If you have employees, the second half of the month: from the timesheet to the SGK payment

Gülay Hanım the restaurant owner's kitchen

There are four employees at Gülay Hanım's tradesmen's restaurant. The kitchen has an order: first the vegetables are chopped, then the pot goes on the stove, then the plate goes out to be served. Vegetables that haven't been chopped don't go on the stove.

The wage side has an order like this too. Gülay Hanım learned it the hard way: one month she sent the timesheet a week late, the payroll wasn't ready in time, and the wages were two days late. In this lesson we set up this order for the second half of the month.

You saw how the timesheet is kept and how the wage day is chosen in the lesson Paying wages and the timesheet, and how the payroll is calculated from gross to net in the lesson The first payroll. We don't repeat them here; we place them in the month's calendar.

The order: five steps

1. Timesheet. In the last week of the month, look over the timesheet (puantaj) once: are sick reports, leave, days not attended and overtime written down? Send it to the mali müşavir as soon as the month ends. If you pay wages at the end of the month, send the timesheet around the 25th; if there is a sick report or leave in the remaining days, tell your mali müşavir before the return is filed. If someone started or left work during the month, you should already have notified SGK: as a rule, a new starter at least one day before they start work, and a leaver within 10 days from the day they left. Mark it on the timesheet as well.

2. Payroll. Your mali müşavir prepares the payroll from the timesheet and tells you each employee's net wage, the deductions and the SGK premium. If the timesheet goes late, every step after it slips.

3. Wage. You pay the net wage into the employee's own account. Write the period in the description: "October 2026 wage."

4. Return. Your mali müşavir files the withholding and premium service return. You pay the income tax and stamp duty withheld from wages by the 26th. These taxes are generally not withheld from the wage of an employee on the minimum wage; if the wage is above the minimum wage, they are withheld only on the part above it. The payroll tells you the amount. Under simplified taxation the return is still filed and the SGK premium is still paid; the tax withholding side is different, so ask your mali müşavir.

5. SGK premium. The employee's share and your employer's share are paid together by the last day of the following month. If the last day falls on a holiday, it moves to the first working day.

Wage day and filing day are different things

This is what confused Gülay Hanım most: "I pay wages on the 5th of the month, the return is on the 26th. Which belongs to which month?"

The return goes by the month worked. Days worked in October go into the October payroll, and the October payroll goes into the return filed on 26 November. Whether you pay the wage on 31 October or 5 November does not change this date. If you give part of the wage as an advance in the middle of the month, tell your mali müşavir separately; they decide how it is shown on the payroll.

What really needs watching is the calendar of money going out. Gülay Hanım's outgoings in November for October are roughly these (round example figures; the payroll gives the real amount):

100,000 lira goes out at the start of the month, 58,000 lira in its last week. Money comes into the restaurant's till every day, but you need to know about these two waves in advance. When choosing the wage day, take this end-of-month wave into account too. Not missing the last day for the SGK premium is especially important: in a month paid late, the Treasury discount and other incentives can be lost (What is an incentive?).

Three or more employees: wages through the bank

Since 1 July 2025, employers within the scope of the Labour Law with at least three employees across Türkiye have had to pay the net wage through the bank (Official Gazette 04.06.2025). The threshold used to be five employees. Gülay Hanım has four employees; she pays the wages through the bank, into an account opened in each employee's own name. With one or two employees it is not compulsory, but a bank record is the strongest proof of what you paid to whom.

The second half of the month, day by day

• Around the 20th of the month: The previous month's muhtasar and SGK amounts come from the mali müşavir; set the money aside.
• The 26th: The return goes; pay the taxes withheld.
• Last week: Pay the previous month's SGK premium. Check this month's timesheet.
• When the month ends: Send the timesheet; have the payroll in hand before wage day.

Gülay Hanım applied the kitchen's order to wages too: the payroll doesn't go on the stove until the timesheet is prepared. Last month the wages went in on the day, and the SGK premium was paid three days before the last day.