Electric Vehicle Taxes in Turkey: 2026 ÖTV & VAT Explained

January 20, 2026 at 12:19 PM

Importing an electric vehicle into Turkey in 2026 means navigating one of the most demanding tax systems in the world—but for EVs, that system was reshaped by a mid-2025 reform that still leaves them better positioned than many gasoline cars. Turkey’s layered structure of customs duty, Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV), Value Added Tax (VAT), and new additional tariffs can more than double the total cost of an imported vehicle if you are not prepared.

This article breaks down exactly how those taxes apply to battery-electric cars today, how the July 2025 ÖTV decision changed the game for EVs, and how to estimate what your Tesla or other electric model will cost once it reaches Istanbul. For a broader overview of methods, risks, and preparation tasks, see the main guide on shipping electric vehicles to Turkey alongside the dedicated Turkey shipping page.

Turkey’s Three-Layer Tax Stack for EV Imports

Turkey’s vehicle import tax system operates like a staircase: each tax is calculated on top of the previous one, not just on the original vehicle value. For electric vehicles, the three main layers work as follows.

1. Customs Duty – Typically 10% on EVs

Most passenger vehicles imported for permanent use incur a customs duty of around 10% of the vehicle’s customs value (CIF: cost + freight and related charges). For EVs, this base customs duty is the same as for gasoline or diesel cars and generally follows EU-style external tariff practice.

The complete Turkey import tax guide clarifies that headlines about “40–220%” usually refer to ÖTV, not customs duty itself. For most standard EV imports, you can assume:

CIF value: purchase price + overseas shipping and port costs
Customs duty: 10% of that CIF value

This customs duty then becomes part of the taxable base used to calculate downstream taxes.

2. Special Consumption Tax – ÖTV (25–75% for EVs) After the July 2025 Reform

ÖTV is where Turkey’s tax system becomes decisive. For conventional vehicles, ÖTV can reach 220% based on engine size and vehicle value, often exceeding the original cost of the car. Electric vehicles operate in a different bracket but still face substantial ÖTV after the mid-2025 changes.

The July 24, 2025 Presidential Decision

On July 24, 2025, a Presidential Decision published in Turkey’s Official Gazette revised the ÖTV schedule for electric vehicles. This “corrected 2025 ÖTV rate structure,” which West Coast Shipping summarizes in its Turkey duties, VAT, and regulations guide, set new ÖTV bands for EVs between 25% and 75%. The exact rate depends on:

Electric motor power (kilowatt output)
Tax base/value brackets specified in the decision

Under this updated structure:

Smaller, lower-priced EVs fall into the lower 25% band
Mid-range electric models often fall around 40–50%
High-power or higher-priced EVs can hit 60–75% ÖTV

Prior to this mid-2025 update, EVs benefited from substantially lower ÖTV bands—often in the 10–25% range and, in some categories, up to higher brackets—depending on motor power and tax base. Those earlier bands were replaced by the current 25–75% structure, meaning many EV categories saw noticeable increases in their effective ÖTV burden, even though EVs still generally pay less ÖTV than comparable gasoline vehicles.

West Coast Shipping’s Turkey tax explainer uses a 50% EV ÖTV rate in its Tesla Model 3 example, which is a helpful “middle of the ladder” assumption for modeling costs on mainstream electric sedans.

3. Value Added Tax – VAT (20%) on the Cumulative Total

Turkey applies 20% VAT on top of everything: the CIF value, customs duty, and ÖTV combined. The Turkey import duties and VAT guide underlines this compounding effect.

The VAT calculation base is therefore:

CIF vehicle value
Customs duty (10%)
ÖTV (25–75% for EVs under the 2025 structure)

VAT is applied at 20% to this entire cumulative amount, which means any increase in ÖTV not only raises that tax directly but also increases VAT because there is more value to tax. This “tax on top of tax” is a major reason Turkish vehicle imports can end up approaching or exceeding two to three times the original vehicle price in some cases.

Additional Tariffs on EV Imports: What Changed in Late 2025

In addition to the standard three-layer tax stack, Turkey introduced extra tariffs on certain vehicle imports in late 2025. A presidential tariff decision published in September 2025 imposed additional duties on passenger cars from non-EU and non-free-trade-agreement partners, and it came into force 60 days later, in late November 2025.

For electric vehicles, the decision added:

30% of customs value or a minimum of USD 8,500 per vehicle, whichever is higher

Plug-in hybrids and non-plug-in gasoline/hybrid vehicles also received their own percentages and minimum thresholds, with EVs facing the highest floor. The Turkey import guide and global tax overview both stress that these additional duties sit on top of the standard customs-ÖTV-VAT framework, not instead of it.

For most non-EU EV imports in 2026, you should factor in:

10% customs duty
25–75% ÖTV (depending on power/price band)
20% VAT on the cumulative base
30% additional duty or USD 8,500 minimum, whichever is higher

This is why a realistic budget must consider every layer, not just ÖTV.

