Buying in Fethiye vs the UK: costs and taxes

Turkey charges a flat, simple fee to buy and very little to own, and a gain is tax-free after five years. The UK is pricier on the way in, and a villa above Çalış makes your next UK purchase dearer too.

The short version

The title deed fee (tapu harcı) is a percentage of the declared price, usually around 4% and traditionally split equally between buyer and seller, though who actually pays is often negotiated. The land registry office confirms the current rate. Every sale to a foreigner also needs an official valuation report [8].
Annual property tax is tiny: 0.2% of the official tax value for a home in a metropolitan area such as Muğla province, with a separate high-value residence tax above TRY 17,711,000 of value in 2026 [9].
Selling after five full years usually means no Turkish tax on the gain; sell sooner and it's taxed as income [10].
Back home, a £300,000 house in England costs a non-resident £11,000 in stamp duty, or £26,000 if you keep the Fethiye home, because the higher rates look at homes anywhere in the world [1][2].
A UK–Turkey double taxation agreement has been in force since 1988 [7].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = TRY 67.44).

What a Brit can buy in Fethiye, compared

Back home, anyone can buy. In England and Wales, a house is usually freehold and a flat usually leasehold, with a lease that runs down and a freeholder who sets the service charge.

Turkey is open to British buyers too, and you hold the property in your own name on the TAPU, the title deed kept by the Land Registry. There are a few limits. Foreigners can't buy in military or security zones, there are overall caps on how much land foreigners can hold in a district, and the registry checks the parcel before the sale goes through. Every sale to a foreign buyer needs a valuation report from a licensed appraiser, valid for three months [8]. There's no limit on how many properties you can buy [8].

A finished flat should come with full condominium ownership (kat mülkiyeti), which feels closer to a share of freehold than an English leasehold. A deed showing only construction servitude (kat irtifakı) means the building was registered off-plan and may lack its occupancy permit. Our guide to buying in Fethiye: the TAPU, the valuation and the checks covers the zone check, the iskan and the questions to ask before you pay a deposit.

Upfront costs side by side

To compare like with like, here's £300,000 spent in each place. In Fethiye that's about TRY 20.2 million, which buys a sizeable villa rather than a flat. Rates are as of November 2026.

	Fethiye, TRY 20.2 million (about £300,000)	England, £300,000
Main purchase tax	Title deed fee of around 4% of the declared price, traditionally split equally between buyer and seller; check the current rate with the land registry	SDLT: 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% above [1]
On this price	About TRY 808,000 in total; the buyer's half is about TRY 404,000 (about £6,000)	£5,000 if you're UK resident and it's your only home [1]
Foreign-buyer extra	None, but you need a tax number and a valuation report [8]	2% non-resident surcharge: £11,000 in total [1][2]
Owning another home	No surcharge	Higher rates if you own a home worth £40,000 or more anywhere: £20,000, or £26,000 non-resident [1][2]
Other costs	Registry service fee, valuation, sworn translator, lawyer, agent's commission, compulsory DASK earthquake insurance	Solicitor, searches, survey; estate agent paid by the seller
VAT	Can apply on new builds; resales usually exempt	No VAT on homes

Declare the real price. It's tempting to put a lower figure on the deed to trim the fee. Don't. Turkey's 2025 amendments raised the penalty for understating values at the registry, and a low declared price inflates your taxable gain if you sell within five years.

The UK catch. HMRC's higher rates apply if you'll own residential property worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world [2]. Keep the Fethiye villa, buy a flat in Leeds while still living in Turkey, and you pay the 5% extra plus the 2% non-resident surcharge: £26,000 on £300,000, against £5,000 for a resident's only home. That's a lot of Turkish breakfasts.

Scotland and Wales. There's no non-resident surcharge in either. Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the whole price for contracts from 5 December 2024, so £24,000 on £300,000 on top of LBTT [3]. In Wales, the higher residential rates from 11 December 2024 start at 5% up to £180,000 and come to £19,950 on £300,000 [4].

Financing: Turkish bank or UK lender?

In Turkey, most British buyers pay cash, and for good reason. Mortgage rates have been very high while inflation runs hot, and the banking regulator (BDDK) sets loan-to-value caps by price band that were overhauled in early 2026, with lower limits for buyers who already own a home. Lending to non-residents and foreigners is limited and bank by bank. A lira loan repaid from a sterling pension would also be a currency gamble in either direction.

