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For many property owners in Türkiye, a simple question has suddenly become very important: if you rent out your apartment on Airbnb for a few days or weeks, are you automatically running a business?
According to a recent decision by Türkiye’s Council of State, the answer may be “not necessarily.”
The dispute began after the Turkish Revenue Administration issued guidance in January 2025 stating that anyone obtaining a “Tourism Rental Permit” for short-term rentals should be treated as conducting a commercial activity. Under this interpretation, merely obtaining the permit was enough to trigger tax registration as a business taxpayer, regardless of whether the property was actually rented or whether any income had been earned.
In practical terms, this meant that a property owner who received a permit for future Airbnb rentals could suddenly find themselves facing obligations typically associated with businesses, including commercial income taxation and VAT responsibilities.
The Council of State has now suspended the implementation of that guidance.
To understand why, imagine two different scenarios. In the first example, Ayse owns a single apartment in Istanbul. She occasionally rents it to tourists while she is away. Guests receive the keys, stay for a few days, and leave. No breakfast is served. No daily housekeeping is provided. There is no reception desk, no staff, and no hotel-style operation.
In the second example, Mehmet owns multiple apartments. He employs staff, provides daily cleaning, offers guest services, arranges check-ins and check-outs through a dedicated team, and operates his properties much like a boutique hotel.
Most people would agree that Mehmet is running a business. Ayse, however, is simply earning income from her property.
The court’s position is that these two situations should not be treated in the same way.
According to the decision, for a short-term rental activity to be considered a commercial enterprise, there should generally be evidence of a commercial organization similar to a hotel, apart-hotel, or pension operation.
Additional services such as breakfast, meals, ironing, daily cleaning, or comparable hospitality services may indicate that the activity has moved beyond ordinary property rental and into the realm of commercial business.
Therefore, the mere fact that a property owner obtains a Tourism Rental Permit does not, by itself, prove the existence of a commercial enterprise.
This distinction matters because income from ordinary property rentals is generally treated differently from income generated through a commercial business operation.
The ruling does not eliminate taxes on short-term rentals, nor does it exempt all permit holders from commercial taxation. Instead, it suggests that tax authorities must look at the actual nature of the activity rather than automatically assuming that every permit holder is operating a business.
For thousands of homeowners who use platforms such as Airbnb only occasionally, the decision could represent an important clarification. The court is effectively saying that owning a property and renting it out for a short period is not automatically the same as operating a hotel.
The case has not yet reached its conclusion. The current decision is a suspension of the revenue administration’s guidance while the legal challenge continues.
However, it is a strong indication that the court believes the tax authority may have gone too far by treating all tourism-rental permit holders as commercial operators without examining the specific circumstances of each case.
For now, Türkiye’s highest administrative court has sent a clear message: not every short-term rental is a business, and not every property owner is a hotelier.
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