Do You Qualify as a Qualified Service Centre?

Four conditions, satisfied all at once

The Qualified Service Centre (QSC) is a new corporate category created by Law No. 7582 under Türkiye's Foreign Direct Investment Law No. 4875. It lets a qualifying company deduct almost all of its foreign-source service income from the Turkish corporate tax base. But the regime is gated by four conditions, and the operative word is cumulative: you must satisfy every one of them together, not simply most. Miss a single test and the centre does not qualify — there is no partial pass.

Read the table as a single gate rather than a menu. A company that serves affiliates in four countries but earns only 60% of its revenue from foreign affiliates does not qualify; nor does one that hits every financial threshold but is set up as a branch rather than a capital company. All four boxes must be ticked at the same time.

You must be a capital company under FDI Law No. 4875

The first condition is structural. Only a Turkish capital company can hold QSC status — that means a joint-stock company (AŞ) or a limited company (Ltd.). Partnerships, sole traders, liaison offices and simple branches fall outside the category, because the regime is deliberately built on the corporate tax base and on the discipline that a capital company brings: registered share capital, statutory books and a filed annual corporate tax return.

Because the QSC sits under the Foreign Direct Investment Law No. 4875, it is designed for internationally owned groups placing a regional function in Türkiye. There is no requirement that the centre be located in any particular city — the regime is geographically neutral, so an AŞ in Ankara or Izmir qualifies on the same terms as one in Istanbul. Location only matters when you want to lift the deduction from 95% to 100%, which we cover in 95% vs 100% and the Istanbul Financial Centre uplift.

Three countries, 80% and the qualifying categories

The remaining three conditions are the substance test — they make sure the centre is genuinely a regional hub rather than a domestic company wearing a badge.

• At least three countries. The centre must provide its services to related group entities located in a minimum of three different countries. A company that services affiliates in only one or two markets is outside the regime, however large those affiliates are.
• At least 80% of revenue from foreign affiliates. The foreign-facing character of the business has to dominate the accounts: at least four-fifths of revenue must come from foreign affiliates. Incidental local work is possible within the remaining share, but the centre cannot be principally a domestic services business.
• Qualifying service categories. The activities themselves must fall within the qualifying categories — coordination, management, treasury and support functions carried out for the group. These are the classic regional-headquarters services: steering group strategy, running shared finance and treasury, and providing back-office support to affiliates abroad.

Only income that flows from these qualifying, foreign-source services feeds the deduction. That is why mapping each revenue stream against the categories — before you rely on the regime — matters as much as the headline percentages.

Converting an existing subsidiary

One of the most useful features for established groups is that the QSC is not reserved for newly formed companies. The regime applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026, including entities established before that date. In practice that means a group already running a Turkish AŞ or Ltd. that coordinates regional operations can bring that existing subsidiary into the regime, rather than incorporating a fresh vehicle.

Conversion is a matter of aligning the company to the four conditions and to the qualifying-income and profit-transfer mechanics, not of starting again. Where an existing subsidiary already serves affiliates across several countries, the practical work is usually confirming the three-country reach, testing whether the 80% foreign-affiliate revenue threshold is met on the numbers, and checking that its functions sit inside the qualifying categories. From the first qualifying period, the benefit runs for 20 accounting periods.