Paying a Freelance Writer in Turkey: Receipt or Invoice

If you pay a writer, a translator or an adviser based in Turkey, two questions come before the amount: which document will the person issue, and does a withholding question arise on your side of the payment? A limited company issues an invoice. A self-employed professional issues a professional receipt. This is not legal advice.

The situation fits an independent label commissioning liner notes and press copy, a small publisher hiring a freelancer, or any founder buying words from one person. The approach is a way to ask the right question of the right person at the right moment and to keep the answer on paper.

Start with the payee: company or self-employed professional

The document depends on how the person works, not on what the person writes. Two freelancers can deliver the same text, one through a company that issues an invoice and one as a self-employed professional who issues a receipt. You cannot decide this for them, but you can ask before the first payment. For the wider picture of invoices, VAT and withholding in marketing purchases, see the guide to invoices for digital marketing services in Turkey.

Three questions for the first email

1. In what capacity do you work: through a company or as a self-employed professional?
2. Which document will you issue to me, and in which name?
3. Is the figure you quoted gross or net?

Keep the replies in writing. A chat message or email thread is enough, because the point is that anyone can later see what was agreed.

Why the capacity matters on your side

Your own capacity also matters. Whether you are asked to withhold depends partly on what kind of party you are, so write down your own status as well: company, association, foundation, or an individual who files a declared trading income.

Which document arrives: a short map

As the buyer you do not issue anything. The person who did the work issues a document to you. Table: capacity of the payee, document you receive and the question that follows.

The last row deserves attention. A payment with no document is an expense you will struggle to explain, and the VAT Law has a provision on exactly this situation.

What e-SMM is and what the buyer sees

The e-SMM page of the Revenue Administration (Opens in a new tab) states that the rules cover creating the professional receipt electronically, delivering it to the recipient on paper or electronically, keeping and presenting it electronically and reporting it to the Administration. The page addresses self-employed professionals and states that issuing under these rules is mandatory once a person falls within them. Who falls within the rules, and from which date, is best read on the page itself.

The e-Document menu lists these items: "e-SMM Hakkında", "Mevzuat ve Teknik Mimari", "e-SMM Kayıtlı Kullanıcılar Listesi", "Özel Entegratörler Listesi" and "e-Serbest Meslek Makbuzu Sorgulama". If you use the site in English, the menu labels can look different.

What to do when you receive an electronic receipt

• Save the file or a printout in the payment folder.
• Compare the name, amount and description with your agreement.
• You can run the lookup titled "e-Serbest Meslek Makbuzu Sorgulama" for this payment.

The lookup screen decides what it asks for.

What to do with a paper receipt

A paper receipt can be a valid document. Keep the original, scan a copy, and check that the amount is legible and the signature and date fields are filled. Whether a given freelancer uses paper or electronic receipts depends on whether that person is registered, so ask at the offer stage.

Article 94 and the party who pays

The question that confuses buyers is whether they must deduct something when paying. Article 94 of the Income Tax Law (Opens in a new tab) frames it. The opening lists the parties that must withhold: public administrations, trading companies, associations, foundations, cooperatives, investment fund managers and traders and self-employed professionals who are obliged to declare their real income. The opening says these parties must withhold, on account of the recipient's income tax, on the payments listed in the numbered paragraphs, at the time they pay in cash or by account, including advances.

The paragraph on self-employed work

The second numbered paragraph covers payments made to people who carry out self-employed work, for that work. It splits into work within article 18 and the rest, and it carves out certain payments. Which sub-paragraph a given writing or advisory job falls into, whether the payment is carved out and what rate applies are questions the documentation does not settle for a given job, and no rate appears here. That decision belongs to the payer's status and the nature of the work.

Are you a party on that list?

The list names the payer by status. So the first internal check is your own business: a trading company, a trader declaring real income, an association, a foundation? Practical suggestion: match your own capacity against your trade registry and tax records. The answer determines whether the deduction question binds you at all.

The deduction comes out of the payment

The text speaks of withholding on account of the recipient's income tax. In plain terms, part of what you pay goes to the tax office on behalf of the freelancer. Whether the freelancer bears that part or you add it to your own cost depends on the gross and net wording of your agreement.

Gross, net and the promise trap

Part of the disputes between buyers and freelancers comes from one number meaning two things. The freelancer quoted "two thousand" meaning gross, the buyer understood net. The rule is simple: write gross or net next to every figure.

Table: gross and net in a contract.

Three sentences that remove doubt

1. The agreed fee is the gross amount on the document the freelancer issues.
2. The paying party deducts what the law in force requires, if anything.
3. The freelancer states in writing the capacity and the document type before work starts.

