Türkiye vs Switzerland for a software or game company
Switzerland has the lowest effective corporate tax in this comparison, between 11.66% and 20.54% depending on the canton, and a patent box that exempts up to 90% of qualifying patent income. It is also the most expensive country here by a distance, about 173% above Türkiye on living costs, and its 35% dividend withholding is the highest on the list, recovered afterwards by refund rather than avoided at source.
The short verdict
01Where each one wins, 5 measures to 2
Where Türkiye wins
- Dividends at 15%, against a 35% Swiss deduction that has to be reclaimed afterwards.
- Advertising, hosting and platform fees, reimbursed at 50% to 70% where Switzerland reimburses nothing.
- A cost base about 173% below Switzerland's, the widest gap in this comparison.
- Income from customers abroad, untaxed under the export regime.
Where Switzerland wins
- An effective corporate rate between 11.66% and 20.54%, the lowest here, and settled canton by canton.
- A patent box exempting up to 90% of qualifying patent income.
- A research super deduction in most cantons, stacked on top of the ordinary deduction.
- Local purchasing power 131% above Türkiye's, the highest of any country in this comparison.
02How do Türkiye and Switzerland compare, line by line?
Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 5 and Switzerland takes 2, with 2 level. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.
Tax
| Measure | Türkiye | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax on ordinary profit | 25%source | better for the companyBetween 11.66% and 20.54% effective, depending on the cantonsource |
| Tax on income from software sold abroad | better for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source | Taxed the same as any other profit, with a cantonal patent box for qualifying patent incomesource |
| VAT or equivalent, standard rate | 20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source | 8.1%source |
| Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent | better for the company15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source | 35%Recovered afterwards by refund or by a reporting procedure, rather than reduced at source.source |
Public money
| Measure | Türkiye | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Cash back on ads, hosting and platform fees | better 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 costs | Yes, 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 patent box exempting up to 90% of qualifying patent income, and a research super deduction in most cantonssource |
What it costs to live there
| Measure | Türkiye | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source | 109.8, 173% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Rent index | better for the company12.3source | 47.9, 289% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Local purchasing power index | 71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source | better for staff165.7, 131% higher than Türkiyesource |
03What is it like to run a company in Switzerland?
Zurich is an hour behind Istanbul and about three by plane. The choice that matters in Switzerland is the canton rather than the country, since the effective rate nearly doubles between the cheapest and the most expensive. Salaries move in the same direction as the cost base, so the low headline rate and the payroll bill have to be read together.
04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?
| What you spend it on | Programme item | Paid back | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads and player acquisition | Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% to 70% | 50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841 |
| App store and platform commissions | App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% | 20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537 |
| Hosting and servers | Hosting costs | 50% | 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.
05Questions we get asked
Why is the dividend rate 35%?
Switzerland deducts 35% at source and returns the excess afterwards, through a refund or a notification procedure for qualifying group companies. The cash leaves the company either way and comes back later, which is a working capital question as well as a tax one.
Does a patent box help a games studio?
Only where there is qualifying patented technology behind the income, which is uncommon in games and more usual in engine, tooling and infrastructure work. A studio without patents sees the ordinary cantonal rate.
How much does the canton change the answer?
The effective rate runs from 11.66% to 20.54%, so the same company can face nearly double the tax depending on where it registers. It is the first decision to make and the hardest to reverse later.
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
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call06Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-21
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/corporate-income-tax-cit-rates checked 2026-08-21
- https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-21
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-21
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-21
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/switzerland/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-21
- https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-21
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/switzerland/corporate/tax-credits-and-incentives checked 2026-08-21
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-21