Expense Voucher (Gider Pusulası) in Turkey: How to Issue It and Calculate Withholding

An expense voucher (gider pusulası) is the document you issue in place of an invoice and have the seller sign when you buy goods from, or have work done by, a person who is not required to issue invoices. The document is prepared by the buyer, not the seller; the buyer is therefore responsible for the accuracy of every piece of information in it. If the seller is a tax-exempt tradesman, personal income tax is withheld from the payment, and this amount is paid to the tax office through your withholding return (muhtasar beyanname).

In this article, we explain what information the document must contain, the seven-day issuance period, the withholding rates on payments to those benefiting from the tradesman exemption, and five example calculations. Without going into the general logic of withholding, we focused directly on transactions made with this document.

What is an expense voucher, and how does it differ from an invoice?

The short answer to the question "what is an expense voucher?" is this: it is a document evidencing an expense, issued by the buyer on behalf of a seller who has no obligation to issue documents. With an invoice, the seller issues the document; here, the buyer holds the pen. A document issued for a tax-exempt tradesman has, by law, the status of an invoice issued by that tradesman.

To see the difference between the two documents in concrete terms, it is enough to look at these three points:

• Issuing party: the seller for an invoice, the buyer for this document.
• VAT: calculated on an invoice; not calculated or shown on this document.
• Signature: the person who does the work or sells the goods also signs the document.

This document does not concern only the buyer's books. If the seller is an exempt tradesman, they must keep the copy given to them for five years; the Revenue Administration (GİB) also states this retention duty explicitly in its guide on the tradesman exemption.

Who issues it, and for whom?

The Tax Procedure Law assigns the duty to issue it to four groups: first- and second-class merchants, those whose income is determined under the simplified method, self-employed professionals required to keep books, and farmers. Since all types of commercial companies are considered first-class merchants under Article 177 of the law, limited liability and joint stock companies are also subject to this duty.

The document is issued for work done by, and goods bought from, persons who are not required to issue the documents listed in the law. An amendment made in 2021 by Law No. 7338 extended the scope beyond tax-exempt tradesmen only. The only exception is purchases from farmers not taxed under the actual method; a producer receipt (müstahsil makbuzu) is used for them.

What information must the document contain?

The law lists one by one the information the document must contain. A document with missing information may be deemed never to have been issued for tax law purposes; we therefore recommend using the list below as a checklist when filling in the form:

• Date, series and serial number of the document
• Nature of the work and the fee for it, or the type, kind, quantity and price of the goods
• Name and surname or trade name and address of the person commissioning the work or buying the goods
• Name, surname and address of the person doing the work or selling the goods
• If applicable, the amount of personal income tax withheld and the net amount paid to the seller
• Seller's signature

On a paper document, the series and serial numbers must run without gaps. The law explicitly requires this sequence; a form with a skipped number or the same number used twice is one of the first points questioned in a tax audit.

How to issue an expense voucher: step by step

Issuing it takes a few minutes, but the order matters. The mistake we see most often in practice is making the payment first and remembering the document days later. The flow we recommend is:

• Find out whether the seller benefits from the tradesman exemption; if they have a Tradesman Tax Exemption Certificate (Esnaf Vergi Muafiyeti Belgesi), take a copy.
• Determine whether the purchase is of goods or services; the withholding rate depends on this.
• Calculate the gross price, the withholding amount and the net amount to be paid to the seller.
• Fill in the form in two copies, have the seller sign it and hand one copy to them.
• If possible, make the payment through a bank or PTT (Turkish Post) and write the document number in the description.
• Include the withholding in that month's withholding and social security premium return (muhtasar).

A document you cannot get the seller to sign remains your unilateral statement. We therefore recommend obtaining the signature at the same time as you take delivery of the work.

Why does the seven-day period matter?

The document is issued within seven days at the latest from the date of delivery of the goods or performance of the service. A document issued after this period is, by law, deemed never to have been issued. The consequence is twofold: the expense remains undocumented, and the penalty for failing to issue a document comes into play.

Which documents can replace the voucher?

If you paid the price to the seller within the seven-day period through a bank, an authorized payment institution or PTT, the transfer receipt or receipt issued by these institutions replaces this document. The condition is that the receipt contains the information the document must contain. Documents issued under their own legislation by public institutions that are not required to issue documents serve the same function.

In practice, the description on a transfer receipt is often brief. If information such as the nature of the work, the quantity and the seller's address is not on the receipt, issuing a separate document is the safer route.

What is the withholding rate on an expense voucher?

The withholding rate on an expense voucher ranges from 0% to 10%, depending on the seller's activity under the tradesman exemption and the type of purchase. The withholding is based on subparagraph 13 of Article 94 of the Personal Income Tax Law; the tradesman exemption does not cover this withholding. For the general operation of withholding, see our article on withholding tax guide.

According to the Revenue Administration (GİB), for payments to those benefiting from the tradesman exemption, withholding is applied at 2% for scrap purchases, 5% for other purchases of goods and 10% for other purchases of services. The rates are based on Council of Ministers Decision No. 2009/14592. Companies, cooperatives, associations, and merchants and self-employed professionals filing returns under the actual method are required to apply the withholding.

