3 lines to check on your first Israeli payslip

Your first Israeli payslip, the tlush maskoret, is in Hebrew, it has 30-odd lines, and most new employees look at one number: the net at the bottom. That is a mistake, because the errors that cost real money sit higher up, and they are easiest to fix in the first two or three months.

You do not need to read every line. Three of them do most of the damage when they are wrong: the income tax withheld, the pension deposit and the travel reimbursement. Here is what each should look like, with figures for a hypothetical employee earning ₪12,000 gross a month in 2026.

Line 1: מס הכנסה (income tax), and why a second job can double it

Israeli income tax is withheld monthly by bracket: 10% up to ₪7,010, 14% up to ₪10,060, 20% up to ₪19,000, then 31% and up. That 20% bracket was widened this year: Globes reported in April that the 2026 budget raised its ceiling from ₪16,150 to ₪19,000 a month, retroactive to January. If you earn above ₪16,150 and your March slip did not show a correction, ask why.

For our ₪12,000 employee, the brackets give ₪1,516 of tax before credits. Credit points (2.25 for a male resident, at ₪242 each) and the 35% credit on the pension contribution bring that down to about ₪734. Social contributions (Bituach Leumi and health tax) add about ₪852 on a separate line.

The real trap is the second job. A tutor, a part-time lecturer or anyone on two payrolls should know this: a secondary employer that knows you have another salary must withhold at the highest rate unless you hand it a tax coordination certificate (tium mas), as Nefesh B’Nefesh’s guide puts it. In 2026 that means 47%.

You get that money back eventually, but only through a refund claim after year-end. The tium mas request is made online on the Tax Authority site, with each employer’s withholding file number and your expected income from each; the certificate goes to both employers.

Line 2: פנסיה (pension), and the start date nobody checks

Pension is mandatory for employees. The legal minimums are 6% from you, 6.5% from the employer for the pension itself, and a severance component (pitzuim) that many employers set at 8.33%. On ₪12,000, your 6% share is ₪720 a month.

What new employees miss is when it starts. If you already have an Israeli pension fund, you are entitled from day one; the employer has up to three months to start depositing, but must pay retroactively to your start date. If you have never had a fund, the obligation only begins after six months.

Many olim arrive with no Israeli fund, so the six-month rule applies to them. But anyone who already worked for an Israeli employer may have one. If you do and your first three slips show nothing on the pension line, the employer is behind. At ₪12,000, three missing months mean about ₪5,339 of employer deposits (pension plus 8.33% severance) and ₪2,160 of your own — retirement savings in your name.

Check two things on the line: the fund name and the salary it is calculated on. A deposit computed on base pay only, when your contract includes fixed allowances, is a common shortfall.

Line 3: נסיעות (travel), small but monthly

Commuting reimbursement is owed to employees who travel to work, up to a daily ceiling. Shekel Guide’s line-by-line guide to the Israeli tlush, with a 2026 worked example puts that ceiling at ₪22.60 per working day, citing Kol Zchut. Over 21 working days, that is up to ₪474.60 a month.

Two errors show up often. The line is missing entirely in the first month. Or it is paid as a flat sum below your actual cost of public transport. It is also taxable, so it appears in your gross, not as a separate tax-free transfer.

What to do when a line looks wrong

1. Ask payroll in writing, pointing at the exact line. Most errors come from Form 101, the declaration you filled in on day one.
2. File a corrected Form 101 if your situation was incomplete: aliyah date, children, degree, army service. Credit points are applied only from what is on that form.
3. Request tium mas the moment you take a second job, not at year-end.
4. For pension or travel shortfalls, these are labour rights: a written request first, then an employment lawyer or your union if it is ignored.

Corrections made during the year usually appear on the next slip. Anything not fixed by December can still be claimed from the Tax Authority with your Form 106, which your employer must give you by 31 March.

Bottom line

Do not judge your first tlush by the net. Check that tax matches the brackets and your credit points, that a second job has a tium mas, that the pension line starts on time and on the right salary, and that travel is there. On a ₪12,000 salary, getting those three lines right can be worth more than ₪1,000 a month.

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Sources: Globes (5 April 2026, revised 2026 tax brackets); Nefesh B’Nefesh, “Tium Mas”; CWS Israel, mandatory pension rules 2026; Bituach Leumi contribution rates as of 1 January 2026; Kol Zchut (travel reimbursement); Shekel Guide. Figures as of 12 November 2026. Hypothetical example: male resident, no children, no keren hishtalmut. General information, not legal or tax advice.