Israel Real Estate Purchase Tax (Mas Rechisha): 2026 Guide

Mas Rechisha is the tax the buyer pays on a property purchase in Israel. It is progressive: each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside its band, and the band table depends on who you are (an Israeli resident buying a sole home, anyone buying an additional home, a non-resident, or a new immigrant). This page is the wiki entry for the topic and the deepest tax page in our guide to buying property in Israel; the money around it (lawyer, agent, VAT, registration) is in the total cost of buying a house in Israel. The residential schedules below use the Tax Authority figures and their separate effective periods.

Which purchase-tax schedule applies to you?

Your buyer status decides the whole schedule, and the gap between schedules on one deal can be hundreds of thousands of shekels. Four definitions carry the page. Mas Rechisha is the buyer’s purchase tax. Resident means tax-resident in Israel (your centre of life is here), which is not the same as holding citizenship. Oleh means a new immigrant under the Law of Return. A replacement home is the case where you buy a new home before selling the old one and still get sole-home treatment, provided the old one is sold inside the statutory window.

Israeli resident buying a sole home

For an eligible Israeli-resident individual buying a sole dwelling, Tax Authority instruction 1/2026 sets a zero-rate band up to ILS 1,978,745, then marginal rates of 3.5%, 5%, 8% and 10% on the higher slices. These thresholds apply from 2025-01-16 to 2028-01-15. Buyer classification, family ownership and the replacement-home conditions need individual assessment; the family unit rule (spouses and minor children count as one buyer) is explained in spouse and child first-home status.

Existing owner or investor buying an additional home

For an additional dwelling, the schedule is 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it. There is no zero-rate band. The Tax Authority notice of 12 October 2026 extends this temporary schedule through 2027-02-10 inclusive; no later rate is assumed on this page. Whether a home counts as additional depends on the statutory tests, including homes held by a spouse or minor child.

If you own one home and are buying another to replace it, the new purchase can still be taxed on the sole-home bands when the old home is sold in time. The deadlines are in buying before you sell below.

Non-resident or foreign buyer

A residential purchase by someone who is not an Israeli-resident individual uses the same schedule as an additional home: 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it, from the first shekel. This is the line most foreign buyers under-budget. Sole-dwelling relief depends on the statutory conditions, and owning nothing abroad is not a reliable test of eligibility. The paperwork side is in documents foreign buyers need to buy in Israel, and the resident test itself is in resident versus non-resident status in Israel.

New immigrant (oleh) reduced track

Eligible new immigrants may claim purchase-tax relief under Regulation 12A for a qualifying sole dwelling: 0% up to ILS 1,978,745, 0.5% on the next portion through ILS 6,055,070, and 8% on the portion through ILS 20,183,565. The relief does not apply at all if the full dwelling value exceeds ILS 20,183,565. The rate table is only the calculation stage: the statutory route, immigrant status, ownership conditions, prior claims and timing must also qualify. The route comparison below separates the current residential rules from the older Regulation 12 election. The residential schedule in instruction 1/2026 runs from 2025-01-16 through 2028-01-15. Its separate Regulation 12 business-premises table must not be substituted for these Regulation 12A residential bands. Instruction 1/2026, section 2(c) and its footnote.

Which immigrant route applies to your purchase?

The amendment applies to transactions on or after 15 August 2024. An immigrant whose aliyah date was before that date may elect the earlier Regulation 12 rules instead. That choice is different from the transaction-date test: an earlier aliyah date does not automatically force every later purchase onto the old route. A residential purchase that already received the old Regulation 12 treatment prevents a further residential claim under Regulation 12A. See 2024 amending regulations, Gazette 11414, pages 3248–3249, regulation 3.

Compare the immigrant purchase-tax routes

On a phone, swipe the table to see all columns.

