Software sector's
R&D and incentive map.

Correct. Under Law No. 5746, R&D centre status can be established in the company's own building without techno-park membership. The R&D centre must operate in a physically separate space; however, this space does not need to be within a techno-park. This opens up the R&D incentive mechanisms to a much wider software company base.

A minimum of 15 full-time R&D personnel is required. At least 50% of these must be university graduates. In software companies, developers, data scientists, AI engineers and algorithm researchers can be counted as R&D personnel; however, operations, sales and support roles do not count. The roles of each personnel must be documented in the application file.

Design centre is established under Law No. 5550; R&D centre under Law No. 5746. The personnel threshold for design centre is 10; lower than R&D centre. However, the R&D deduction rate for design centre is lower. For software companies primarily engaged in product design, design centre may be a faster starting point; transitioning to R&D centre as the team grows is the optimal strategy.

Yes. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning are among TÜBİTAK's priority areas. Programme 1511 offers a higher grant rate for projects in these areas. It is important to distinguish the project from routine software development; it must contain genuine research uncertainty — an innovation that cannot be derived from existing literature or commercial tools.

They can be used together but with careful cost segregation. The same personnel expense cannot be counted in both the TÜBİTAK grant budget and the R&D centre deduction calculation. Expenditures must be tracked with project-based allocation. Incorrect allocation leads to both grant refund risk and R&D deduction rejection.