Bituach Leumi: the bill new olim don’t expect
Six months after aliyah, a lot of olim open an envelope from Bituach Leumi and assume it’s a mistake. They haven’t found a job yet. They were told new immigrants are exempt. So why is the National Insurance Institute asking them for money?
Usually it isn’t a mistake. Olim do get an exemption, but it is really two exemptions with two different clocks, and almost nobody explains that on arrival. Here is how the bill works in 2026, month by month, and what changes once you start earning.
One institution, two contributions
Bituach Leumi collects two separate things on the same bill. The first is national insurance itself, which pays for the old-age pension, child allowances, maternity pay, unemployment and work-injury cover. The second is the health tax (mas briut), which Bituach Leumi collects on behalf of your kupat holim. Every resident aged 18 or over pays both, with or without a salary.
If you have no income at all, the official 2026 minimum is ₪266 a month: ₪143 for national insurance and ₪123 for health, according to Bituach Leumi’s own rate table for non-working residents.
The two clocks
This is the part that catches people. Bituach Leumi states that a new immigrant is exempt from national insurance contributions for up to 12 months from the day of aliyah, as long as they have no income from work and other income stays under 5% of the average wage, ₪688 a month in 2026.
The health tax exemption is shorter. Bituach Leumi’s guidance for olim says it lasts 6 months from aliyah, with the same ₪688 income test. It can be stretched by another 6 months, but only for the months in which the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration actually paid you absorption basket (sal klita) payments, and you have to send Bituach Leumi the certificate to get it.
So an oleh with no income, whose sal klita has stopped, owes the health part from month 7. Here is what that looks like over the first two years for someone who stays without income:
| Period after aliyah | National insurance | Health tax | Monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Months 1–6 | Exempt | Exempt | ₪0 |
| Months 7–12 (no sal klita certificate) | Exempt | ₪123 | ₪123 |
| Months 13–24 | ₪143 | ₪123 | ₪266 |
Total over two years: ₪738 for months 7 to 12, plus ₪3,192 for the second year, so ₪3,930. Not ruinous, but it adds up quietly if the bills sit unopened, and unpaid contributions build a debt with interest. Bituach Leumi can eventually restrict non-urgent care through your kupa, which is the last thing you want in your first year.
Two details that are easy to miss. A wife married to an insured person who doesn’t work outside the home is exempt as a “housewife”; Bituach Leumi’s exemption page also covers a common-law wife, so check how your status is recorded rather than assuming. And the exemption ends the month you start working, not at month 12.
Once the first salary arrives
From your first payslip, contributions are deducted at source in two tiers. For an employee in 2026, the deduction is 4.27% of gross pay up to ₪7,703 a month (60% of the average wage), then 12.17% above that, up to a ₪51,910 ceiling. Your employer adds its own share on top.
The self-employed pay both halves themselves: 7.7% up to ₪7,703, then 18% above, through monthly advances that are settled against the annual tax return. Using Shekel Guide’s breakdown of the 2026 Bituach Leumi rates and thresholds, here is what that means in practice:
- Employee earning ₪12,000 gross a month: about ₪852 a month, or ₪10,222 a year.
- Employee earning ₪20,000 gross: about ₪1,825 a month.
- Freelancer with ₪15,000 of monthly net income: about ₪1,907 a month in advances.
One trap for olim who land a job quickly while freelancing on the side, or who hold two jobs: the second employer applies the full rate from the first shekel unless you ask Bituach Leumi to coordinate the two salaries. Otherwise you overpay and claim it back later.
Amendment 262: the new rule for Americans
The biggest change this year concerns olim from the United States. Until 2026, an American who kept a US job or freelanced for US clients could end up paying social security twice, because Israel and the US have no totalization agreement.
On February 25, 2026, the Knesset passed Amendment No. 262 to the National Insurance Law. As reported by Ynet, it exempts new immigrants from the US from Israeli national insurance contributions on work or self-employment income that is subject to US Social Security tax, for five years. Income from that period still counts toward Israeli benefit eligibility as if contributions had been paid. Two limits matter: the exemption does not cover the health tax, which stays due, and the Labor Minister may extend it to other countries, but for now it is a US-only rule.
If this applies to you, ask your accountant how to document your US Social Security obligation with Bituach Leumi. The details of how the exemption is claimed in practice are worth confirming directly with the institution.
Bottom line
The oleh exemption from Bituach Leumi is real, but it is not one block of 12 free months. National insurance waits up to a year; health tax waits six months unless you prove sal klita payments. Open every envelope, register your status early, and if you are American with US Social Security income, look at Amendment 262 before paying twice. A few hundred shekels paid on time is far cheaper than a debt discovered when you need a doctor.
Sources: National Insurance Institute (btl.gov.il): exemptions page, new-immigrant health insurance guidance, 2026 rates for non-working residents and employees; Ynet News, February 26, 2026, on Amendment 262; Shekel Guide. Figures as of November 7, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