Who counts as an immigrant for this relief? Regulation 12A specifically refers to Regulation 12(a)(1): the qualifying documents include an oleh visa, an oleh certificate or the specified A/1 temporary visa or residence permit. A passport or a general returning-resident label is insufficient by itself. Income-tax treatment for a veteran returning resident and ordinary Israeli-resident sole-dwelling purchase tax are separate questions. The Tax Appeals Committee judgment 59273-01-22, paragraphs 8–12 and 27–29 explains that distinction for an earlier transaction; the new Regulation 12A retains the specific Regulation 12(a)(1) reference.

“Sole dwelling” and “a home you live in” are different tests. The older Regulation 12 residential text expressly required the home for the immigrant’s residence. Regulation 12A instead incorporates the sole or replacement dwelling conditions in section 9(g1g)(2)(a) or (b), and does not repeat that old occupation wording. This does not establish relief for every rental investment: residence, household holdings, replacement conditions, prior use and all other applicable requirements still need assessment. The amendment also carries over Regulation 12(c) for joint purchases with the necessary changes; mixed-status couples should obtain a joint assessment. See the family-ownership rules, the 2024 amending regulations, Gazette 11414, pages 3248–3249, and paragraph 6 of the judgment quoting the older residential rule.

Joint buyers who marry after purchase. Regulation 12(c) also addresses two people who buy jointly, one of whom is eligible for immigrant relief, and then marry each other within 12 months of purchase. It provides for a refund of the purchase tax paid by the other spouse to the extent it exceeds the purchase tax that would have applied if the eligible immigrant had purchased alone. The 2024 amendment applies this provision to Regulation 12A with necessary changes; a tax professional should assess the applicable route, household conditions and any refund for the particular purchase. See Regulation 12(c) quoted in the 2022 Tax Appeals Committee judgment and the Tax Authority’s 2026 seller and buyer guide.

Match the filing route to the rule. The Tax Authority application service and Tax Authority Form 2973, version 8/2024 should be read with their stated scope. The form’s current checkboxes cover Regulation 11, Regulation 12 business purchases, and earlier Regulation 12 residential or transition cases; it does not identify a Regulation 12A residential checkbox. Have your representative confirm the correct current submission route and evidence for a 12A claim rather than choosing an older checkbox by assumption.

Lining the purchase date up with your move is only one part of the assessment; see buying after aliyah as an oleh for the documentary timeline and the wider oleh tax benefits. Ask the adviser to compare the ordinary sole-dwelling calculation with every immigrant route for which you qualify before using a once-only benefit.

Disabled, blind, terror-victim and bereaved buyers (Regulation 11)

Regulation 11 of the purchase-tax regulations cuts the tax for a buyer who is disabled as the regulations define it, blind, injured in a hostile action (a terror attack), or a family member of a soldier who fell in battle or of someone killed in a hostile action. The Tax Authority’s Form 2973 service sets two conditions: the home must be the buyer’s own residence, and the buyer must not already have received the relief twice. The reduced rate is 0.5%. For a sole home bought on or after 6 December 2016 and worth up to ILS 2,500,000, nothing is paid on the value up to ILS 1,978,745 and 0.5% is paid on the rest. For a home that is not a sole home, or a sole home worth more than ILS 2,500,000, the 0.5% applies from the first shekel. The reduced rate can be charged to one person no more than 2 times in a lifetime (Tax Authority instruction 3/2024, section 5.2).

On the ILS 3,000,000 example below, a qualifying buyer would pay 0.5% of the whole price, about ILS 15,000, because the price is above the ILS 2,500,000 ceiling. On an ILS 2,500,000 sole home the Regulation 11 figure is about ILS 2,606, against about ILS 20,538 on the ordinary sole-home bands. These are illustrations, not an assessment.

