A halal ETF (borsa yatırım fonu) in Turkey means one of two things. The first is a Borsa Istanbul-listed participation fund such as Ziraat Portföy's Z30KP, which tracks the BIST Katılım 30 index for a 0.5 percent annual management fee and held just over 8 billion TL on 7 September 2026. The second is a foreign Shariah ETF such as HLAL or SPUS, bought through a broker with access to US markets. The tax treatment splits the same way: the BIST fund is taxed at source under provisional Article 67 and never appears on your return, while the foreign ETF's dividends and gains are declared through the Revenue Administration's Hazır Beyan system each March. This guide explains the listed funds, how to buy them, what they cost and how to decide.
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Which halal ETFs trade on Borsa Istanbul
Borsa Istanbul's exchange-traded fund list flags the funds whose portfolios are built on participation principles. On 7 September 2026 the participation-flagged tickers were GLDTR, GMSTR, ISGLK, OPK30, Z30KE, Z30KP, ZGOLD and ZTLRK. They fall into two groups: precious-metal funds that hold physical gold or silver held in Borsa Istanbul's vault, and equity funds that track a participation index. Each fund's prospectus and monthly report is filed on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), which is where the holdings, fee and tracking data live. The investing hub on this edition lists the participation funds we track.
Z30KP is the reference equity product. Ziraat Portföy's fund page on 7 September 2026 showed a total fund value of about 8.06 billion TL, with roughly 91 percent in equities from the BIST Katılım 30 index and the remaining 9 percent in participation accounts, an annual management fee of 0.5 percent, and a creation unit of 40,000 shares for authorised participants in the primary market. Z30KE is a sister fund from the same manager on the same index; read its KAP prospectus for the difference in distribution policy before assuming the two are interchangeable. Our head-to-head on active KPC versus passive Z30KP and the Ziraat Portföy profile go deeper on the manager.
The gold funds are the other half of the shelf. ZGOLD from Ziraat Portföy and GLDTR hold physical gold; GMSTR holds silver. They are participation-compliant because the metal is allocated and held in the exchange's precious metals vault, and the fund does not lend it out. Our comparison of KZL, ZGOLD and the Darphane certificate weighs the gold ETF against the gold mutual fund and the state mint certificate, which are the three ways to hold gold on Borsa Istanbul without a bank.
Why the BIST Katılım 30 screen matters
An equity ETF is only as halal as its index. The BIST Katılım indices are screened under the Participation Finance Standards published by the TKBB, which exclude companies whose main business is interest-based finance, alcohol, gambling, pork or similar activities and then apply financial ratio limits on interest-bearing debt, interest-bearing assets and impermissible income. Our guide to the BIST Katılım indices sets out the thresholds and covers how KAT30 is rebuilt. When a company fails the screen at review, the index drops it and the ETF sells it, so the investor is not asked to track each holding.
Two things the screen does not do. It does not remove the small amount of impermissible income that passing companies still earn, so purification remains the investor's job; the fund managers publish the information needed to estimate it in their periodic reports. And it does not make the fund a cash substitute: Z30KP's 9 percent in participation accounts earns a profit share, but 91 percent of the fund rises and falls with thirty Turkish shares, and the fund's monthly report on KAP lists them.
How to buy a participation ETF on Borsa Istanbul
- Open an account with any brokerage that trades Borsa Istanbul equities; the ETF trades like a share, so a participation-focused broker such as Kuveyt Türk Yatırım is convenient but not required.
- Confirm your Central Registry Agency (MKK) investor record is active, since ETF units are held there in your name, not at the fund manager.
- Search the ticker with its .F suffix, for example Z30KP.F, and check the indicative net asset value the exchange publishes against the quoted price before you trade.
- Use a limit order rather than a market order, because participation ETFs trade less often than the largest shares and the spread can widen.
- Record the purchase price and date; your broker calculates the Article 67 withholding on sale, but you will want the figures for zakat and purification.
- Hold the units in the same brokerage account as your other BIST holdings so losses and gains net within the quarter under the withholding rules.
