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Comparison9 measuresChecked 2026-08-21Türkiye incentive programme

Türkiye vs Austria for a software or game company

Austria charges 23% corporate tax, two points under Türkiye's 25%, and pays a 14% cash premium on research carried out locally. The two separate on cost and on taking money out: living costs run about 76% above Türkiye's, rents about 93% above, and a distribution to a parent outside the EU is withheld at 23% against Türkiye's 15%.

The short verdict

By Tom HuseynzadeCo-founder, CyberScope Solutions
TürkiyeAustria
Cash back on growth spend50% to 70%None
Tax on software sold abroad0%Taxed
Cost of living40.270.8
Dividends to a foreign parent15%23%
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01Where each one wins, 5 measures to 2

Where Türkiye wins

  • Dividends at 15%, against 23% on the way out of Austria for a non-EU parent.
  • Advertising, hosting and platform fees, reimbursed at 50% to 70% where Austria pays nothing.
  • A cost base roughly 76% below Austria's on the Numbeo index.
  • Income from customers abroad, untaxed under the export regime.

Where Austria wins

  • A 23% corporate rate with no separate trade tax stacked on top of it.
  • The FFG research premium, 14% in cash on qualifying work, paid whether or not the year ends in profit.
  • European Union membership, and nothing withheld at all on dividends to a qualifying EU parent.
  • Local purchasing power 59% above Türkiye's, so a salary goes further for the person earning it.

02How do Türkiye and Austria compare, line by line?

Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 5 and Austria takes 2, with 2 level. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.

Tax

MeasureTürkiyeAustria
Corporate tax on ordinary profit25%source better for the company23%source
Tax on income from software sold abroadbetter for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source Taxed the same as any other profitsource
VAT or equivalent, standard rate20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source 20%source
Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parentbetter for the company15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source 23% to a foreign parent companyZero for an EU parent holding at least 10% for a year and carrying on real activity of its own.source

Public money

MeasureTürkiyeAustria
Cash back on ads, hosting and platform feesbetter for the company50% of what you spend, rising to 70% when the customers you are targeting are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target listsource Nothing comparablesource
Support for development costsYes, through two separate programmes: TÜBİTAK, which funds defined research projects, and teknopark status, which removes corporate tax on software developed inside a technology parkBoth are applied for separately from the export refund, and a company can hold them at the same time.source A 14% research premium paid in cash on qualifying work done in Austriasource

What it costs to live there

MeasureTürkiyeAustria
Cost of living indexbetter for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source 70.8, 76% higher than Türkiyesource
Rent indexbetter for the company12.3source 23.8, 93% higher than Türkiyesource
Local purchasing power index71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source better for staff114.2, 59% higher than Türkiyesource

03What is it like to run a company in Austria?

Vienna is an hour behind Istanbul and under three by plane. Austria's technology sector is small next to Germany's and its research funding is administered through the FFG, which assesses each claim against the Frascati definition before the premium is paid. The premium reaches development work and leaves the commercial side, so an Austrian company still carries its own user acquisition bill.

04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?

What you spend it onProgramme itemPaid backAnnual cap
Ads and player acquisitionDigital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr)50% to 70%50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841
App store and platform commissionsApp store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr)50%20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537
Hosting and serversHosting costs50%5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384

What Türkiye would pay back on your spending

Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.

Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.

Back in cash, every year $0

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    05Questions we get asked

    Is the 23% rate the whole corporate tax bill?

    It is the federal rate and Austria adds no municipal trade tax, which makes it simpler to model than Germany's combined figure. What comes after it is the 23% withholding on a distribution to a parent outside the EU.

    What does the FFG research premium pay for?

    Qualifying research and development performed in Austria, at 14%, paid in cash after the FFG confirms the work meets the Frascati criteria. It does not reach advertising, app store commissions or hosting, which is the spending Türkiye reimburses.

    Does the EU dividend exemption help a foreign owner?

    Only where the parent sits inside the EU, holds at least 10% for a year and carries on real activity of its own. A parent in the United States, the United Kingdom or Asia pays the 23%.

    Where this comparison comes from

    CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We build these comparisons because clients ask for them before deciding, and we keep the rows where the other country wins because a comparison nobody believes is worth nothing.

    • Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
    • These pages get rebuilt, not left. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so when one changes the page changes with it.
    • You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.

    Turn that number into money

    Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.

    • A reply from a person within one working day
    • No mailing list, no drip sequence
    • Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way

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    06Where these numbers come from

    Read next

    The Türkiye and Austria tax treatyTürkiye against GermanyThe full calculator, all 16 items
    See what your spend is worth Show me