When spouses buy together and only one qualifies, both get the relief, and recognised common-law partners count as spouses. Two single people who buy together, one of them eligible, both become entitled if they marry within 12 months of the purchase (Regulation 11(b), instruction 3/2024, section 7). The claim is Form 2973, filed as an annex to the purchase declaration. If a lawyer represents you, the lawyer files it online through the representatives’ system, and the regional office gives its decision in the assessment notice. The form itself tells a buyer who owns no other home, or one other home they will sell, to check whether the ordinary sole-home calculation comes out lower than the regulation chosen (Form 2973). Who qualifies in each group, the disability percentages and the documents each group needs are set out in our guide to purchase tax relief for disabled and bereaved buyers in Israel.

Commercial property and land

Commercial property, land and residential purchases follow different rules. Commercial property and land are taxed at a single flat rate on the whole value rather than the residential bands. Use the official purchase-tax simulator with the correct property category, and ask your lawyer to confirm any VAT, refund or relief on the transaction.

How is the tax worked out on a ILS 3,000,000 home?

Purchase tax is progressive: apply each rate only to its price band. For this ILS 3,000,000 example under the 2026 schedules below, the estimates are about ILS 45,538 for an eligible sole-home buyer, ILS 240,000 at the standard additional-home rate and ILS 5,106 under the eligible Regulation 12A route. Actual eligibility and tax depend on the purchase and its date.

Worked calculations by buyer category

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Basis: for the investor and the non-resident, 8% applies to the whole ILS 3,000,000 (8% of 3,000,000 = ILS 240,000). For the resident, only the slices above ILS 1,978,745 are taxed. For the oleh, the slice from ILS 1,978,745 to ILS 3,000,000 (ILS 1,021,255) is taxed at 0.5% = ILS 5,106. The resident therefore saves ILS 194,462 against the additional-home schedule on this one deal, and the oleh saves nearly ILS 235,000 against the investor (240,000 minus 5,106). On the resident purchase the effective rate is about 1.52% of the price (45,538 divided by 3,000,000) against a flat 8% for the investor. These are illustrative figures, not advice; confirm your own number on the official simulator. This comparison uses the additional-dwelling schedule extended through 2027-02-10 inclusive. Recheck a comparison for a purchase outside that period even though the sole-dwelling thresholds have a later end date. Tax Authority extension notice.

What are the deadlines after you sign?

Two clocks start on the day you sign the purchase contract, and they are not the same clock. The Tax Authority declaration service requires the real-estate declaration within 30 days of the transaction. Payment follows the assessment: the due date, any deferral and any relief depend on the transaction, so your representative should record the actual filing and payment dates from the current rules and the assessment rather than treat filing and payment as one deadline. Missing either clock risks interest, indexation and penalties, so both dates belong in the transaction file with confirmation that each was completed.

Report the payment method

A buyer’s real-estate declaration also reports how the purchase price will be paid, with supporting documents as required. If the payment method is not yet known, the buyer can say so and report the expected possession date. The Tax Authority’s payment-method service says the details must then be completed within 6 months of the reported possession date. The service explains how the buyer or their lawyer can complete the report. The 2025 Form 7000 refers to possession being delivered or placed at the buyer’s disposal and allows the possession date to be updated. If the date changes, confirm the applicable deadline with your lawyer. Provide the required evidence for payments already made, and keep evidence of later payments to present if requested.

What else the declaration commits you to

The declaration (Form 7002, filed through the declaration service) also records the dates when the buyer gets possession, pays more than 40% and more than 50% of the price, and receives any irrevocable power of attorney to register the property. The Tax Authority treats those dates as the notice required by section 51 of the Real Estate Taxation Law, and if any of them changes you must notify the office under section 76 within 14 days of the change. A buyer who self-assesses at sole-home rates attaches Form 7912. Buyers who are not one family unit each file a separate buyer declaration on Form 7000/a; you, your spouse or recognised partner and your children under 18 count as one buyer. The declaration is filed online: Form 7002 accepts a paper filing only from a representing lawyer who was 66 or older on 15 October 2017, from someone with an exceptional approval for manual filing, or from someone objecting to an assessment made under section 82. To register the property in your name you will later need confirmation that the seller has no mas shevach, sale tax or property tax debts on it, and confirmation that you paid the purchase tax.

