TL;DR. For most first-time Turkish e-commerce sellers, register as a sole proprietorship (şahıs şirketi) — it costs ~3,000–5,000 TRY one-time and lets you start selling within a week. Switch to a Limited Şirket (Ltd. Şti.) when monthly revenue stabilizes above 250,000 TRY (corporate veil + supplier negotiation). Upgrade to A.Ş. only if you plan to take outside investment or scale across categories. The biggest mistake first-time sellers make: opening an A.Ş. on day one and burning capital on annual compliance overhead they don't need yet.

Choosing the right Turkish legal structure for your e-commerce business is one of those decisions that's easy to over-think and easy to under-think. This guide is a practical breakdown of when each structure makes sense, what the real costs are in 2026, and what payment processors and marketplaces actually require.

The three options in one paragraph

Turkish entrepreneurs have three realistic legal forms for an e-commerce operation:

Şahıs Şirketi (sole proprietorship) — cheapest setup, simplest tax. Personal liability. Best for revenue under ~3M TRY/year.
Limited Şirket (Ltd. Şti.) — corporate veil, easier supplier negotiation, more credibility. Higher setup + ongoing compliance. Best for revenue 3M–30M TRY/year.
Anonim Şirket (A.Ş.) — required for outside investment, sophisticated cap table, multi-shareholder structures. Significant compliance overhead. Best when raising capital or scaling past 30M TRY/year.

Şahıs Şirketi — the default for new sellers

The sole proprietorship is the structure 80% of first-year Turkish e-commerce merchants should pick. Here's why:

Setup cost (April 2026):

Trade registry registration (Ticaret Sicil): ~1,500–2,500 TRY
Mali müşavir (accountant) one-time setup: ~2,000–3,000 TRY
Tax office registration (Vergi Dairesi): free
E-tax / e-imza certificate: ~500 TRY
Total: 3,000–5,000 TRY one-time

Monthly ongoing:

Mali müşavir: ~1,500–2,500 TRY/month
BAĞ-KUR (social security for self-employed): ~3,500 TRY/month (2026)
Annual: ~60,000–72,000 TRY in mandatory expenses

Tax structure: Şahıs files income tax on personal income brackets (15%, 20%, 27%, 35%, 40%). For a merchant netting 200,000 TRY/year of profit, effective tax rate is ~22%.

The catch: personal liability. If your store gets sued, your personal assets are on the line. In practice, this rarely matters for SMB e-commerce — but if you sell regulated products (electronics with safety claims, supplements, beauty products with health claims), the corporate veil becomes meaningful.

Limited Şirket — the upgrade for scaling sellers

When monthly revenue passes ~250,000 TRY consistently, the math starts shifting toward Ltd. The reasons:

Corporate income tax (~25% in 2026) is often lower than your personal income bracket at scale.
Corporate veil protects personal assets.
Easier supplier negotiation — many wholesale and B2B suppliers prefer Ltd. counterparties.
Bank credibility — corporate banking, business credit lines, payment processor pricing tiers.
Easier to add a partner or hire equity-compensated employees later.

Setup cost (April 2026):

Trade registry: ~5,000–7,000 TRY
Notary fees: ~2,000–3,000 TRY
Minimum capital deposit: 50,000 TRY (must be deposited in a corporate bank account; you can use it operationally after registration)
Mali müşavir setup: ~3,000–5,000 TRY
Articles of association preparation: ~2,000 TRY (lawyer or notary)
Total: ~12,000–17,000 TRY out-of-pocket + 50,000 TRY capital

Monthly ongoing:

Mali müşavir: ~3,500–5,000 TRY/month
Annual general assembly meeting compliance: ~2,000–5,000 TRY/year
Annual financial statements: ~5,000–10,000 TRY/year
BAĞ-KUR if you're the manager: ~3,500 TRY/month
Annual: ~95,000–130,000 TRY in mandatory expenses

Tax structure: 25% corporate tax on profits. Then 15% withholding on dividends when you take money out personally. Effective tax rate at scale: ~36% — but only on profit, not revenue.

Break-even point: Ltd. starts costing less than şahıs when annual profit exceeds ~600,000 TRY. Below that, the higher compliance overhead eats the tax savings.

Anonim Şirket — only if you're raising capital

A.Ş. exists for one reason: it's the legal vehicle that supports outside investment, professional cap tables, board structures, and eventual public offering. If you're not raising capital, you don't need an A.Ş.

Setup cost (April 2026):

Trade registry: ~10,000–15,000 TRY
Notary, articles, capital deposit: ~10,000–20,000 TRY
Minimum capital: 250,000 TRY (must be at least 25% paid up at registration)
Total: ~25,000–40,000 TRY out-of-pocket + 250,000 TRY capital

Monthly ongoing:

Mali müşavir: ~5,000–8,000 TRY/month
Mandatory bağımsız denetim (independent audit) above certain thresholds: ~30,000–80,000 TRY/year
Board meeting compliance: ~5,000+ TRY/year
Annual: ~150,000+ TRY

For early-stage e-commerce founders, A.Ş. is overkill. FaStart's parent company (FaStart Teknoloji A.Ş.) is structured this way because we are raising capital — but it's not the right structure if you're starting your first store.

