The Ministry of Treasury and Finance achieved notable results in the first half of 2026 as part of its efforts to combat the informal economy and conduct tax audits.
Tax examinations, requests for explanations, inspections and monitoring activities conducted by the Tax Inspection Board during the first six months of the year resulted in total tax-base discrepancies identified and losses reduced reaching TRY 354.2 billion.
The amount stood at TRY 225.5 billion in the same period last year, representing an increase of approximately 57 percent in one year.
Tax examinations identify TRY 265.2 billion in tax-base discrepancies
The results obtained directly from tax examinations also stood out among the audit activities.
Tax inspectors identified TRY 265.2 billion in tax-base discrepancies during their examinations.
This figure rose 96.65 percent compared with the same period last year. In other words, the tax-base discrepancy identified through direct tax examinations nearly doubled in one year.
During the same period, the proposed tax assessments increased by 89.35 percent, while proposed penalties rose by 79.92 percent.
The total proposed tax assessments and penalties exceeded TRY 186.6 billion.
Şimşek: More guidance, more effective audits
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek assessed the results and outlined the new approach to combating the informal economy.
Şimşek noted that practices such as requests for explanations, guidance and monitoring had contributed to the results, and said the tax-base discrepancy identified in the first half of the year had increased by 57 percent from the same period last year.
Minister Şimşek summed up the new approach as “more guidance, more effective audits and higher voluntary compliance.”
The new system aims not only to increase conventional tax examinations but also to encourage taxpayers to correctly fulfill their tax obligations voluntarily.
Different audit methods to combat the informal economy
Alongside conventional tax examinations, the Tax Inspection Board has recently been using methods such as risk analysis, requests for explanations and monitoring.
When transactions or declarations considered risky are identified, taxpayers may in some cases be asked to provide an explanation before a comprehensive tax examination is launched directly.
This encourages the voluntary correction of inaccurate or incomplete declarations, while audits are intensified for taxpayers who fail to comply or are determined to pose a high risk.
Audits continue to increase
The results from the first half of 2026 show that the Ministry of Treasury and Finance continues to expand its audit capacity in the fight against the informal economy.
The total tax-base discrepancies identified and losses reduced reaching TRY 354.2 billion represents a 57 percent increase from the same period last year.
The approximately 97 percent rise in tax-base discrepancies identified through direct tax examinations, along with proposed taxes and penalties exceeding TRY 186.6 billion, highlights the financial scale of the audits.
According to Şimşek's statement, efforts to combat the informal economy in the coming period will be based on the combined implementation of guidance, voluntary compliance and more effective audits.