How the Taxes Work Together: Modeled EV Examples

To make the system concrete, consider a mid-range EV being shipped with West Coast Shipping from the USA to Istanbul in 2026. The following examples use modeled numbers based on current bands, similar to those in West Coast Shipping’s Turkey content, and are for illustration only.

Example 1: USD 40,000 Electric Sedan

Assume:

CIF value (purchase + shipping): USD 40,000
EV falls into a 50% ÖTV band
Additional duty: 30% of value (which exceeds the USD 8,500 minimum)

Step-by-step tax calculation:

Customs Duty (10%)
10% of 40,000 = 4,000
New subtotal = 44,000

Additional Duty (30% or USD 8,500 min)
30% of 40,000 = 12,000
This exceeds the USD 8,500 minimum, so 12,000 applies
New subtotal = 56,000

ÖTV (50%)
50% of 56,000 = 28,000
Subtotal before VAT = 84,000

VAT (20%)
20% of 84,000 = 16,800

Total Import Tax Burden
Customs duty: 4,000
Additional duty: 12,000
ÖTV: 28,000
VAT: 16,800
Total taxes and duties: 60,800

Add the original 40,000 CIF value, and the electric sedan lands at roughly USD 100,800 in Turkey.

Example 2: Higher-Power EV in the 75% ÖTV Band

If the same USD 40,000 EV fell into the top 75% ÖTV bracket, the calculation changes:

Customs duty: 4,000
Additional duty: 12,000
Subtotal for ÖTV: 56,000
ÖTV at 75%: 42,000
Subtotal before VAT: 98,000
VAT at 20%: 19,600

Total taxes and duties: 4,000 + 12,000 + 42,000 + 19,600 = 77,600

Combined with the CIF value, the vehicle lands at about USD 117,600 in Turkey—a significantly higher outcome driven purely by the different ÖTV band.

These examples show that:

Customs duty and additional tariffs are linear with value
ÖTV bands and vehicle classification drive dramatic differences
VAT amplifies everything by taxing the combined total

Accurate classification of your electric vehicle’s power and price bracket is therefore essential when modeling Turkey import costs.

How EV Taxes Compare to Gasoline Imports

To understand whether an EV makes sense in Turkey, you must compare the EV tax stack with that of a similar gasoline car. West Coast Shipping’s Turkey import tax guide illustrates how conventional vehicles can face ÖTV bands of 90–220%, leading to total tax burdens that can reach 200–300% of the original vehicle value in extreme cases.

When the July 2025 reform raised EV ÖTV bands to 25–75% and a 2025 tariff decision—published in September and effective from late November—introduced an additional 30% duty (with a high minimum) for many non-EU EV imports, the gap shrank but did not disappear. In many mid-range scenarios:

EVs incur lower ÖTV but higher additional tariffs
Gasoline cars incur much higher ÖTV but slightly lower additional tariffs

The result is that EVs often still land cheaper than comparable gasoline vehicles on a total-tax basis, particularly in the mid-range bands. However, for lower-value compact cars—and depending on the specific ÖTV brackets involved—the difference can be narrower than EV enthusiasts expect. That is why the Turkey tax guide emphasizes running full scenarios before committing to an import.

Why EV Tax Planning Requires Professional Support

Turkey’s EV tax environment is not static. Presidential decisions, Official Gazette updates, and targeted tariffs for specific origins all change the landscape quickly. For that reason, West Coast Shipping’s Turkey content repeatedly recommends:

Using the Turkey import duties and VAT guide to understand structure, not as a final quote
Confirming current ÖTV bands and additional duty thresholds with a Turkish customs broker shortly before shipping
Building budget buffers for EV imports because the compounding formula magnifies even small rate changes

The main article on shipping electric vehicles to Turkey pairs these tax principles with real EV shipping considerations—battery documentation, container methods, and timeline planning—so that importers can see both the financial and operational sides of the process.

When EV Imports to Turkey Make Sense

Despite the heavy tax stack, there are several scenarios where importing an EV still makes strategic sense:

High-end performance EVs that would face even more punishing ÖTV rates if they were gasoline equivalents
Buyers seeking long-term total cost of ownership advantages, especially in cities where fuel and congestion costs are high and charging infrastructure is maturing
Fleet operators and businesses aligning with sustainability goals, willing to accept a higher upfront tax hit for operating and branding benefits

In these situations, it is critical to:

Precisely identify your vehicle’s ÖTV band (power and value)
Factor in any applicable additional duty layer confirmed by your broker (public summaries often describe this as 30% or a USD 8,500 minimum for many EV imports from certain origins)
Model total import cost using the step-by-step approach from West Coast Shipping’s Turkey tax examples

Importers who do this homework—and coordinate closely with a Turkish customs broker and West Coast Shipping’s Turkey team—are far less likely to be surprised by the final numbers when customs issues its assessment.

See Your EV Tax Scenario Before You Ship

If you are considering shipping an electric vehicle to Turkey, understanding ÖTV and VAT is just as important as choosing the right route or container. Use the main guide on shipping electric vehicles to Turkey together with the Turkey country page to review current bands, then get a custom quote that includes shipping costs and a modeled tax scenario for your specific EV.