Trading costs are the broker's commission plus the bid-ask spread; the 0.5 percent management fee is deducted inside the fund daily and does not appear on your statement. Our Kuveyt Türk Yatırım review covers the one brokerage that screens the whole order book for you, which removes the risk of buying a non-participation ETF by mistake.
Buying HLAL, SPUS and other global halal ETFs from Turkey
Turkish investors looking for diversification beyond thirty domestic shares usually land on the US-listed Shariah ETFs: HLAL, which tracks a FTSE Shariah index of US shares, and SPUS, which tracks a Shariah-screened version of the S&P 500, along with UCITS Islamic ETFs listed in London and Frankfurt. None of these are listed on Borsa Istanbul. To buy them from Turkey you need either a Turkish brokerage that offers overseas market access or a foreign broker that accepts Turkish residents, and you need dollars or euros, so the lira conversion spread is part of the cost. Fees, dividend withholding and custody arrangements for each fund are published by the issuer and the broker; we did not verify them for this article, so read the fund's own factsheet before you compare.
The trade-off is between breadth and friction. A global halal ETF gives you several hundred screened companies across sectors Turkey does not have, in a hard currency, which matters for a saver whose liabilities are in lira but whose fears are about lira. Against that, you take on a foreign broker's terms, a dollar conversion each way, and a tax filing obligation that the BIST fund never creates. For most households the sensible structure is a BIST participation ETF for the lira core and a global ETF for the currency hedge, sized so that the annual return is worth the paperwork. The portfolio logic is the same as for any two-currency saver: core at home, hedge abroad.
| Route | Example | Fee you can verify | Tax treatment | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIST participation equity ETF | Z30KP | 0.5% annual management fee on the fund page | Article 67 withholding, no return | Any BIST brokerage |
| BIST participation gold or silver ETF | ZGOLD, GLDTR, GMSTR | On KAP prospectus | Article 67 withholding, no return | Any BIST brokerage |
| Participation mutual fund on TEFAS | Katılım equity or sukuk funds | In fund prospectus | Article 67 withholding, no return | Bank or brokerage with TEFAS |
| US-listed Shariah ETF | HLAL, SPUS | Issuer factsheet, not verified here | Outside Article 67; annual return for dividends and gains | Broker with US market access |
| UCITS Islamic ETF | London or Frankfurt listings | Issuer factsheet, not verified here | Outside Article 67; annual return | Broker with European market access |
Tax: Article 67 withholding versus the annual return
The Revenue Administration's February 2026 guide for individuals with investment income is the document to read. It states that income from securities and other capital market instruments taxed by withholding under provisional Article 67 of the Income Tax Law is not declared on an annual return regardless of amount, and gives a Borsa Istanbul share-trading gain as its worked example. ETF units traded on Borsa Istanbul fall inside that regime, so your broker withholds on sale and the matter ends there. The same guide confirms that profit shares from participation accounts, which is what the cash sleeve of Z30KP earns, are likewise never declared. Our overview of the taxes on halal money covers the rates.
Foreign ETFs sit outside Article 67 because they are not traded through a Turkish intermediary. The guide lists other investment income obtained from abroad, which covers foreign ETF dividends, among the items that must be declared in full once the total of non-withheld income exceeds the annual threshold, which it gives as 18,000 TL for 2025 income and 22,000 TL for 2026 income. Capital gains on foreign ETFs are handled under the separate rules for gains on disposal, with their own exemption and cost-indexation method, which the Revenue Administration explains in its guide on that topic; we have not reproduced the figures here, so check the current year's guide. Returns are filed between 1 and 31 March through Hazır Beyan, and tax is paid in two instalments in March and July.
The residency rules matter for the diaspora. The guide says a Turkish citizen who lives abroad for more than six months on a work or residence permit is taxed as a non-resident, and files nothing in Turkey if their Turkish income is all withheld investment income. A diaspora investor who buys Z30KP through a Turkish broker therefore has no Turkish filing, and reports the holding in the country where they live instead. Foreign ETFs held abroad by a non-resident are simply outside Turkish tax.