What payment processors and marketplaces actually require

This is where theory meets practice. Documents requested by every major counterparty:

Counterparty	Şahıs	Ltd	A.Ş.
iyzico / PayTR / Stripe approval	✓	✓	✓
Trendyol Seller account	✓	✓	✓
Hepsiburada Marketplace	✓	✓	✓
Amazon Turkey Seller Central	✓	✓	✓
Wholesale / B2B supplier credit	⚠️ Often refused	✓	✓
Mall vendor agreement (kombine alışveriş)	⚠️	✓	✓
Bank business credit line	⚠️ Limited	✓	✓
Investor due diligence	❌	⚠️	✓

The key takeaway: Şahıs gets you to first sale just as fast as Ltd. Marketplaces and payment processors don't care about the structure. The differences kick in at the wholesale and credit layer.

When to upgrade

Switch from Şahıs to Ltd when:

Monthly revenue stabilizes above 250,000 TRY for 3+ consecutive months.
Your personal income tax bracket is regularly hitting 35% or 40%.
A specific supplier or partner requires a Ltd. counterparty.
You want to add a co-founder or employee with equity.
You're handling consumer data or regulated products at scale and want the corporate veil.

Switch from Ltd to A.Ş. when:

You're raising outside capital from VC, angels, or strategic investors.
You're crossing 30M+ TRY annual revenue and need a cleaner cap table.
You're considering an IPO or strategic acquisition exit path.

The migration itself takes ~2–4 weeks of paperwork and a one-time cost of 15,000–30,000 TRY in legal/accountant fees.

Common mistakes

Opening A.Ş. on day one without an investor. The compliance overhead burns capital. You can always upgrade.
Treating mali müşavir as optional. Turkish tax code changes often. A 1,500 TRY/month accountant is the highest-ROI hire you'll make.
Operating without VERBİS registration. Required for any merchant processing personal data on more than 50 customers per year. Penalty: 50,000–1,000,000 TRY. See our KVKK checklist.
Not separating personal and business banking. Even as a şahıs, open a separate bank account for the business. Audit trail, expense tracking, and tax efficiency depend on it.
Choosing structure based on tax avoidance fantasy. Turkish tax authorities (GİB) audit aggressively. Pick the structure that fits your real revenue, not the one that minimizes tax in a hypothetical year you haven't reached.

Hidden costs people miss

BAĞ-KUR: ~42,000 TRY/year of social security as a self-employed person or company manager. Mandatory.
e-Fatura (e-Invoice): required if your annual gross revenue exceeds 5M TRY. Setup cost ~5,000–15,000 TRY one-time + ~500 TRY/month.
Defter-Beyan System (DBS): digital ledger requirement for some merchants. Mostly automated by mali müşavir.
KKDF (Resource Utilization Support Fund): 6% on imports from non-FX-bonded zones. Catches dropshippers off-guard.
e-Arşiv: simplified e-invoice for B2C. Required for online sellers above certain thresholds. Small monthly cost.

FAQ

Can I run an e-commerce store as a salaried employee on the side? Technically yes (legal as a şahıs alongside employment), but your employer's contract may prohibit external income. Check your employment agreement first. Tax-wise, your income from the side business is added to your salary income for personal-tax-bracket calculation.

Do I need a physical address to register? Yes. It can be your home address (for şahıs) or a virtual office (~1,500 TRY/month) for Ltd/A.Ş. Some banks and payment processors verify the address is real before approval.

Can a foreigner register a Turkish company? Yes — but it's more involved. You need a Turkish tax number (potansiyel vergi kimlik numarası), a notarized translation of passport, and either Turkish residency or a local director. Set aside 4–8 weeks for the process.

What about Free Trade Zones (Serbest Bölge)? Useful if your business is primarily export-focused — significant tax advantages. Not relevant for selling to Turkish consumers.

Do I need a Turkish bank account before company registration? No, but you'll need one immediately after. Allow 1–2 weeks after registration for bank account opening.

Can I switch structures later without losing my tax history? Yes — Ltd → A.Ş. is a smooth conversion. Şahıs → Ltd requires closing the şahıs and opening a fresh Ltd, but you can do it without operationally interrupting the business.

If you want to skip the company-formation legwork altogether — connect storefront, payments, marketplace integrations, and KVKK templates from day one regardless of which Turkish legal structure you pick — that's what FaStart ships. Free plan with 4.9% commission, launch in an afternoon, decide on company structure with your accountant in parallel.