What it costs to buy property in Israel
A foreign buyer should budget roughly 10.9%–11.9% of the purchase price on top of the price itself. No licence or permit is required.
What you pay
- Purchase tax (mas rechisha)8.0% of the price$40,000
- Agency commission2.4% of the price$11,800
- Legal fees0.5%–1.5% of the price$2,500–$7,500
| On a purchase of | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase tax (mas rechisha) | $20,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 |
| Legal fees | $1,250 – $3,750 | $2,500 – $7,500 | $5,000 – $15,000 |
| Agency commission | $5,900 | $11,800 | $23,600 |
| Total on top of the price | 10.9%–11.9% | 10.9%–11.9% | 10.9%–11.9% |
Can you buy as a foreigner?
No licence required
Foreign nationals may buy with no permit, and may hold title or, far more commonly, a long lease: roughly 93% of land in Israel is state land administered by the Israel Land Authority and sold as a lease of about 98 years rather than as freehold. Confirm which tenure a listing actually carries. Purchase tax is where being a foreign resident costs real money — the investor scale applies from the first shekel.
No approval to wait for
With no permission to obtain, the timeline is set by conveyancing rather than by a government queue.
Take it with you
These figures as a PDF, worked out at the price you enter, with every source and the date it was checked.
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Nearby markets compared
What a foreign buyer pays on top of a $500,000 price, here and in the markets around it nearest in cost.
An estimate for budgeting, not legal or tax advice. These rates are traced to published sources but have not been reviewed by a practitioner in this jurisdiction. Confirm the current position with an attorney before you commit.
The band threshold is stated in shekels by statute and converted here at 3.05 to the dollar as at 4 October 2026, so the dollar edge drifts with the rate and is re-indexed to Israeli CPI every January — treat it as approximate and check the Tax Authority's calculator for a real purchase. The sole-home resident scale is deliberately not modelled. Not reviewed by an Israeli attorney.