT the base is very close to the sale price, while for a product with 20% VAT the base drops noticeably. That is why you need to select your product's VAT rate in the calculator.
Is the withholding tax a tax loss?
No — the withholding tax is not an additional tax but the advance collection of the tax. The entire amount deducted from your payouts during the year is offset against the tax calculated in the provisional tax periods and in the income or corporate tax return you file at year-end. If the calculated tax is lower than the withholding tax deducted, the difference carries over to later periods or a refund can be requested.
The real impact is on cash flow: because the money is deducted before it reaches you, it tightens intra-month working capital, especially for sellers turning over high revenue on thin margins. If your monthly revenue is 500.000 TL (VAT included, 20%), roughly 4.167 TL is prepaid in deductions each month, and 50.000 TL over the year.
How should you position the withholding tax in profit calculations?
In accounting the withholding tax is not an expense but a prepaid tax; so when calculating unit profitability, it is wrong to subtract it as a permanent cost like commission or shipping. However, because it is actually deducted from your payout, it should be tracked as a separate line in cash-flow and pricing decisions. To see all deductions per sale — commission, shipping, service fee, and withholding tax — together, use the Trendyol profit calculator, and to see the net amount you will receive and the payment date, use the payout calculator.