Zakat and purification on ETF holdings
ETF units are zakatable like the shares they hold. The simplest method used by Turkish calculators is to take the market value of your units on your zakat date and pay 2.5 percent, which overstates zakat slightly for a fund that holds some non-zakatable fixed assets but avoids the accounting. Our working method for zakat on stocks, funds and BES explains the alternative that uses the fund's balance-sheet composition, and the zakat hub has the nisab references. Purification is separate from zakat: estimate the share of the fund's dividend income that came from impermissible sources using the manager's report and give that amount away.
Who should choose what
A resident saver building a first halal equity position should buy Z30KP through any BIST brokerage, hold it alongside a gold ETF or the Darphane certificate for the metal sleeve, and never think about a tax return. The 0.5 percent fee is printed, the withholding is automatic and the screen is maintained by the index. A saver who already holds the lira core and wants hard-currency diversification should add a US or UCITS Shariah ETF through a broker that offers it, accept the conversion spread and the March filing, and keep the position large enough that the diversification is worth that effort. Check the fee and dividend treatment on the issuer's factsheet, which we did not verify here.
A diaspora investor should reverse the logic: buy global halal ETFs where you live, where the tax filing is local anyway, and use Turkish participation ETFs only if you want Turkish equity exposure specifically, in which case a Turkish brokerage account and non-resident status mean nothing to file in Turkey. Whichever you are, read the KAP prospectus for any BIST fund before buying, because the ticker list changes and not every fund with a familiar manager is participation-flagged. Facts checked against borsaistanbul.com, ziraatportfoy.com.tr, kap.org.tr, gib.gov.tr on 7 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which halal ETFs are listed on Borsa Istanbul?
On 7 September 2026 Borsa Istanbul's ETF list flagged GLDTR, GMSTR, ISGLK, OPK30, Z30KE, Z30KP, ZGOLD and ZTLRK as participation funds. Z30KP and Z30KE from Ziraat Portföy track the BIST Katılım 30 equity index; ZGOLD and GLDTR hold physical gold and GMSTR holds silver. Read each fund's prospectus on KAP, since the list changes.
What does the Z30KP ETF cost?
Ziraat Portföy's fund page lists an annual management fee of 0.5 percent, deducted inside the fund daily. On 7 September 2026 the fund held about 8.06 billion TL, roughly 91 percent in BIST Katılım 30 shares and 9 percent in participation accounts. You also pay your broker's commission and the bid-ask spread when you trade the units.
Can I buy HLAL or SPUS from Turkey?
Yes, through a Turkish brokerage that offers overseas market access or a foreign broker that accepts Turkish residents, funded in dollars. Neither fund is listed on Borsa Istanbul. Fees and dividend withholding are set by the issuer and broker and were not verified for this article, so read the factsheet. Dividends and gains fall outside Article 67 and go on your March return.
Do I pay tax on a Borsa Istanbul ETF in Turkey?
Tax is withheld by your broker under provisional Article 67 of the Income Tax Law when you sell, and the Revenue Administration's 2026 guide states that such income is not declared on an annual return regardless of amount. Nothing further is filed. The participation account profit earned by the fund's cash sleeve is also outside the return.
Do I have to declare a foreign halal ETF on my Turkish tax return?
Yes if you are tax resident in Turkey. The Revenue Administration's guide lists investment income obtained from abroad among items declared in full once non-withheld income exceeds 22,000 TL for 2026. Gains on disposal follow separate rules with their own exemption and indexation, set out in the Administration's guide on that topic. Returns are filed between 1 and 31 March through Hazır Beyan.
Compare providers in your region
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Is an ETF halal if it holds a little cash in participation accounts?
Yes. Z30KP holds about 9 percent in participation accounts, which earn a profit share from trade-based contracts rather than interest, so the cash sleeve is as compliant as the equity sleeve. What still requires attention is purification of the small impermissible income that screened companies earn, which the manager's reports let you estimate and give away.