Buying before you sell: how long you have to sell the old home

If you own one home and buy another to replace it, the new home is taxed on the sole-home bands rather than the additional-home schedule, provided the old home is sold within the period set by section 9(c1c)(2)(b) of the Real Estate Taxation Law. You declare the intention to sell on the purchase declaration (Form 7002, section 2.3). The difference is large: on the ILS 3,000,000 example above, the sole-home bands come to about ILS 45,538, about ILS 194,462 less than the additional-home schedule.

How the tax is collected while you sell

You pay at sole-home rates when you file, and on Form 7002 you can ask that collection of the rest of the tax be frozen until the end of the period in which you undertook to sell. If the old home is not sold in time, that balance becomes payable with linkage and interest. When you sell, tell the regional Real Estate Taxation office that assessed the new purchase; the office checks that the conditions were met and corrects the assessment (instruction 2/2026, section 3.1). For a home bought from a contractor the clock starts when you receive possession, not when you sign, so a home delivered two years after signing is measured from delivery.

The 2026 war extension

After the war that began on 28 February 2026, the Knesset passed a temporary law that moves these sale deadlines. Under Tax Authority instruction 2/2026 of 30 March 2026, if even one day of your sale period falls inside the period from 28 February 2026 to 31 May 2026, your deadline becomes the later of 3 months after the original deadline, or 31 August 2026. The same rule covers the contractor and purchase-group periods. The 31 August 2026 date has now passed, so if your sale period touched those dates and is still running, your deadline is the original one plus 3 months. A sale period that starts after 31 May 2026, such as a replacement bought after that date, gets no extension unless the war period is lengthened. The Finance Minister may lengthen the determining period in further steps of up to three months, so check whether a later extension applies to your dates before relying on the deadline.

If your only home is a purchase-group flat that is not ready

If your one home was bought through a purchase group (קבוצת רכישה, kvutzat rechisha) and is still unfinished, section 9(c1c)(2)(b1) can treat a new purchase as a sole-home purchase. On Form 7002 (section 2.5) you declare that, but for the group flat, the new home would be your only home, and that by the time of the new purchase either 4 years have passed since the group purchase and construction has not started or is materially delayed, or 6.5 years have passed and you have not received possession. You must have paid sole-home rates on the group flat, you undertake to sell it within 18 months of the completion of its construction, and you attach evidence of the construction status. The form lets you ask that collection of the balance be frozen for 3.5 years, with a further request to the regional office if more time is needed.

Selling two homes to buy one

Owners of two homes who sell both and buy one replacement can also get sole-home rates on the replacement under section 9(c1c)(2)(c). That route follows the section 49E capital-gains exemption for selling two homes (instruction 2/2026, section 2.2.2), whose conditions on Form 7002 are: when you sell the first home you own only one other; you sell that other home exempt from mas shevach within 12 months of the first sale; you buy the replacement for at least 75% of the two homes’ value in the year before the second sale or within a year after it; and the two homes together are worth no more than ILS 2,252,000, the amount set for 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027 (instruction 1/2026). The seller side of this route is in mas shevach when selling property in Israel, and the full list of seller costs is in taxes and costs when selling property in Israel.

What changes if you make aliyah before or after you buy?

The ordinary immigrant purchase window starts 1 year before the first entry referred to in Regulation 12(a) and ends 7 years after it. Check the actual entry and status documents rather than assuming the date printed on one certificate answers every case. Qualifying compulsory military or civil service can affect the seven-year count. Timing alone does not establish eligibility. The legal basis is Regulation 12(b), as amended, and Regulation 12A(a); see 2024 amending regulations, Gazette 11414, pages 3248–3249 and paragraphs 6 and 8 of the judgment quoting the underlying provisions.

