Guide · Israel
Purchase tax and what buying in Israel really costs
The price on the advert is not what you pay. Purchase tax comes on top, and how much depends less on the home than on who you are: an Israeli resident buying an only home, a new immigrant, or a buyer from abroad. Here are the brackets in force today and the other bills to expect.
A six-minute read · Figures checked October 2026
01
The same ₪3,000,000 flat, three different tax bills
| Who is buying | Purchase tax | Share of the price |
|---|---|---|
| Israeli resident, only home | ₪45,538 | 1.5% |
| New immigrant, only home | ₪5,106 | 0.2% |
| Foreign resident, or a second home | ₪240,000 | 8% |
Calculated from the brackets below. Purchase tax is charged in steps: each rate applies only to the part of the price inside its bracket.
02
An Israeli resident buying an only home
| Part of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to ₪1,978,745 | 0% |
| ₪1,978,745 – ₪2,347,040 | 3.5% |
| ₪2,347,040 – ₪6,055,070 | 5% |
| ₪6,055,070 – ₪20,183,565 | 8% |
| Above ₪20,183,565 | 10% |
In force from 16 January 2024 to 15 January 2028. The brackets are normally updated every 16 January but are frozen for the tax years 2025 to 2027.
- The buyer must be an individual who is an Israeli resident, and the flat must be their only one in Israel. Homes owned abroad do not count.
- A couple and their unmarried children under 18 count as one buyer.
- Moving home: you keep these brackets on the new flat if you sell the old one within 24 months of buying (within 12 months of the contractual handover date when you buy from a developer).
- Moving to Israel: a buyer who becomes an Israeli resident for the first time within two years after the purchase counts as a resident for these brackets.
Source: Israel Tax Authority — Execution Instruction 1/2025, update and freeze of amounts (Hebrew) · Israel Tax Authority — guide for sellers and buyers of land rights, 2026 (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — calculating purchase tax (Hebrew)
03
Foreign residents, and anyone buying an additional home
| Part of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to ₪6,055,070 | 8% |
| Above ₪6,055,070 | 10% |
A temporary provision, in force since November 2021 and extended to 31 December 2026. The Finance Minister may extend it again; check the rate if you sign in 2027.
The only-home brackets are given to Israeli residents. A buyer who is not an Israeli resident therefore pays this scale even when the flat is the only home they own in Israel — unless they become a resident within two years of buying, as above.
Source: Land Taxation (Betterment and Purchase) Law, 1963 (Hebrew text) · Israel Tax Authority — Execution Instruction 1/2025, update and freeze of amounts (Hebrew)
04
New immigrants (olim)
| Part of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to ₪1,978,745 | 0% |
| ₪1,978,745 – ₪6,055,070 | 0.5% |
| ₪6,055,070 – ₪20,183,565 | 8% |
The reformed benefit, in force since 15 August 2024. For a home priced above ₪20,183,565 the benefit does not apply at all.
- It applies to a home that is your only one (or replaces your only one), bought between one year before you arrive as an immigrant and seven years after. Compulsory military or national service does not count towards the seven years.
- It is given once for a home.
- A married couple gets it on the whole purchase even if only one spouse is a new immigrant.
- You claim it on Tax Authority form 2973, filed together with the purchase declaration.
- If you immigrated before 15 August 2024 you may still choose the earlier track instead: 0.5% up to ₪1,988,090 and 5% above, with no price ceiling.
Source: Kol Zchut — purchase tax discount for new immigrants (Hebrew) · Israel Tax Authority — guide for sellers and buyers of land rights, 2026 (Hebrew)
05
When it is due
- Report the purchase to the Tax Authority within 30 days of signing the contract.
- Pay the tax within 60 days of signing, on your own calculation. From day 61 linkage and interest are added.
- If the Tax Authority assesses more than you calculated, the difference is due within 15 days.
- The Land Registry will not register the home in your name until the tax is paid in full.
Source: Israel Tax Authority — guide for sellers and buyers of land rights, 2026 (Hebrew) · Land Taxation (Betterment and Purchase) Law, 1963 (Hebrew text)
06
The other bills
| Cost | How much | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Estate agent | Around 2% of the price + VAT | Custom — negotiable, agreed in writing |
| Your lawyer | A percentage of the price + VAT | Agreement — not regulated |
| Developer's lawyer (new builds only) | At most ₪5,915 or 0.5%, whichever is lower, + VAT | Law |
| Registering the sale | ₪44 | Land Registry fee, 2026 |
| Registering a mortgage | ₪188 | Land Registry fee, 2026 |
| Registering a warning note | ₪188 | Land Registry fee, 2026 |
| Land Registry extract | ₪18 online | Land Registry fee, 2026 |
VAT in Israel is 18% since 1 January 2025. A bank that lends to you will also ask for a valuation by one of its appraisers, at your cost.
Every listing on Vesty works these costs out for its own price: open a home for sale and see “Costs & taxes”.
Source: Land Regulations (Fees), 1974, amounts for 2026 (Hebrew text) · Sale (Apartments) Law, 1973 (Hebrew text) · Israel Tax Authority — VAT at 18% from 1 January 2025 (Hebrew)
In short
This guide explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change; check the sources above and ask an Israeli lawyer before you sign.