Taxes

Purchase Tax for Foreign Residents: The 2026 Brackets Explained

Written by Weinberg & Co. Law Offices Taxes

Who counts as a foreign resident

For purchase-tax purposes, what matters is Israeli tax residency at the day of purchase - not citizenship, and not future aliyah plans. A US citizen with an Israeli passport who lives in New Jersey is a foreign resident for these brackets.

The 2026 structure

  • Foreign residents pay the investor track from the first shekel
  • New olim can elect a reduced track, once, within the statutory window around aliyah
  • Israeli tax residents buying a sole home enjoy the exempt bracket at the bottom of the ladder

The planning window

Because the oleh benefit is a one-time election with its own clock, buyers close to aliyah should model both paths before signing. On a ₪5M purchase the difference is routinely six figures - this is the single highest-leverage tax decision in the transaction.