How Do You Issue a VAT Withholding Return Invoice? Walkthrough of a Sample Draft

A VAT withholding return invoice is the e-invoice (e-Fatura) that the returning party issues using the TEVKIFATIADE type when goods or services billed on an invoice subject to VAT (KDV) withholding (tevkifat) are returned. In this guide, we walk through the VAT withholding return invoice field by field using a sample draft that we actually prepared in the e-Fatura portal and stored with Save to Drafts (Taslaklara Kaydet). The sample is the return of the code 625 invoice from our VAT withholding invoice sample draft guide, so you can compare the two documents side by side.

Who issues a VAT withholding return invoice, and when?

The return invoice is issued by the party returning the goods or services. If both parties are e-Fatura taxpayers, the returning party issues an e-Fatura of type IADE; if the original invoice was subject to withholding, the type becomes TEVKIFATIADE and the return invoice references the original invoice. In other words, the buyer who received the original invoice and declared the withholding becomes the party issuing the invoice when making the return.

Not every return requires a new document:

• Commercial scenario: If the buyer rejected a commercial invoice within 8 days, no separate return invoice is issued; the rejection response is sufficient.
• Basic scenario: There is no accept/reject response; the return is documented with a return invoice.
• Sales to consumers: A consumer who is not a taxpayer cannot issue a return invoice. In this case, the seller issues an expense voucher (gider pusulası) for consumer returns.

You can find the difference between cancellation and return, and which one to choose in which situation, in detail in our e-Fatura cancellation and return invoice guide.

Summary of the sample draft

The fields and values we used in the draft are listed below. The amounts in the table are sample calculations.

Sample invoice: preview of the draft

The image below is the draft's Invoice Preview (Fatura Ön İzleme) output in the portal. The seller and buyer details, ETTN and QR code data were changed; the product, amount, code and note fields are the same as in the draft. ABC2099999999999 in the Invoice No field is a placeholder assigned for the preview; the real number is assigned when the invoice is created.

Points to note in the image:

• Invoice Type: TEVKIFATIADE appears in the information box.
• On the line, the VAT Amount in the example reads 2,800.00 TL; there is no withholding line. The amount payable is 22,800.00 TL.
• The Invoices Subject to Return table to the left of the totals shows the linked invoice number and date (DIP2026000000001, October 13, 2026 in the example).

Step-by-step VAT withholding return invoice draft

1. Basic Information: buyer, scenario and invoice type

On the Create Invoice (Fatura Oluştur) screen, first select the buyer. When you pick from the saved buyer list, the tax number, trade name, tax office and e-Fatura alias (mailbox) are filled in automatically. Since the buyer in the example is a registered e-Fatura user, Basic E-Invoice was selected as the scenario. Next, select Withholding Return (Tevkifat İade) from the Invoice Type list. The list shows types such as Sales, Return, Withholding, Withholding Return, Exemption, Special Base and Export-Registered side by side; to return an invoice without withholding, the plain Return type is used.

If you are not sure whether your buyer is an e-Fatura user, first run an e-Fatura taxpayer lookup. A return-type e-Fatura is issued only if both parties are e-Fatura taxpayers.

2. Invoice Information: the linked invoice

As soon as Withholding Return is selected, two mandatory fields are added to the Invoice Information section:

• Linked Sales Invoice Number: The number of the original invoice you are returning. The field's hint text is in the format "E.g.: ABC2024000000001": a 3-character prefix, a 4-digit year and a 9-digit sequence number, 16 characters in total. In the example, we entered DIP2026000000001.
• Linked Invoice Date: The issue date of the original invoice, entered with the date picker. In the example, we used October 13, 2026.

These two pieces of information show which invoice the return invoice belongs to. We also saw that the saved draft's data stores them as an "IADE" type reference (invoice number and date) to the original invoice. Copy the number from the original invoice; a single wrong character makes it harder for the buyer to match the return.

