An Oleh Hadash can import three tax exempt “Oleh” shipments of any size within three years of making Aliyah.
If a shipment is larger than a full container (i.e. if you have an overflow), it will be counted as two shipments unless both container and overflow arrive on the same vessel and are cleared through customs at the same time.
What you bring with you on your Aliyah flight does not count as one of these three “shipments”. Also, cars do not count as a “shipment”. Your shipments can come from any country, not only the country from which you are making Aliyah.
ALIYAH CUSTOMS TAX Benefits
- Furniture, books, clothing, linens, kitchen utensils, pictures, decorations, media, and general “Personal Effects” are tax free.
- One of each type of appliance or electronic equipment is tax free. (These are for household use only – not office equipment or manufacturing equipment). 3 TV’s and 3 computers are allowed.
- Carpeting up to 25% of the area of the Oleh’s home in Israel is tax free.
- Air Conditioners, Fans, and Heaters, relative to the number of rooms in your home in Israel are tax free.,
- Indoor Sporting Equipment (treadmills, exercise equipment, etc.) are tax free
- Bicycles (relative to the number of people in the family) are tax free Note that motorized bicycles of any sort are forbidden.
- Olim can buy an Israeli Made refrigerator or air conditioner in Israel tax-free. There is a process for doing this, so you should not simply walk into a store with your Teudat Oleh and expect to get a discount. You need to go to a participating store, get a pro-forma invoice, take that to Meches, get it stamped, and then return to the store.
- Olim can either buy a car in Israel or import a car and only pay 76% in Taxes (as opposed to 116% – 131% for Israeli citizens). If you want to use your rights when buying a used car, you must buy from someone who previously bought with Oleh rights (called passport-to-passport).
Notable Exceptions to Tax Free Imports:
- Building supplies and non-household goods
- A motorized wheelchair needs approval before being imported and may be taxed
- Alcohol is highly taxable and is limited to 6 bottles. Wine over 24 liters or 24 bottles must have proper approvals before importing. There is a limit of 120 bottles (750 ml per bottle) that can be imported within a period of one year.
