This lawsuit fee and expense advance calculator is provided by Hesapstan for estimating filing-stage court fees and expense advances in Turkey, including application fees, proportional or fixed judgment fees, upfront fees and HMK expense advance items.
What does this lawsuit fee and expense advance calculator estimate?
This calculator estimates the core amounts that may be needed when filing a civil lawsuit in Turkey. It focuses on the filing-stage estimate, not the full cost of the whole litigation process.
- For monetary claims, it estimates the proportional judgment fee and the 25% upfront portion.
- It applies the 732 TL minimum proportional fee floor when the calculated fee is lower.
- It provides court-type options for the application filing fee.
- For non-monetary cases, it uses the general fixed judgment fee and allows manual override.
- It estimates the HMK expense advance from the number of parties, notice cost and the fixed 530 TL amount.
Actual amounts may change because of court type, exemptions, fee waivers, counterclaims, expert reports, site inspections, appeal stages or UYAP/court cashier practice. Use this as an orientation tool before filing.
What are lawsuit fees in Turkey?
Lawsuit fees are public court fees paid for judicial procedures such as filing a case or receiving a judgment. The type and amount of fee depends on whether the case has a monetary value.
If the claim has a monetary value, a proportional fee usually applies. If the case is not directly measurable in money, a fixed fee is usually used.
A court fee is a public charge. An expense advance is money deposited for notices, postage and other procedural expenses; it may be partly returned if unused.
What is the expense advance?
The expense advance is the amount deposited when filing the lawsuit so that the court can cover notice, postage and similar procedural expenses. It is not the same as a non-refundable fee.
For 2026, the formula is based on five notices for each party plus 530 TL for other procedural work. The calculator keeps the notice unit cost editable because actual notice costs may change.
The unused part of the expense advance may be returned after the judgment becomes final. If the advance is not enough, the court may ask for an additional advance.
How is the proportional fee calculated?
For monetary claims, the proportional judgment fee is calculated at 6.831% of the claim value under the 2026 tariff. The calculator then checks the minimum fee floor before calculating the upfront portion.
- Enter the claim value.
- The calculator first calculates claim value × 6.831%.
- If the result is below 732 TL, the 732 TL minimum is used.
- The filing-stage upfront fee is 25% of that amount.
The 25% upfront fee is paid at filing. The remaining part of the proportional fee may arise at the judgment stage depending on the outcome and court practice.
Why does the minimum proportional fee matter?
The minimum proportional fee prevents very small claim values from producing unrealistically tiny court fees. For 2026, this calculator uses 732 TL as the minimum proportional judgment fee.
For example, a 5,000 TL claim would produce a raw proportional fee of 341.55 TL. Since this is below the minimum, the calculator uses 732 TL as the basis and calculates the upfront portion from that amount.
The minimum floor is especially important for small claims. Without it, the filing-stage fee would look lower than the official tariff allows.
How should the filing fee selector be used?
The application filing fee varies by court type. The calculator provides verified 2026 options and also keeps a manual option for special cases.
- Sulh Civil Court: 335.20 TL.
- Asliye / Administrative courts: 732 TL.
- Regional appellate court / Court of Cassation / Council of State: 1,124.50 TL.
- Constitutional Court: 6,024.10 TL.
- Manual/custom entry for special cases.
The wrong court type will produce the wrong filing fee estimate. If your file has a special route, exemption or fee waiver, use manual entry or verify the amount officially.
How does the fixed-fee mode work?
The fixed-fee mode is for cases that are not directly based on a monetary claim. It uses the general fixed judgment fee as a default and allows manual correction for special fixed-fee categories.
The default general fixed judgment fee is 732 TL. If the case involves a special category, such as a different fixed decision fee, the manual option should be used.
The fixed-fee result does not include attorney fees, later expert expenses, appeal fees or enforcement costs.
What does the estimated filing cost mean?
The estimated filing cost shows the amount likely to be considered at the lawsuit filing stage. It is not the full cost of the lawsuit from beginning to end.
- In proportional mode, the upfront fee is only 25% of the full proportional judgment fee.
- The remaining portion may be collected later depending on the judgment.
- The expense advance may be spent, increased or partly returned.
- Expert, witness, site inspection and other expenses are user-entered estimates.
The final litigation cost may change with evidence, experts, site inspections, counterclaims, appeals, fee exemptions and the final judgment.
How should expert, witness and inspection expenses be entered?
Expert, witness and site inspection costs vary by case. The calculator therefore keeps these fields manual instead of pretending to calculate every possible procedural expense automatically.
A simple claim may not require any of these costs. A technical, commercial, construction, rental, real-estate or employment dispute may require one or more of them.
The manual fields help the user create a more realistic filing budget without turning the calculator into a full litigation-cost simulator.
When is this calculation useful?
This calculation is useful before filing a lawsuit in Turkey, especially when the user wants to distinguish court fees, expense advance and optional procedural costs.
- Estimating filing costs for a monetary claim.
- Checking the effect of the minimum proportional fee floor in small claims.
- Estimating the expense advance from party count and notice cost.
- Comparing court-type filing fee options.
- Adding expected expert, witness or inspection costs to a filing budget.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is reading the filing-stage estimate as the total lawsuit cost. Another common mistake is treating the expense advance as a non-refundable fee.
- Ignoring the minimum proportional fee floor.
- Using the wrong court type for the application filing fee.
- Confusing 25% upfront fee with the full proportional judgment fee.
- Assuming unused expense advance is always spent.
- Thinking attorney fees or enforcement costs are included.
This calculator is useful for early planning, but official filing and case strategy should still be checked with the court cashier, UYAP or a qualified legal professional.
What is not covered?
This calculator covers the core filing-stage items only. It does not attempt to calculate every possible court cost or procedural scenario.
- Counterclaim, intervention or joined-file fees.
- Appeal, cassation and higher-court fee details.
- Family-court reductions, legal-aid eligibility or fee exemptions.
- Attorney fees and opposing party attorney fees.
- Enforcement costs after judgment.
- Special fixed-fee categories not selected in the calculator.
For official filing, always verify the current tariff, court type, exemptions and UYAP/court cashier amount before paying.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the lawsuit fee calculated in Turkey?
For monetary claims, the calculator uses 6.831% of the claim value, applies the 732 TL minimum if needed, and then shows 25% of that amount as the upfront filing fee.
Is the expense advance a court fee?
No. It is an advance for notices, postage and other procedural work. Any unused amount may be returned after the judgment becomes final.
Is the estimated filing cost the full lawsuit cost?
No. It is a filing-stage estimate only. Later expert costs, appeals, remaining proportional fees or other expenses may arise.
Why does court type matter for the filing fee?
The 2026 tariff sets different application fees for different court categories, so the correct court type should be selected.
Are attorney fees included?
No. Attorney fees, opposing party attorney fees and enforcement costs are separate from this calculator.