3. Product / Service line and withholding code

Fill in the line as on the original invoice: product or service name, quantity, unit, unit price and VAT rate. In the example, we used "ÖRNEK HİZMET - Ticari Reklam Hizmeti (İade)", 1 Piece and 20% VAT; the sample invoice amount on the line is 20,000.00 TL.

In the Withholding column, select the same code as on the original invoice. In the example, this code is 625 (commercial advertising services, rate 3/10). For the full list of codes, see our VAT withholding codes and rates guide. If the columns don't fit on a narrow screen, you can open all columns with Expand Table.

4. Check the totals

After the code was selected, the totals came out as follows (sample calculation):

• Product / Service total amount: 20,000.00 TL
• Calculated VAT (20%): 2,800.00 TL
• Total amount including taxes: 22,800.00 TL
• Amount payable: 22,800.00 TL

Note: the "Calculated VAT Withholding (−)" line seen on the original withholding invoice does not appear on the return invoice. In the saved draft data as well, VAT is stored as 2,800 and there is no separate withholding block.

5. Save to Drafts

Click Save to Drafts in the Invoice Summary panel on the right. Using the link that comes with the message "Your e-Invoice has been saved as a draft.", you go to the Draft e-Invoices list. The list shows the scenario, invoice type, last edit date, buyer's trade name and VKN; you can reopen the draft with Edit and, after checking it, send it with Create invoice.

Why is the return VAT lower?

On the original withholding invoice, VAT is split in two. With code 625, the buyer withholds 3/10 of the VAT and pays it with its own return; the seller collects the remaining portion from the buyer. At the sample invoice amount, VAT is 4,000 TL: in this example, 1,200 TL is withholding and the 2,800 TL in the example is the VAT paid to the seller.

The return invoice reverses what was actually paid to the other party on the original invoice. Because the buyer already declared the withheld portion itself, it is not calculated again on the return invoice. That is why the VAT on the return invoice equals the share the seller collected (seven-tenths of the total VAT).

Tevkifat rates differ from code to code; in the formula, replace 3/10 with the rate of the code on the original invoice. Confirm with your certified public accountant (mali müşavir) how the transaction should be tracked in the accounting entries and VAT return corrections.

VAT withholding invoice vs. VAT withholding return invoice

It is no coincidence that the amount payable is the same on both documents: on the original invoice, the buyer paid the seller a total of 22,800 TL; on a full return, this amount comes back.

Partial returns and multiple lines

In the example, the single line on the original invoice was returned in full. In a partial return, only the returned quantity or amount is entered on the line; the withholding code still stays the same as on the original invoice, and the portal reduces the return VAT at the same rate. If the original invoice has multiple lines with different withholding codes, each line is also entered separately with its own code on the return invoice. This way, every item on both the buyer's and the seller's side matches its counterpart on the original invoice one to one.

If multiple returns are made against the same original invoice, the linked invoice number and date on each return invoice point to the same original invoice. Checking in your records that the total of the returns does not exceed the original invoice amount makes reconciliation easier.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the plain Return type: If the original invoice was subject to withholding, the return must also be of type TEVKIFATIADE; the plain Return type is for returns of invoices without withholding.
• Choosing a different withholding code: The code on the return line must match the one on the original invoice; otherwise, the return VAT won't reconcile with the original invoice.
• Mistyping the linked invoice number: Copy the 16-character number from the original invoice; check the prefix and the year.
• Issuing a separate return for a rejected commercial invoice: In the commercial scenario, no new document is needed to return an invoice rejected within the deadline.
• Expecting a return invoice from a consumer: A buyer who is not a taxpayer cannot issue a return invoice; the seller issues an expense voucher.
• Sending the draft without checking it: We observed that the withholding code can come back empty when the draft is reopened; always check the totals before sending.

You can find sample drafts of other invoice types in the sample invoice drafts section, and all types and scenarios in our e-Fatura scenarios and invoice types guide.