Back home, borrowing while abroad means specialist lenders, bigger deposits and more paperwork. Some lenders won't lend to people living in certain countries at all. Our guide to UK mortgages for Brits living abroad explains the FCA's foreign currency loan rules. Releasing equity from a UK home to buy in Fethiye is common, but it's a decision for regulated mortgage advice.

Owning it: property tax and running costs

In Fethiye, you pay emlak vergisi, the annual property tax, in two instalments. Homes are taxed at 0.1% of the official tax value, doubled to 0.2% in metropolitan municipalities, and Muğla is one [9]. The tax value is set by the municipality and is usually well below the market price. Even if it matched our TRY 20.2 million villa, the bill would be about TRY 40,400 (about £600) a year. Homes with a tax value above TRY 17,711,000 (about £262,600) in 2026 also pay a high-value residence tax of 0.3% to 1% [9]. For 2026, tax values couldn't more than double from 2025.

On top: DASK earthquake insurance (compulsory, with a payout cap that won't rebuild a villa), a fuller home policy, site fees on a complex for the pool and gardens, and water and electricity.

Back home, council tax is far heavier than Turkish property tax. A UK house kept as a second home can cost more, not less: councils in England have been able to add a second homes premium since April 2025, and Welsh councils have their own premiums.

Letting the UK home. If you live in Fethiye and let out your UK house, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme applies. Your letting agent, or a tenant paying more than £100 a week, must take basic rate tax off the rent and pay it to HMRC each quarter unless HMRC approves you to receive it gross [6]. You apply on form NRL1 and still file a Self Assessment return. Our guide to renting out your UK home has the steps.

Tax when you sell

The Turkey side

Five full years. A gain on a home you bought is taxable only if you sell within five years of acquiring it, counted from the deed registration date [10].
How it's worked out. Sale price less the cost, which can be indexed for inflation using the producer price index if that rose at least 10% while you owned it, less selling costs and fees paid [10].
The rate. A taxable gain is added to your Turkish income and taxed at the progressive income tax rates, after an exemption that was TRY 120,000 (about £1,800) for 2025 gains [10].
Inherited homes are exempt whatever the holding period [10].

The UK side

Selling your UK home while living in Turkey. Non-residents pay UK capital gains tax on UK property, report the sale online within 60 days of completion and pay within the same 60 days. You report even when no tax is due or you made a loss [5]. For a home owned before April 2015, usually only the growth since 5 April 2015 counts, and private residence relief can still cover years you lived there.
Selling the Fethiye villa after moving back. A UK resident pays UK capital gains tax on a gain abroad, at 18% or 24% for 2026/27, with a £3,000 annual exempt amount [1]. Turkey's five-year exemption doesn't stop the UK taxing it.
The lira effect. The UK measures the gain in pounds. A villa that doubled in lira may have barely moved in sterling, or even made a loss, so keep records of the price and exchange rate on both dates.
Double taxation. Under the 1988 agreement, Turkey can tax gains on Turkish property, and the UK gives credit for Turkish tax on the same gain [7]. Private residence relief can apply to a home abroad that was your main residence, but the absence and day-count rules are fiddly. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

The selling UK property as a non-resident guide goes through the 60-day return in detail.

Which makes sense for whom

Moving to Fethiye for the long haul. Buying can work well: a modest fee, a tiny annual tax and no Turkish tax after five years. Spend on a lawyer and a proper building check, not a bigger infinity pool.
Trying Turkey out first. Renting keeps you out of the zone checks, the valuation fees and the lira risk. See renting in Fethiye.
Keeping the UK house and letting it. Get NRL1 approval before you leave, and remember the Fethiye home puts any future UK purchase on the higher stamp duty rates while you own both.
Planning to come back to Blighty. If you'll be UK resident when you buy, the 2% surcharge falls away. Sell the villa first, or within three years of buying your new main home, and the 5% extra can be avoided or reclaimed [2].

Swap notes on builders, lawyers and the TAPU office in our community group for Brits in Turkey.

Buying in Fethiye vs back home: the TAPU fee, the lira and stamp duty