Stating a principle instead of a figure means a change in the rules does not force you to reopen the contract.

If you promise a net figure

A promise that the freelancer will receive a fixed net amount puts the recalculation of the gross on you. Practical suggestion: if you give a net promise, add that the gross is updated if the deduction changes.

Wording for the contract and the brief

Put the payment terms under their own heading in the brief. For guidance on writing the brief itself, see how to write an SEO content brief. The payment heading should list:

• the freelancer's capacity and the document type
• the amount and whether it is gross or net
• the delivery date, the number of revisions and the payment date
• whether the document is delivered before or after payment
• how any deduction will be shown and shared

Who owns the finished text?

Payment does not decide who owns the text. Transfer of rights, licence scope and written form requirements are a separate matter, set out in commissioned content ownership. If you want the whole purchase process, from offer to acceptance, the buying guide for digital marketing services follows that order.

A worked scenario: an independent record label

Example scenario: A small independent label is preparing a release. It wants liner notes and a press text from a freelance writer and monthly advice from a communications adviser. No amounts are used.

The writer

The writer says she works as a self-employed professional. The label manager asks for three things in the offer email: the capacity, the document type and a gross figure. After delivery the writer sends a professional receipt. The manager compares name, amount and description with the email, then forwards the receipt to bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping notes that the withholding question hangs on the label's own status and on the nature of the work, and it calculates the deduction itself. The manager sends the writer a short message with gross, deduction and net before paying. The writer sees the figures, raises no objection and the payment goes out.

The adviser

The adviser works through a limited company and will send an invoice. The label sees this as a different file entirely. When the invoice arrives, its service description does not match the contract wording on the monthly scope. The manager asks for a corrected document and holds the payment until it arrives.

Retainer or one-off

The manager notices that the writer's work is a one-off delivery while the adviser works on a monthly retainer, so the label keeps two different folders. In the writer's folder sit the offer, the receipt and the bank slip. In the adviser's folder sit the contract, a monthly invoice, a monthly slip and a short note of what was delivered that month.

Payment day, step by step

1. Receive the receipt or invoice.
2. Compare name or company title, amount and description with the contract.
3. Confirm the withholding question with accounting.
4. If a deduction applies, set it aside in the amount accounting calculated.
5. Pay by bank transfer and file the slip next to the document.
6. Tell the freelancer that payment has been made and what was set aside.

A bank slip proves a transfer, not the reason for it. The VAT Law (Opens in a new tab) contains a provision in article 9, paragraph 2: where a purchase of services without a document is established, the VAT lost is claimed from the taxpayer who bought the service. That provision concerns VAT, and whether a given purchase counts as documentless depends on the facts. It still shows why a transfer receipt alone is not a safe end to the process. Article 1 of the same law lists transactions made within self-employed activity among those subject to VAT, so the tax picture of a writer's fee is wider than income tax withholding. Note the VAT side separately.

Booking the deduction

Accounting needs three figures: the gross, the deduction and the net paid out. Send all three on payment day, in writing. The documentation has no statement on the dates for declaring and paying the deduction. Practical suggestion: write the payment date in the calendar and attach it to the deduction record.

Informing the freelancer

A freelancer may notice the deduction only after the money arrives. A short message before payment, giving gross, deduction, net and the date, saves a conversation later and gives the freelancer something to enter into their own books.

Advances and instalments

Article 94 includes advances in the payments subject to withholding at the moment of payment. That raises a question for the label: if you give the writer a deposit when the job starts, is the withholding question already live? The sentence covers advances, so record the payment order in writing. On amounts and rates the documentation has no statement.

Table: payment pattern and the matching question.

If the capacity changes during a long engagement, for instance when a freelancer sets up a company and starts invoicing, the document type changes too. Tell accounting before the next payment.

Work delivered in parts

If you agree a five-track booklet and pay per delivery, write down whether you expect one document per payment or one at the end. When payments and documents do not match one to one, pairing slips with documents becomes difficult. Practical suggestion: put the booklet part or the track title in the bank slip description.

The first email, step by step

The real work in this topic happens before any text is written. A short first email does that work, and it can be adapted for any freelancer.

What the email asks

Open with the job in one sentence, then ask the capacity, the document type, the gross or net basis and the planned payment date. Ask the freelancer to answer each item on its own line. A reply that merges the answers into one paragraph is harder to file and harder to compare with the later document.

What the reply gives you

The reply is your first record. If the freelancer answers "self-employed professional, professional receipt, gross", you already know which path the payment follows. If the reply is vague, ask once more, then pause. A vague answer at the start turns into a document problem at the end, because nobody has agreed anything concrete.

