Oleh customs exemption: three shipments within 3 years of aliyah
Israel Customs
The short answer
Applies to every new oleh. You may bring three tax-exempt shipments within 3 years of aliyah. How you split them decides whether the exemption holds. Deadline: 3 years after your aliyah date.
Checked on 2026-07-21 against the sources below. Confirm with Israel Customs before you rely on it.
Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before acting
Deadline
Deadline: 3 years after your aliyah date. Miss it and the money is lost.
Counted from your own date, never from today. Your plan turns it into a calendar date.
Steps
- 1
Mark the deadline
Deadline: 3 years after your aliyah date.
Miss it and the money is lost.
- 2
Apply
Handled by Israel Customs. Expect to go in person: it cannot be done fully online.
- 3
Avoid a known trap
Plan container count deliberately. Shipping a small partial lift early can quietly cost you the exemption on a bigger load later.
Why: A shipment larger than one container counts as two, unless both containers arrive on the same ship and clear customs together.
- 4
Avoid a known trap
Keep receipts for anything bought shortly before the move.
Why: New, unused goods still need a receipt even though they are duty exempt.
Costs and figures
What it costs
- Shipping a lift (container)משלוח ליפט / מכולהOlim: exemptAbout $7,500 to $18,000Checked 2026-07-21
- Haulage from the port to your doorהובלת מכולה מהנמלAbout ₪500 to ₪3,500Checked 2026-09-20
What it depends on, and what it unlocks
Do these first
Nothing has to come first.
This unlocks
No other step waits on this one.
Sources
- Understanding customs benefits · Nefesh B'Nefesh · primary source · fetched , page undated
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