Kefpedia

New Immigrants

As a new immigrant, you may bring three shipments of appliances and household goods into Israel TAX-FREE from ANY COUNTRY.  (See list below)   Items brought with you on the plane are not considered as one of your shipments if you are receiving your Teudat Oleh (immigration certificate) at the airport.   Rights can be extended for full time students at institutes of higher learning, soldiers, leaving the country for more than 6 months.  In total, they are not usually extended beyond 6 years including all possible extensions. Electric bikes cannot be imported without a very extensive licensing procedure;  do not include one in your shipment.

Returning Residents

There are now two classes of returning residents: those who spent two years out of the country and those who spent six years. Those who spent six years have the same import/customs rights as new immigrants, except they have no tax reduction on a car. Rights include tax-exempt importation of appliances and household goods. (List below.) Those who stayed out for more than two but less than six years have rights for household goods only and for appliances that do not have sales tax on them, such as washer, dryer, oven, fridge, and dishwasher. Both categories of returning residents have rights for two shipments from any country within nine months of their return.

Returning residents cannot have spent more than four months total in Israel each year. A new immigrant who spends six years in Israel after receiving his last tax-free shipment and leaves for two years can become a returning resident.

For a list of tax-free items, see below.

Tax Privileges for everyone, not only olim and returning residents

You may have certain tax privileges based on the free trade or common market agreements.  You can make use of these additional privileges only with a certificate of origin for each of the individual items. An invoice marked “Made in the USA” (or “Made in Europe” for goods of European origin) is necessary in order to obtain a certificate of origin. It is the Importer’s responsibility to supply such invoices and request the certificate from Kef.

If you are planning to purchase appliances or furniture in the US or Canada for immediate export to Israel, Kef can also provide you with a letter to avoid the relevant sales tax. Please contact Kef with details before making your purchase.

Value-added-tax (17%) must be paid on all services rendered in Israel. When the Customs booklets state that appliances for new immigrants are exempt from VAT, this refers to the cost of buying, insuring, and shipping foreign appliances and to the purchase of Israeli appliances. Olim should still expect to pay VAT on customs clearing, delivery, installation, service contract, and the commissions of a personal import agent.

Olim and Returnees (more than 6 years out) are entitled to bring tax-free one of each of the following for home use: refrigerator, oven (free-standing or built-in with stove top), 2 televisions , washing machine, stereo – tuner, amplifier, CD or turntable, cassette deck, and two pair of speakers or a home theatre speaker set, microwave, dishwasher, dryer, freezer, and VCR or DVD. Olim can also purchase an Israeli-made refrigerator and air conditioner. Returnees out for only 2 years can bring items listed except those with sales tax, such as TV, dishwasher, and dryer.

Olim and Returnees (more than 6 years out) also have privileges on one of each of the following: 3 TV’s, 3 computers (including monitor and printer), food processor, radio, vacuum cleaner, sewing machine, iron, bicycle, hair dryer, slide projector, knitting machine, coffee grinder, alarm clock-radio, vaporizer, toaster, toaster oven, mixer, citrus juicer, vegetable juicer, crepe maker, ice-cream maker, portable word processor, electric kettle, hand power tools, meat grinder, hot water urn, coffee maker, deep fryer, popcorn maker, espresso machine, rug shampooer, floor polisher, can opener, electric knife, answering machine, electric skillet, electric blanket, garbage disposal, hot water dispenser, and two or three of each of the following: fans, heaters, telephones.

**When you purchase appliances through Kef, there is a zero deductible on marine insurance.

Late-model small appliances may work with no problem on a transformer. For a kitchen full of new American small 110-volt appliances, you can install one transformer into a cabinet with a multi-socket connected just below it. Timers or clocks may not be accurate, though, since they use the frequency (hertz, cycles) of the current to keep time. Many small appliances still sell for twice as much in Israel as in the USA, so it is worthwhile checking. See Israel prices at www.zap.co.il. Likely not worth importing: hand drills, battery chargers, fans, small fan-heaters, small radiator heaters, and toaster ovens. Likely still worth importing:   electric toothbrush, shaver, hair dryer, slow cooker, hand power tools (jigsaw, circular saw), dehumidifier, blender, keyboard, air purifier.

Remember: Transformers should never be kept on the counter level or near water. The following chart is transformer wattage, size, and cost per year if plugged in all the time.

