When do you graduate from an EOR to your own Turkiye entity?

The table below uses TRY 19,500 as an illustrative TRY equivalent of the Teamed fee. This is illustrative only, not a fixed TRY price. The actual TRY amount depends on the exchange rate at the time of invoice. Teamed charges from $599 USD with zero FX mark-up.

All entity cost figures above are typical ranges. They cover outsourced payroll, SGK declarations, bookkeeping, and local HR support for a small Limited Sirketi. They are illustrative and not law figures. Actual costs vary with the complexity of your payroll, benefits programme, and the advisors you engage.

SGK employer contributions at 23.75% apply to both sides. That rate was raised in January 2026 by Law No. 7566, which increased the invalidity, old-age, and death insurance component from 11% to 12%. The new rate applies whether you hire through EOR or your own entity. It does not change the crossover calculation, but it does increase per-head employment cost across both options.

Turkiye has no mandatory employer pension contribution to the BES/OKS auto-enrollment scheme. Employer responsibilities under BES are administrative: enrollment, contribution deduction, and record-keeping. This differs from the UK or Netherlands where a statutory employer pension rate affects both sides of the crossover. In Turkiye, the SGK rate is the dominant employer cost on both sides. Run the Crossover Calculator with your own headcount and salary band.

1. Calculate the EOR cost

   Multiply the Teamed fee (from $599 USD) by your planned Turkiye headcount. This is the fixed variable cost. It grows linearly as you hire.

2. Estimate the entity fixed overhead

   Typically TRY 60,000 to 120,000 per month for a small Limited Sirketi. This covers SGK payroll bureau, bookkeeping, tax filings, and local HR support. This cost does not grow much until headcount exceeds 15.

3. Find the crossover headcount

   The crossover is where EOR monthly cost equals entity monthly overhead. For most international salary bands in Turkiye, this falls around 6 to 10 employees. Use the Crossover Calculator for your own numbers.

4. Factor in non-financial triggers

   The maths gives you a headcount threshold. Local procurement requirements, permanent establishment risk, and market-validation reversibility are separate questions that may override the cost crossover in either direction.

5. Plan the graduation date

   Allow approximately 4 to 8 weeks for Limited Sirketi formation before the first payroll on your own entity. Factor in extra time for corporate bank account opening and SGK registration. Start the GEMO process while EOR continues running.

These are typical ranges from the professional services market. They are not law figures. There is no law that sets what a Limited Sirketi costs to form. The range reflects real market rates for notary, legal, and accounting services. It varies with share structure complexity, the number of shareholders, and the advisors you use.

A Limited Sirketi requires a minimum share capital of TRY 10,000 under the Turkish Commercial Code. This capital must be deposited in a blocked bank account before registration. An Anonim Sirketi (joint stock company) requires TRY 250,000 minimum capital and is rarely used for the first entity setup by foreign employers entering Turkiye.

The resident legal representative requirement

A Limited Sirketi must have at least one manager (mudurluk) who is able to represent the company. If all directors are non-resident, Turkiye requires appointment of a local authorised representative. This person must hold a Turkish tax ID and, for SGK registration, a Turkish social security number. Finding and retaining a qualified representative adds a recurring cost that many incorporation guides omit. Budget TRY 20,000 to 60,000 per year for this role through a professional services firm if none of your directors are resident in Turkiye.

These figures are typical market ranges for a small Limited Sirketi with 1 to 15 employees. They are illustrative. They are not law figures. Actual costs depend on whether you outsource or hire in-house, the volume of your payroll, and the complexity of your benefits programme. Currency inflation in Turkiye means these ranges shift faster than in euro or sterling markets. Benchmark costs annually.

Above 15 employees, dedicated local HR capacity and an in-house finance function typically become necessary. The cost band widens at that point. Software costs often denominated in USD or EUR add a moving FX component that does not affect the EOR side, where Teamed already absorbs the FX risk.

Most cost comparisons skip the manager-liability dimension because it is hard to put a number on. It is worth naming before you decide.

Personal manager duties under TTK

Under Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, managers of a Limited Sirketi owe fiduciary duties to the company and its shareholders. A manager who signs accounts they have not reviewed is personally on the hook for any misstatement. In companies where a managing director is a foreign national without a local presence, these duties are often the hardest to discharge correctly.

