Türkiye vs the United States for a software or game company
American studios earn the most per player and pay the most for everything. The corporate bill is 21% federally before state tax, dividends leaving the country are taxed at 30%, and the cost base is roughly 73% above Türkiye's. There is no federal support of any kind for the money a studio spends acquiring players.
The short verdict
01Where each one wins, 5 measures to 2
Where Türkiye wins
- Marketing spend, which is refunded at 50% to 70% rather than carried in full.
- Getting profit out. Türkiye withholds 15% on dividends to a foreign parent against 30% from the US.
- The cost base, roughly 73% below the American one on Numbeo's index.
- Income earned from customers abroad, which is untaxed under the export regime.
Where the United States wins
- Revenue per player. American audiences spend more than any other market.
- Access to capital, since almost every large mobile fund and strategic buyer is American.
- Local purchasing power, which is more than double Türkiye's, so salaries go further for staff.
- The R&D credit, and state digital media credits in a few states.
02How do Türkiye and the United States compare, line by line?
Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 5 and the United States takes 2, with 2 level. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.
Public money
| Measure | Türkiye | the United States |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | better for the companyA federal R&D credit, plus digital media credits in a handful of states such as Georgia and Louisianasource |
What it costs to live there
| Measure | Türkiye | the United States |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source | 69.7, 73% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Rent index | better for the company12.3source | 37.1, 202% 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 staff144.5, 101% higher than Türkiyesource |
Tax
| Measure | Türkiye | the United States |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax on ordinary profit | 25%source | 21% federal, plus state tax of roughly 1% to 10%source |
| 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 profitsource |
| VAT, standard rate | 20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this rate matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source | No VAT. State and local sales taxes apply insteadsource |
| Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent | better for the company15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source | 30%source |
03What is it like to run a company in the US?
Istanbul is seven to ten hours ahead of the American time zones, which is workable for a studio running live operations but hard for daily standups with a US head office. Direct flights reach New York in about eleven hours. The bigger practical draw is that American user acquisition spend is the most expensive in the world, and it is exactly the spend the Turkish programme reimburses.
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
Does the US have any equivalent to the Turkish programme?
No. The R&D credit reaches some engineering work and a few states run digital media credits, but nothing at any level of government reimburses marketing, app store commissions or hosting.
Does a Delaware company help?
For fundraising, yes. For tax, not much on its own, because you still pay where you actually operate.
Would we have to move people?
No. The US company stays as it is. A Turkish company runs the activity being claimed for, and it needs real people doing real work there, which is usually a small local team rather than your existing staff.
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 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-states/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/withholding-tax-wht-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-20