If you agreed on a net amount, how do you find the gross?

With the seller, the discussion is often about the net amount they will receive. In that case, you divide the net amount by the number found by subtracting the withholding rate from 1. For example, for a service with a net payment of 4,500 TL, the gross price is 4,500 / 0.90 = 5,000 TL, and the withholding is 500 TL.

Write the gross price, the withholding amount and the net amount separately on the document. A document showing only the net amount will not match the tax base on the withholding return.

How is the accounting entry made?

Let's continue with a fictional example: a limited liability company has a traveling locksmith repair the lock on its office door, and the gross price is 5,000 TL. Since it is a purchase of services, 500 TL is withheld and 4,500 TL is paid to the locksmith.

When the withholding is paid with the withholding return the following month, account 360 is debited and closed. If the item purchased is a fixture, the related fixed asset account is used instead of an expense account, and the cost is spread over the years through depreciation . For the day-to-day operation of the bookkeeping system, see our our general accounting services page.

5 expense voucher examples

The five scenarios below are fictional; they were prepared to show how the rates change for different types of seller. Each can be read as an expense voucher example.

Example 1: Traveling shoe repairer

A store agrees with a shoe repairer who works itinerantly without opening a shop to maintain its display products and pays a gross 2,000 TL. The repairer benefits from the tradesman exemption as a small craftsman, and the work is a purchase of services. The store withholds 200 TL at 10% and pays the repairer 1,800 TL.

Example 2: Homemade knitted gifts

A hotel buys products with a gross value of 8,000 TL as customer gifts from a person who makes knitted and lace products in the home where they live. These products fall under subparagraph 9/6 of the GVK, and the rate is 2%: 160 TL is withheld and 7,840 TL is paid.

The situation changes if the seller sells the same products online and collects payments through a commercial account under subparagraph 9/10. The bank withholds from that revenue, and the law states that no separate Article 94 withholding is to be applied on the same amount.

Example 3: Door-to-door scrap seller

A recycling company buys scrap metal for a gross price of 15,000 TL from a person who collects scrap door to door without opening a business. The rate on scrap purchases is 2%; 300 TL is withheld and 14,700 TL is paid. If the seller regularly buys the waste of commercial businesses, they cannot benefit from the exemption; in that case, an invoice should be requested.

Example 4: Purchase of goods from a street vendor

A construction site buys work gloves and similar consumables from a vendor who sells itinerantly without using a motor vehicle; the gross price is 3,000 TL. This is a purchase of goods, and the rate is 5%: 150 TL is withheld and 2,850 TL is paid.

Example 5: Used computer from a private individual

A consulting firm buys a used laptop from a person with no commercial activity. Since the seller has no obligation to issue documents, the company issues the document itself. Since the seller is not someone benefiting from the tradesman exemption, the withholding under subparagraph 13 of Article 94 does not apply; the computer is recorded as a fixture.

Is the e-Expense Voucher mandatory?

The e-Expense Voucher is the electronically issued form of the paper document and has the same legal status. Under VUK General Communiqué No. 509, the application is not mandatory except for taxpayers notified in writing by the Revenue Administration (GİB) because it finds them risky or with low compliance. Notified taxpayers are given at least three months to switch.

A company wishing to switch voluntarily must first join the e-Invoice application. The e-Expense Voucher also shows the hour and minute of issuance, the parties' TCKN or VKN (Turkish ID or tax ID number) and the withholding amount. The Administration published the application package for the first time on 22.05.2026 and updated it on 15.09.2026; technical details are announced at ebelge.gib.gov.tr.

At least one paper printout of the electronic document is signed by the seller with a wet signature, and the signed copy is kept by the issuer. For taxpayers designated by the Administration, electronic verification of the seller's information is also possible in place of the signature.

What happens if it is not issued?

Under Article 353 of the Tax Procedure Law, if this document is not issued or is issued for an amount different from the actual amount, a special irregularity penalty of 10% of the amount that should have been written on the document is imposed. Under VUK General Communiqué No. 588, for 2026 this penalty cannot be less than 17,000 TL per document at the first detection in a calendar year. A document issued after the seven-day period is also deemed never to have been issued in this respect.

Besides the penalty, the expense remains undocumented, and if no withholding was applied, the tax liability remains with the buyer. The document is kept together with the books for five years starting from the year following the relevant year.

Mistakes we often see in practice

Most of the problems we encounter in files involving this document are not rate errors but the document being used for the wrong transaction:

• Issuing a voucher for a tradesman under the simplified method who should issue an invoice
• Applying the same rate to everyone without asking about the seller's exemption status
• Applying the 5% rate to a price for goods and services bought together that cannot be separated
• Showing only the net amount on the document
• Trying to deduct VAT on the amount on the voucher

If you are not sure whether the seller is a taxpayer, clarifying the situation before the purchase is much easier than making corrections later. The other guides in our Tax Legislation category also cover details on documentation and tax returns.

The legal basis of the document is Article 234 of Tax Procedure Law No. 213; the rates applied to payments within the scope of the tradesman exemption are set out on the Revenue Administration's tradesman exemption page .