Construction and eligibility details

A specific construction exception can change the pre-entry calculation. For a dwelling whose seller has undertaken to finish construction, Regulation 12A excludes the construction period from the one-year pre-entry count only if first entry occurs within 3 years after purchase and a qualifying Regulation 12(a)(1) approval is issued within 1 year after purchase. These conditions operate together. This is not a general three-year allowance for every purchase before aliyah, and it does not extend the seven-year post-entry period merely because construction continues. See the Aliyah timing and evidence table.

For a replacement dwelling, the sale deadlines and the 2026 war extension are set out in buying before you sell above; have the adviser confirm them for your transaction dates. Tax Authority instruction 2/2026 addresses specified statutory periods; it should not be treated as an automatic extension of every immigrant-relief clock. The applicable bands and their separate periods remain in Tax Authority instruction 1/2026. Lender treatment also requires its own classification, so plan the sequence alongside getting a mortgage in Israel.

Why does the threshold freeze matter?

The sole-home thresholds in instruction 1/2026 are fixed for the period 2025-01-16 to 2028-01-15 instead of moving with an index. When prices rise during a freeze, more of each purchase lands in the taxed slices, which is a quiet increase in the real bill. The freeze and the temporary additional-home schedule are two different rules with two different end dates: the additional-home schedule is extended through 2027-02-10 by the 12 October 2026 notice, and the sole-home threshold period ends 2028-01-15. Check the bands in force on your signing date, not the ones in force when you started looking.

Does VAT apply on top of purchase tax?

Purchase tax is not the only tax line. VAT has been 18% since 1 January 2025, up from 17%, per the PwC Israel tax summary listed in the sources. New-build homes from a developer are quoted with VAT inside the headline price, and VAT also sits inside ancillary services such as lawyer and agent fees. A second-hand home sold between private individuals carries no VAT. The full picture is in VAT on Israeli property, and the choice it affects is in new versus second-hand property in Israel.

What needs a lawyer or a tax adviser?

Three things, in writing, before contract day. Status: which buyer status you actually qualify for (resident, investor, non-resident or oleh), because the declaration you file states it and it is hard to unwind later. Bands: the exact thresholds and effective dates in force on your signing date. Your number: the shekel figure from the official simulator, agreed with your lawyer. The lawyer also coordinates the buyer-status evidence, the tax calculation, the contractual payment schedule and the registration requirements; what that work costs is in Israeli real estate lawyers for foreign buyers. A tax adviser is the right person for eligibility, transitional provisions and the replacement-home deadline.

Which tool should you use?

The Tax Authority’s purchase-tax simulator is the official calculator and the figure your lawyer will work from. Our purchase-tax page inside the mortgage hub shows the same rates by buyer type next to the financing rules, and the Israel mortgage calculator turns the price plus tax into a monthly payment. The step-by-step process around the tax is in how to buy property in Israel.

Frequently asked questions

How much purchase tax does a foreigner pay in Israel?

A non-resident buying a home pays the additional-home schedule from the first shekel: 8% on the portion up to ILS 6,055,070 and 10% above it, extended through 2027-02-10. On a ILS 3,000,000 home that is about ILS 240,000.

What is mas rechisha?

Mas rechisha is Israel’s purchase tax, paid by the buyer on a property purchase. It is progressive, so each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside its band, and the band table depends on the buyer’s status.

How much purchase tax does an Israeli resident pay on a first or only home?

Nothing on the slice up to ILS 1,978,745, then 3.5%, 5%, 8% and 10% on the higher slices. On a ILS 3,000,000 sole home the total is about ILS 45,538.

What is the oleh purchase-tax discount?

Under Regulation 12A a qualifying sole dwelling is taxed at 0% up to ILS 1,978,745, 0.5% on the next portion through ILS 6,055,070 and 8% on the portion through ILS 20,183,565, claimed once within the applicable statutory window. The ordinary period is 1 year before to 7 years after the first entry referred to in Regulation 12(a); the construction exception and qualifying service periods require the separate checks above. The relief does not apply if the full dwelling value exceeds ILS 20,183,565.