Don’t even think of using a transformer with…

• Air conditioners: better to get them in Israel.
• Heating devices: toasters, toaster ovens, heaters, and irons. The transformer will weigh and cost more than the appliances. (For something that is going to stay on for less than 90 seconds, you could use a converter, which is a small, usually light colored box that says ‘up to 1500 watts”.) Some people have used one big transformer for all their small appliances including heating devices. In that case, it’s important to install a switch so that the transformer does not stay on all the time. This saves electricity and makes it less likely that turning the transformer on will ‘flop your fuses’.
• Vacuum cleaners, dishwashers.
• Washers and dryers…though from time to time we have sold domestic US washers, dryers, and US washer/dryer combinations such as the stacked Maytag washer/gas dryer and installed them with transformers. They seem to work fine.
• TV, VCR, DVD: A US VCR will work on transformer, but only if it is 50/60 hertz and only for US tapes played on a US or multi-system TV. Same for a US DVD. There are many US-system DVD system recordings available in the video/DVD libraries in Israel. Also some of the US DVD players can be reprogrammed to accept any non-US DVD recordings.

Note: When clearing a car through customs, delays are expensive.  Be sure you have all your documents well in advance.

Olim have rights to bring one vehicle (car or motorcycle) from any country within 3 years of their aliya. US cars must come via the US, and European cars via Europe, Japanese car via Japan. Cars of all sizes are taxed at the same rate.

Taxes are about 77% (instead of 127-144%) of the value at origin less depreciation plus shipping. Depreciation is about 20% for the first year and 10% for each year following to a maximum of 80% after 10 years. Olim can bring cars of any age or description, but they must be able to get the local commercial importer, or a local, qualified garage to give a letter stating that they are willing to provide service and parts (not necessarily quickly or for free.)  They must also have the ESP stabilization system, which is only available on cars after 2001.   Olim must have acquired an Israeli license and have a valid foreign license, which they had for at least 3 years.

Returning residents who have been abroad for more than two years no longer have any rights on automobiles.

A car does not count as one of the tax-free shipments. Olim have no special reduction on hybrid cars, since everyone pays only 77%. Tourists and students pay no taxes, but tourists must take the car (and themselves) out of the country every year for 3 months. Students can keep the car, as long as they keep the status.

Worth importing:  A vehicle that is not available in Israel and has features that you need,  a car that you have a strong sentimental attachment to or that you feel might give the kids something familiar, very high end cars.

Your goods must arrive in Israel within three years of your date of aliya, i.e. the day you changed your status to Oleh or Temporary Resident. If you served in the army (sadir) for at least six months, that time period will not be included in your three years of tax-free rights. Rights will also be frozen if you spend at least six months and a day uninterrupted out of the country following your change of status. This rule, however, does not apply to returning minors. If you enroll full time in a post-secondary school, college or yeshiva recognized by the Student Authority within 1 1/2 years of your arrival, your rights may be extended to one year after you finish your studies. The limit is 5 years of study. If you come as a tourist, your three years of rights usually begin when you change your status, unless you were a working tourist. This applies to shipping rights only. Check with the relevant authorities regarding other Oleh rights, such as sal klita.

As mentioned, goods must arrive in Israel on or before the third anniversary of your change for Olim and 9 months after for Returing Residents.  They do not have to be cleared through Customs by that date, yet they must arrive in port. Customs allows an extension for one reason only: a shipping strike. Customs will usually grant permission to buy an Israeli-made refrigerator and air conditioner tax-free in the 4th year, if you purchased or imported no major appliances during the first three years.

If your goods arrive after your import privileges expire, you will be required to pay FULL TAXES. No customs tax is charged on American-made goods shipped from America or European goods shipped from Europe providing they are accompanied by the proper certificate—but there is still VAT and luxury tax to pay.

If your goods arrive after your import privileges expire, you will be required to pay FULL TAXES. No customs tax is charged on American-made goods shipped from America or European goods shipped from Europe providing they are accompanied by the proper certificate—but there is still VAT and luxury tax to pay.

*The tax on used furniture works out to $2.30/cubic foot. Taxes on appliances are levied on the sum of the price at origin, shipping, and marine insurance.

These are the taxes for personal import without rights. The source is the Israel government web site.

The right hand column is for goods brought from the US and made in the US or from Europe and made in Europe AND accompanied by a certificate of origin or a Euro1.

When you purchase and ship through Kef, we can take care of getting those documents. The left column is when any of those conditions is not met.

Listing of Combined Duties (including VAT) on Personally Imported Goods: