Digital Product Promotion Support in Türkiye: The 2026 UA Reimbursement Guide for Foreign Game Studios and SaaS Companies

Introduction

Digital product promotion support in Türkiye is one of the most misunderstood parts of the incentive framework. For a foreign mobile game studio or SaaS company that wants to grow, the digital advertising budget is typically the largest cost line. Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, Apple Search Ads — all foreign providers. Every monthly ad spend leaves the company, and the full financial burden of growth stays on the business.

Presidential Decree No. 10962 changes that picture. Part of the international digital advertising spend, carried through an entity established in Türkiye, is reimbursed in cash. The standard rate is 50%, up to 70% in target countries. The annual ceiling per product is 50 million TRY.

This article does not repeat the legal foundation of the incentive. For the general framework, see our Foreign IT & Gaming pillar guide. For the Turkish-market procedural view, see our Turkish-language explainer. The focus here is one specific question: what does a foreign company’s actual UA spend look like once this mechanism is applied?

Abbreviations and Terms Used in This Article

• UA (User Acquisition): the spend on advertising channels that drive user growth in mobile game and SaaS business models
• DYS (Support Management System): the electronic portal through which Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade administers incentive applications
• HİB (Services Exporters’ Association): the exporters’ association for services exporters based in Türkiye; HİB membership is a prerequisite for Digital Product Promotion Support
• DFİF (Support and Price Stability Fund): the budget source from which incentive payments are disbursed
• Article 44 (Article 44 of Decree 10962): the “Additional Support Rates” provision, which allows a maximum 20-percentage-point uplift on the standard rate for activities directed at Ministry of Trade-designated target countries
• CTC Art. 10/1-(g): the Corporate Tax Code provision granting a 100% deduction on software service export income
• CTC Art. 32/C-5: the provision exempting newly established companies from the 10% domestic minimum corporate tax during their first three accounting periods

Eligible International Digital Advertising Activities Under Digital Product Promotion Support

When the Ministry of Trade evaluates an application, it looks not at the platform name but at the nature of the campaign. Saying “Google Ads is eligible” is incomplete on its own; which type of Google Ads campaign, targeted at which market, backed by what documentation — these are the actual questions.

The main categories in the typical UA mix of a foreign mobile game or SaaS company:

A practical warning: if the media plan spans multiple channels and campaign types — which is almost always the case for a serious UA strategy — the platform-and-activity separation needs to happen on day one of the campaign, not months later. When companies try to reconstruct this retroactively, documentation gaps appear and the application weakens. This is one of the most common reasons for rejection.

Digital Product Promotion Support in Practice — A Concrete Example: Reimbursement Math on a Quarterly UA Budget

Consider a mobile game publisher operating in international markets, with a quarterly UA spend broken down as follows:

• Meta and TikTok UA: USD 120,000
• Google Ads and Apple Search Ads: USD 60,000
• YouTube brand awareness: USD 20,000
• Total quarterly international promotion spend: USD 200,000

This amount falls under Digital Product Promotion Support pursuant to Article 17 of Decree 10962. Applying the standard 50% rate, USD 100,000 is reimbursed. If the activities are directed at Ministry of Trade-designated target countries, the 20-percentage-point uplift under Article 44 raises the rate up to 70%, delivering up to USD 140,000.

Annual scenarios:

Note: The USD figures above, when compared against the 50 million TRY annual per-product ceiling, are evaluated at the indicative exchange rate published by the Central Bank of Türkiye (TCMB) on 02.08.2026 — namely 1 USD = 47.50 TRY. At this rate, the 50 million TRY ceiling equates to roughly USD 1,052,000. In the large publisher scenario, the per-product ceiling is approached; publishers running multiple products (within the annual 10-product limit) reach multiples of this figure in total capacity. Ceiling amounts are revised upward each year based on the official revaluation rate.

Timing the Application: When to Do What

The single strongest predictor of application success is timing discipline. The most common mistake companies make is spending the budget first and then trying to reconstruct an application file after the fact. This approach produces documentation gaps and missing evidence every time. The correct sequence has three phases.

Before scaling spend

The corporate structure and export documentation must be incentive-ready. A Turkish entity registered with the correct NACE code, HİB membership and DYS registration are the core of this phase. For newly incorporated foreign-owned Turkish companies, aligning this step with the CTC Art. 32/C-5 window — the first three years free from the minimum corporate tax — creates maximum leverage.

During the campaign period

Platform invoices, payment documents and reporting are kept separated by campaign type. If a Google Ads invoice does not break down which campaign was directed at which target market and how much was spent in which month, this becomes a rejection ground during the Ministry of Trade review.

At the review checkpoint

Documentation is submitted grouped and dated in line with the relevant application window. It is technically possible to consolidate a year’s worth of scattered receipts in the final month before submission, but this is precisely the most common practice that raises rejection rates.

Where Digital Product Promotion Support Fits in the Growth Strategy

Digital Product Promotion Support is not a standalone incentive; it is a financial lever on top of an existing UA strategy. Companies already spending seriously on Google Ads, Apple Search Ads, Meta, TikTok, YouTube and programmatic channels benefit the most, because the reimbursement scales with disciplined, well-documented spend.

The real power is in not viewing this support in isolation. For a foreign-owned Turkish company, the math becomes different when three structures stack:

• The 100% deduction under CTC Art. 10/1-(g) effectively brings the corporate tax burden on software service export income to zero
• The three-year exemption from the minimum corporate tax under CTC Art. 32/C-5 protects newly incorporated companies during their product-market fit phase
• Digital Product Promotion Support reimburses 50–70% of UA spend in cash

None of the five jurisdictions we compared offers all three mechanisms combined. UAE offers a lower tax rate but no cash incentive; Estonia defers tax but does not reimburse advertising spend; Georgia is fast but has neither personnel subsidy nor UA reimbursement; Malta is designed for licensed iGaming operators. How these three mechanisms come together for Türkiye is broken down in our Türkiye vs UAE, Georgia, Malta and Estonia comparison. For the complete framework including the personnel cost subsidy, see our Türkiye Tax Reform Now in Force article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the most common questions we receive on digital product promotion support from foreign founders evaluating Türkiye.

Is setting up a Turkish company required to access Digital Product Promotion Support?

Yes. The support is only paid to legal entities established in Türkiye. A foreign-owned Turkish limited liability or joint stock company meets this condition; 100% foreign ownership is possible and there is no local partner requirement. For the setup process and structural options, see our Foreign-Owned Turkish LLC or JSC Setup Guide.

Is the 70% rate applied automatically?

No. The standard rate is 50%. The 20-percentage-point uplift under Article 44 applies only to activities directed at target countries as designated by the Ministry of Trade. The target country list is updated periodically; each application is assessed against the list in effect at the time.

Is advertising spend directed at the Turkish market covered by the support?

No. The support covers only international digital advertising spend. Google Ads or Meta spend targeted at Turkish users is not included; such spend is evaluated outside the scope of the CTC Art. 10/1-(g) software service export framework.

What documentation is required for eligibility?

Platform-level invoices, international payment records (bank statements, credit card statements), campaign reports separated by target country and channel, a sworn financial advisor-certified spend list and the application file submitted via DYS are the minimum items. Correct NACE code selection and HİB membership must be completed before the application.

When is the support paid?

Once submitted through DYS, the application enters the Ministry of Trade review process. For approved applications, payment is typically made from DFİF to the beneficiary’s Turkish bank account within 3-6 months. The timing depends on documentation completeness and review workload.

How Proteşvik Manages Digital Product Promotion Support End-to-End

Digital product promotion support looks simple on paper but the delivery is process-heavy. Success in this type of application comes not from submitting a single document correctly, but from managing dozens of smaller decisions throughout the process. At Proteşvik, we manage the Türkiye incentive process end-to-end for foreign IT and gaming companies. That means the following steps are handled from a single point:

• Incentive-compliant setup of the foreign-owned Turkish company and NACE code selection
• HİB membership and DYS activation
• Analysis of international UA spend for eligibility and establishing periodic documentation discipline
• Target country strategy and structuring the application for the 70% rate
• Preparation, submission and follow-up of the DYS application
• Coordination with sworn financial advisors and tracking through to payment receipt
• Modelling of the total financial structure combining CTC Art. 10/1-(g) and CTC Art. 32/C-5

We work with more than 15 years of field experience. The aim is not just setup-and-leave, but sustainable, maximum benefit from the incentive ecosystem for a foreign mobile game or SaaS company in Türkiye.

Official references: Official Gazette, Ministry of Trade, Turkish Revenue Administration, Ministry of Industry and Technology, TCMB Exchange Rates.