When is purchase tax due?

The declaration is due within 30 days of signing through the Tax Authority declaration service. The payment date comes from the assessment and the rules that apply to your transaction, so record both dates separately.

Is there purchase tax on commercial property or land?

Yes, at a flat rate on the whole value rather than the residential bands. Use the official simulator with the right property category and confirm VAT with your lawyer.

How long do I have to sell my old home after buying a new one?

For a replacement bought from 1 June 2025, 24 months from the purchase; for one bought from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2025, 18 months; for a new home from a contractor, 12 months from receiving possession. A sale period that ran through any day from 28 February 2026 to 31 May 2026 ends 3 months after its original deadline, and no earlier than 31 August 2026 (instruction 2/2026). Sell in time and you keep sole-home rates; miss it and the balance is charged with linkage and interest.

Is there a purchase-tax discount for disabled buyers in Israel?

Yes. Under Regulation 11, disabled and blind buyers, people injured in hostile actions and families of fallen soldiers pay 0.5% instead of the ordinary schedule, with nothing on the first band of a sole home worth up to ILS 2,500,000. The home must be their residence, and the relief can be used 2 times in a lifetime. The details are in our guide to purchase tax relief for disabled and bereaved buyers.

Can I get purchase tax back if I overpaid?

Possibly. The Tax Authority runs an online application where anyone who made a property transaction can check, by the ID number of the person who made it, whether there is a credit balance from overpaid purchase tax or mas shevach, and claim it there (Tax Authority notice). If you bought a replacement home and then sold the old one in time, tell the regional office that assessed the purchase so it corrects the assessment.

Related pages

• The total cost of buying a house in Israel
• Purchase tax for residents versus non-residents
• Oleh tax benefits
• VAT on Israeli property
• Mas shevach when selling property in Israel
• Purchase tax relief for disabled and bereaved buyers
• How to buy property in Israel, step by step

Sources

Regulation 12/12A eligibility and transition sections checked 27 October 2026 against the instruments below; the other figures and topics retain their stated source dates.

• 2024 amending regulations, Gazette 11414, pages 3248–3249: amended Regulation 12, new Regulation 12A and the commencement/transition provisions in regulation 3.
• Tax Authority Form 2973, version 8/2024: verify the form’s stated route and requested documents before submitting a claim.
• Tax Appeals Committee judgment 59273-01-22, 30 October 2024: specific immigrant definition and the distinction from returning-resident income-tax treatment; the judgment concerns a February 2021 transaction.
• Israel Tax Authority, purchase-tax instruction 1/2026 (sole-home and oleh bands, effective dates), read 16 October 2026.
• Israel Tax Authority, notice of 12 October 2026 extending the additional-home schedule, read 16 October 2026.
• Israel Tax Authority, real-estate declaration service (Form 7000 and the 30-day declaration), oleh relief application service and purchase-tax simulator.
• Israel Tax Authority, instruction 2/2026, extension of periods after the Roaring Lion war (replacement-home periods and the 2026 extension), 30 March 2026, read 29 October 2026.
• Israel Tax Authority, instruction 3/2024, Regulation 11 guidance, and the Form 2973 service page (Regulation 11 relief), read 29 October 2026.
• Israel Tax Authority, Form 7002, version 5.2025 (replacement, purchase-group and two-home declarations, section 76 notice), and the overpaid tax refund notice, read 29 October 2026.
• Kol Zchut, purchase-tax calculation and the oleh discount; Nefesh B’Nefesh, planning your aliyah purchase tax; PwC Israel, individual other taxes (VAT 18%, additional-home schedule).

Your one next step: have your buyer status and exact shekel figure confirmed in writing before you sign. Have your purchase-tax position checked before you sign and we will walk you through it.

Checked 16 October 2026 against the Tax Authority extension notice and instruction 1/2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.