When the freelancer asks you a question back

If a freelancer asks whether you will deduct something, the answer follows the principle in your contract: you deduct what the law in force requires, if anything. Do not quote a figure from memory. A wrong figure in a chat message becomes a promise.

Filing the exchange

Save the email thread as a PDF or keep it in a labelled folder with the job name and the month. When the receipt or invoice arrives, drop it into the same folder. At month end the folder is the whole story: the question, the answer, the document, the slip and the note to the freelancer. A reader can take it in within a few minutes, and so can you a year later when you have forgotten the details.

Where to keep it

If the label uses a shared drive, give bookkeeping read access to the folder rather than forwarding files one by one. Whatever you choose, keep one place for each job so that nothing lives only in a personal inbox.

Points to settle in your own records

The goal is a good question, not a verdict. Send the list by email so the answers are written too.

1. Which of the article 94 parties does our company count as?
2. Into which paragraph does this writer's work fall?
3. Is there a deduction on this payment, on what amount and on which document?
4. We promised a net figure: how do we recalculate the gross?
5. When must the deduction be declared and paid?
6. If the writer starts invoicing through a company, how do our records change?
7. What is the VAT consequence of a payment made without a document?

The first two questions are about status and decide the rest. Do not ask for a calculation before you have those two answers.

Decision rule: does this payment raise a deduction question?

1. Is the payee a self-employed professional or a company? A company sends an invoice, and the deduction question needs a separate look.
2. If self-employed, does the job fall within the article 94 paragraph on self-employed work? Confirm it against the documents.
3. In which capacity do you appear in the opening list? That decides whether you deduct.
4. Did you agree gross or net? A net promise may need a recalculated gross.
5. Is the document in hand before payment? If not, hold the payment.

If one answer is unclear, the unclear answer is the question for accounting. Ask it as "in this capacity and for this job, does a deduction arise?" rather than "should I pay now?".

The records pack for accounting

Table: records pack.

Checklist

• The freelancer's capacity was obtained in writing.
• The document type matches the offer.
• Gross or net is stated in the contract.
• The withholding question was confirmed with accounting.
• Slip and document sit in one folder.
• The freelancer was told what was set aside.

A note from the freelancer's side

A freelancer faces the same document question. Whether she works as a self-employed professional or through a company decides what she issues. If she is organised, she sends the capacity, the document type and a clear gross figure in the first reply, and the payment stage shrinks. For a long relationship, agree a standing arrangement: the same document type, the same delivery day, the same payment terms, so that each month does not become a new negotiation.

What goes wrong

Waiting for the paperwork until after payment

Article 94 speaks of withholding at the time of payment. If you pay first and wait for the paperwork, the information you need for the deduction may not be in your hands. Practical suggestion: ask for the document by email before payment and take the original afterwards.

Treating the bank slip as the document

A slip shows that money moved. It does not show what the money was for. Keep both.

Reusing last year's contract wording

A contract copied from an earlier freelancer may name a different capacity or document type. Update the capacity, the document type and the gross or net line every time.

Treating a retainer like a one-off article

A monthly engagement needs a document every month and a scope description that matches. A scope that was never written down turns into an argument at the end of the month.

Assuming a small amount needs no document

Document questions do not depend on the size of the amount. Article 9, paragraph 2 of the VAT Law speaks of purchases of services without a document and states no amount. Ask for a document every time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which document does a self-employed professional issue instead of an invoice?

A self-employed professional issues a professional receipt, on paper or electronically under the e-SMM rules. A company issues an invoice. The capacity of the payee decides which document you receive.

Does the e-SMM page say who has to issue electronic receipts?

The page addresses self-employed professionals and states that issuing under the e-SMM rules is mandatory once a person is covered by them. The page itself sets out the scope and the dates.

Who is obliged to withhold under article 94?

The opening of article 94 lists the parties, among them public bodies, trading companies, associations, foundations, cooperatives and traders and self-employed professionals who must declare their real income. Whether the payment you make falls under a listed paragraph depends on your status and on the work. This is not legal advice.

Why should a contract say gross or net?

One figure can mean two amounts. Writing gross or net next to it prevents a mismatch on payment day.

What is the deduction rate?

The documentation has no statement on a rate here. The documentation has no statement on a rate.

What if the freelancer refuses to issue any document?

Ask in writing first. If the answer is still no, hold the payment and record the refusal in writing, because a purchase of services without a document can have VAT consequences under article 9, paragraph 2 of the VAT Law.

Conclusion

Three habits carry the weight: ask the payee's capacity in writing, take the document before you pay, and write gross or net next to every figure. The withholding question under article 94 depends on your own capacity and on the nature of the work, so settle it in writing before the money moves. This is not legal advice.

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