Israel

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Key Facts

Basics

Currency

ILS

Region

Middle East

Local time

UTC+3

Asia/Jerusalem

Economy

Population

9.97M

GDP (current US$)

$540.38B

GDP per capita

$54,177

Source: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0) · 2024 · Last checked: 2026-07-06

Tax snapshot

Corporate tax

23%

VAT

18%

Top individual income tax

50%

Capital-gains tax

30%

Capital gains top 30% = 25% + the 3% surtax + the 2% additional surtax on capital income from 2025 (income above ILS 721,560). The 50% is 47% plus a 3% surtax that applies only above a CPI-indexed high-income threshold, so most taxpayers never reach it. Standard corporate tax is 23%, but a Preferred Technology Enterprise under the Encouragement of Capital Investments Law can pay 12%, or 7.5% in a development zone — a gap that matters more than the headline for a tech company. ⚠️ The English gov.il pages are published for information; the binding text, and the bracket thresholds that are re-indexed every year, are the Hebrew originals.
The standard rate rose from 17% to 18% on 2025-01-01, and the 2026 budget kept it at 18% (a proposed rise to 19% was not implemented). Israel has no reduced positive rates: supplies are standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt.

Source: National tax authority · Cross-check: OECD · PwC · KPMG · Last checked: 2026-07-16

Headline statutory rates. The income-tax figure includes national surtaxes; any regional or municipal layer is shown beside it. Social contributions and reliefs are excluded. Verify the current rate with the authority before relying on it.

At a glance

A dense technology and research economy where one route — ancestry-based return — is unusually open and every other route is unusually narrow, at west-European costs.

Best for

People eligible under the Law of Return, specialists recruited by technology or research employers, and students on institutional programmes.

Who this may not suit

People without an Aliyah entitlement or a specialist employer — other long-term routes are narrow — and anyone who cannot plan around an unpredictable security situation.

Main routes in

Law of Return Ancestry-based; it grants status directly rather than through an employer. Employer-sponsored work visa The employer files first; approval is tied to that specific job. Study route Institution-sponsored student status, including English-taught programmes.

Key trade-offs

Outside the Law of Return, there is no general immigration route — work status is employer-tied and does not accumulate towards settlement the way it does elsewhere.
Housing costs in the centre are high relative to salaries, and the gap has widened for years.
Hebrew is decisive for daily administration and most non-tech employment.

First steps

1 Establish which route actually applies to you before anything else — they share almost no paperwork.
2 If claiming ancestry, gather civil-registry documents early — they are the long pole.
3 Get the entry visa abroad; arriving without it rarely converts on the spot.
4 On arrival, complete residence registration and health-insurance enrolment.

What changes often

· Aliyah eligibility documentation and processing
· B-1 expert work-permit quotas and sectors
· Security-situation travel and entry advisories

Eligibility rules and entry procedures can change at short notice, including for security reasons — confirm with the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) and the relevant consulate before travelling. Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) ↗