Turkey Social Security Calculator 2026 (SGK Premiums, PEK Ceiling and Employer Discounts)

Turkish social security for a private-sector employee under scheme 4/a is charged on the prime esas kazanç, or PEK, which is the gross wage clamped between a floor and a ceiling. The floor is the gross minimum wage. The ceiling for 2026 is nine times that figure. Earnings above the ceiling attract no premium at all, so the effective premium rate falls as pay rises past it.

Three things about the 2026 position deserve attention because they break older models.

The branch rates changed. The employer share of the long-term insurance branch moved from 11% to 12%, and short-term insurance moved from 2% to 2.25%. The employer SGK rate is therefore 21.75% before discounts, not the 20.5% that many references still print. The employee side is unchanged at 14%, plus 1% unemployment insurance.

The ceiling multiple changed. It is nine times the floor for 2026, where it was 7.5 times in prior years. A model carrying 7.5 understates the premium for every high earner.

And the employer discount is not a flat five points. Under the incentive provisions the ordinary private-sector tier is two points, taken off the employer SGK rate. Five points applies only to manufacturing, and is stated to run only to the end of 2026. That gives three possible employer SGK rates on the same wage: 16.75%, 19.75% or 21.75%. Choosing the wrong tier is the likeliest defect in any Turkish payroll model, so it is an explicit choice here rather than a hidden default.

One detail worth noting: the discount reduces the employer SGK premium only. The 2% employer unemployment premium is untouched by it.

Step one, the earnings base.

where the floor is the gross monthly minimum wage and the multiple is nine for 2026. A wage below the floor is still charged on the floor; a wage above the ceiling is charged only on the ceiling.

Step two, the employee premiums.

The 14% is 9% long-term insurance plus 5% general health insurance.

Step three, the employer premiums. The gross employer SGK rate is 12% long-term plus 7.5% health plus 2.25% short-term, which is 21.75%. The Treasury discount is subtracted in percentage points:

Step four, the totals.

That last figure is also the base on which income tax is then computed.

The state adds a further 1% of the base to unemployment insurance. It is not an employer cost and is shown separately.

An employee on 50,000 TL gross a month at a non-manufacturing employer entitled to the ordinary two-point discount.

Step 1: Establish the earnings base. The floor is 33,030.00 TL and the ceiling is nine times that, or 297,270.00 TL. A 50,000 TL wage sits between them.

PEK = 50,000.00 TL

Step 2: Compute the employee SGK premium at 14%.

Employee SGK = 7,000.00 TL

Step 3: Compute the employee unemployment premium at 1%.

Employee unemployment = 500.00 TL

Step 4: Total the employee side.

Employee premiums = 7,500.00 TL, leaving 42,500.00 TL of wage after SGK.

Step 5: Apply the discount to the employer SGK rate.

Employer SGK rate = 19.75%

Step 6: Compute the employer SGK premium.

Employer SGK = 9,875.00 TL

Step 7: Add the employer unemployment premium at 2%, which the discount does not touch.

Employer unemployment = 1,000.00 TL

Step 8: Total the employer side.

Employer premiums = 10,875.00 TL

Step 9: Add the two sides for the total premium.

Total SGK premium = 18,375.00 TL

Step 10: Compute the true cost of employment.

Employer total cost = 60,875.00 TL

Two variations are worth seeing. Had this been a manufacturing employer on the five-point tier, the employer SGK rate would be 16.75%, the premium 8,375.00 TL, and the total cost 59,875.00 TL, saving 1,500.00 TL a month. And on a 400,000 TL salary the base would stop at the 297,270.00 TL ceiling, so 102,730.00 TL of that wage would carry no premium at all and the employee premium would be capped at 44,590.50 TL however much higher the salary went.

• Whether the minimum wage figure is current. It is redetermined by the Minimum Wage Determination Commission, normally each December and historically mid-year too. It is an editable input and the default should be confirmed.
• Other incentive schemes. Turkey operates a large number of employment incentives beyond the general point discount, including youth, women and regional employment schemes, each with its own eligibility and rate. Only the general tier is modelled.
• The manufacturing five-point sunset. That tier is stated to run to the end of 2026. What follows is not modelled.
• Scheme 4/b (Bağ-Kur) for the self-employed, and scheme 4/c for public servants, both of which have different rates and bases.
• Part-month and part-time employment, where premium days rather than a full month determine the base.
• Foreign nationals and posted workers, who may be partially exempt or covered by a social security agreement.
• Apprentices, interns and other special categories with reduced branch coverage.
• Income tax and stamp duty. This page stops at the SGK premiums. The wage after SGK is the income tax base, computed on the Turkey income tax calculator.
• Employer liability for late payment, penalties and administrative fines.
• Sector-specific short-term insurance variations beyond the single rate applied here.

• Assuming a flat five-point employer discount. Five points is the manufacturing tier only. Most private-sector employers get two, and some get none. The three tiers give employer SGK rates of 16.75%, 19.75% and 21.75%.
• Applying the discount to the unemployment premium. It reduces the employer SGK premium only. The 2% employer unemployment premium is the same in every tier.
• Using a 7.5 times ceiling. For 2026 the ceiling is nine times the floor. That is a substantial change for high earners.
• Using the older 20.5% employer rate. The employer SGK rate before discounts is 21.75% for 2026, following changes to the long-term and short-term branch rates.
• Charging premiums on a below-minimum wage. Where the wage is below the floor, premiums are still charged on the floor.
• Treating the gross wage as the employer's cost. The employer pays a further 21.75% or so on top, before any other employment cost.
• Confusing the wage after SGK with net pay. It is the income tax base. Income tax and stamp duty still come off after it.

• Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, "İşveren Prim Oranları", published 13 January 2026. https://www.sgk.gov.tr/Content/Post/c7812ea8-5087-413f-aeb5-d3c1d153e11a/Isveren-Prim-Oranlari-2026-01-13-04-52-38 (read 31 August 2026). Table as employer / employee / total: long-term insurance 12 / 9 / 21; general health insurance 7.5 / 5 / 12.5; short-term insurance 2.25 / nil / 2.25; unemployment insurance 2 / 1 / 3; totals 23.75 / 15 / 38.75.
• Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı, "Asgari Ücretin Net Hesabı ve İşverene Maliyeti", 1 January to 31 December 2026. https://www.csgb.gov.tr/Media/gm2fekds/asgari-ücret-2026.pdf (read 31 August 2026). Independent confirmation of the branch rates: it prints employer SGK at 21.75% giving 7,184.03 TL on the 33,030.00 TL minimum wage, and shows the three discount tiers at 16.75%, 19.75% and 21.75% with total employer costs of 39,223.13, 40,214.03 and 40,874.63 TL. Only the 2026 branch split reproduces those figures.
• Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, "Prime Esas Kazanç Miktarları", published 14 January 2026. https://www.sgk.gov.tr/Content/Post/2e0c9e1a-2cfe-4456-af10-49d3de0c58ba/Prime-Esas-Kazanc-Miktarlari-2026-01-14-10-35-39 (read 31 August 2026). Source for the monthly floor of 33,030.00 TL and ceiling of 297,270.00 TL for 2026, a multiple of exactly nine.
• Kanun 4447, Article 49, as amended, for the unemployment insurance split: "% 1 sigortalı, % 2 işveren ve %1 Devlet payı olarak alınır".
• Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, Sigorta Primi Teşvikleri 2026 guidance on 5510 sayılı Kanun Article 81(1)(i), for the two-point general discount and the five-point manufacturing discount stated to apply to the end of 2026.