Which Records Are Corporate Taxpayers Obliged to Keep?

Books that must be kept are highly important for corporate tax taxpayers to conduct their activities in compliance with regulations and document their financial processes transparently. The books that must be kept according to company type are determined under the Tax Procedure Law and the relevant communiqués. As Üstad, in this week's blog post we reviewed the books that corporate tax taxpayers must keep.

Books Corporate Tax Taxpayers Are Required to Keep

There are 7 different types of books that corporate tax taxpayers are obligated to keep depending on the company type. The details of these book types are as follows:

Journal Ledger

It is the ledger in which transactions that must be recorded are written in chronological order and itemized regularly by extracting them from documents based on relevant records or evidence. The journal ledger is bound and its pages are consecutively numbered. Loose-leaf ledgers may also be used as long as they comply with tax law. 

General Ledger

It is the ledger that takes the transactions entered in the journal ledger and systematically allocates them to the relevant accounts, collecting them in a classified manner in these accounts. Just like the journal ledger, it is bound and its pages are used with consecutive serial numbers. It is possible to use loose-leaf ledgers as long as they comply with tax law. 

Inventory Ledger

It is the bound ledger with consecutively numbered pages in which the immovables, receivables, debts, cash amount, and the values of assets and liabilities are recorded at the opening of commercial enterprises and at the end of each accounting period after opening. 

The accounting period of these ledgers cannot exceed twelve months. Provided that the relevant provisions in the Tax Procedure Law remain reserved, the inventory is prepared within a period that fits the flow of regular business operations and in any case is recorded in the ledger within three months from the end of the accounting period. 

Share Ledger

These are the bound ledgers with consecutively numbered pages in which company partners are recorded in partnerships limited by shares, limited liability companies, and cooperatives; and shareholders are recorded in joint-stock companies.

In joint-stock companies and partnerships limited by shares, holders of uncertificated shares and registered share certificates, together with usufruct right holders, are recorded in the share ledger. 

Board of Directors Resolution Ledger

In joint-stock companies and cooperatives, it is the bound ledger with consecutively numbered pages in which the resolutions adopted by the board of directors; in partnerships limited by shares, by the manager or managers regarding company management, are recorded. 

General Assembly Meeting and Deliberation Ledger

It is the bound ledger with consecutively numbered pages in which the matters discussed and the decisions taken at the general assembly meetings of legal entity merchants are recorded.

*All details about the ledgers can be found in the “Communiqué on Commercial Books” published in the Official Gazette dated 19.12.2012 and numbered 28502.

Ledgers to Be Kept According to Taxpayer Type

The ledgers that corporate tax taxpayers are obligated to keep are as follows:

Which Ledgers Must Be Kept Electronically?

According to the “Communiqué on Keeping Commercial Books Not Related to the Accounting of the Business in Electronic Environment” published in the Official Gazette dated 14.02.2025 and numbered 32813, the ledgers that must be kept electronically are as follows:

• Share ledger,

• Board of directors resolution ledger,

• Board of managers resolution ledger,

• General assembly meeting and deliberation ledger.

The companies that are obliged to keep these ledgers electronically are as follows:

• Companies registered with the trade registry as of 01.01.2026.

• Companies whose establishment and amendments to articles of association are subject to the approval of the Ministry of Trade, including companies subject to the Capital Markets Law, insurance companies, banks, and holdings established as joint-stock companies. 

Companies that have started keeping their ledgers electronically cannot revert to using physical ledgers again for any reason. No opening or closing approval is required for ledgers kept in electronic environment.

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