The SGK compliance treadmill

• Monthly muhtasar declaration: combined withholding tax and SGK premium service declaration, due by the 26th of the following month. Late filing triggers automatic penalties from the Revenue Administration.
• SGK monthly premium payment: also due by the 26th. Late payment carries delay charges that compound at the monthly reescalation rate tied to the Producer Price Index.
• Annual corporate tax return: filed by the 25th of April. Errors or late filing attract significant penalties and interest.
• KDV (VAT) filings: typically monthly, due by the 26th.
• Employment contract registration: new hires must be notified to SGK before the first working day, or from day one of employment. Late notification triggers a penalty per unreported employee.
• BES/OKS enrollment: employees must be enrolled in the individual pension scheme from the first day of employment. Failure to enroll or deduct contributions is a reportable breach.

Each obligation is individually manageable. Stacked across a year, and amplified by Turkiye's inflation-linked penalty escalation, they consume real management attention. An EOR carries all of these on its own entity. You carry none of them until you form your own.

• Under 5 Turkiye employees at international salary levels: EOR is cheaper every month. The entity overhead has nothing to amortise against.
• Market validation phase: you are testing commercial fit with 1 or 2 hires in Istanbul or Ankara. Entity formation commits capital, management attention, and a local representative before you know whether the Turkiye market will deliver.
• Short-duration or project-based hires: engagements of 6 to 18 months where the formation cost will not amortise before the project ends.
• Uncertainty about Turkish lira exposure: your entity will carry TRY-denominated fixed costs. If your revenue is in USD or EUR, lira depreciation increases the real cost of the fixed overhead over time. EOR removes that exposure: Teamed charges from $599 USD, not TRY.
• No local substance requirement yet: some holding structures or tax treaty strategies require genuine local substance. Before that point is reached, the entity creates compliance cost without strategic return.

• Sustained headcount above 7 to 10 employees at common international salary levels: the entity overhead amortises across enough people that per-head cost falls below the EOR fee.
• Local procurement or public-sector sales: Turkish enterprise and government contracts frequently require a locally registered entity as the contracting party. EOR employment does not provide that structure.
• Permanent establishment risk: at higher headcount or with employees who sign contracts, manage revenue, or control prices in Turkiye, the Turkish Revenue Administration may treat your operation as a permanent establishment. Registering your own entity resolves this proactively.
• Local equity or incentive schemes: if your Turkish hires expect equity in a Turkish vehicle, the entity structure becomes a prerequisite. EOR cannot issue Turkish equity on your behalf.
• Multi-year Turkiye commercial strategy: if the country is a core market with a growing team and no exit optionality on the horizon, the entity fixed costs become a reasonable cost of operating at scale.

The technical mechanic is contract novation: the employment contract transfers from Teamed's entity to your new Limited Sirketi on a specified date. All terms carry across. Salary, annual leave entitlement under Labour Law No. 4857, severance accrual, and the SGK registration date all remain continuous.

SGK continuity is particularly important in Turkiye. An employee's severance entitlement (kidem tazminati) accrues from their first day with Teamed. The novation preserves that continuity. A re-hire event would reset the clock and expose your entity to a delayed liability claim if the employee later left.

What we do operationally:

• Stand up your Turkiye entity through GEMO, approximately 4 to 8 weeks, while EOR continues running in parallel.
• Register the new entity with SGK and the Tax Administration.
• Enroll employees in the BES/OKS scheme under the new entity from the first day of the new payroll.
• Novate every active employment contract on a single effective date.
• Migrate ongoing benefits without any lapse in coverage.
• Provide the same local People Ops specialist as the post-graduation primary contact.

The Graduation Model exists because every other EOR makes this hard. We treat the move as something we help you plan for from the day you hire your first employee through us.

Real HR and legal experts handle your Turkiye hires from the first offer letter through every SGK monthly declaration, muhtasar filing, and BES/OKS enrollment. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Every employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice. You see the SGK employer line at 23.75%, the annual leave accrual for 14 days, and every other statutory component. Nothing is hidden inside the management fee.

When your headcount grows past the crossover, the Graduation Model moves you to your own Turkiye entity. You graduate until it isn't the right structure any more, and we tell you when that moment arrives. EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month the model flips for your headcount. Key sources: Labour Law No. 4857 and the Social Security Institution (SGK).