Many people planning aliyah build their timetable around the teudat oleh, assuming that a later certificate means a later start to the ten years of exemption. Circular 1/2011 of the Israel Tax Authority, published on 18 January 2011, sets a different rule, and it is the rule the authority applies.

The date the ten years run from

The exemption period runs for ten years from the date the individual became an Israeli resident (circular 1/2011, paragraph 4.1.2). Everything therefore turns on a single point: the date on which the centre of life moved to Israel. The residence test itself, the centre of life and the two day count presumptions, is set out in a separate article.

The three possible dates for the move of the centre of life

Paragraph 3.4 of the circular takes the earliest of the following dates:

For an individual without a family who has a permanent home in Israel, the date from which that home is used as a residence (paragraph 3.4.1).

For an individual with a family, the date from which the permanent home in Israel is used by a family member and the family is in Israel with them (paragraph 3.4.2).

The date of classification as an oleh or as a returning resident, as it appears on the certificate issued by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (paragraph 3.4.3).

The same paragraph adds that other ties to Israel may point to an earlier date, even where these three branches point elsewhere.

Where the teudat oleh sits among the three

The certificate is one of three branches, and the rule is the earliest date. Where another branch points to an earlier date, that earlier date applies. Obtaining the teudat oleh later therefore does not move the starting point if the home in Israel was already in use, or if the family was already living there.

Tax ruling 2983/16 shows the rule working in the other direction. A taxpayer received a teudat oleh in 2010 without moving his centre of life to Israel that year. He was held not to have become an Israeli resident on the date of the certificate, and residence was fixed at the day the centre of life actually moved. That ruling was given by agreement and on the facts of one case.

The practical consequence runs against the common assumption: the administrative timetable of the certificate does not govern the tax timetable, and an earlier move in fact may already have opened the period.

The adaptation year

An oleh hadash or a veteran returning resident may ask for an adaptation year, during which they are treated as a foreign resident for one year from arrival (paragraphs 3.5 and 3.5.3(a)).

Notice is given to the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, on the prescribed form, within ninety days of arrival in Israel (paragraph 3.5.1). The election is made once (paragraph 3.5.4(c)) and cannot be withdrawn (paragraph 3.5.4(e)). A late notice is accepted only with the approval of the Director of the Tax Authority (paragraph 3.5.4(d)).

What the adaptation year does not do

Where the individual stays in Israel after that year, it counts towards the years of relief (paragraph 3.5.4(a)). The adaptation year does not extend the ten year period. Where the individual leaves Israel during that year, it does not count towards acquiring the status of a veteran returning resident (paragraph 3.5.4(b)).

What the ten years cover

During the period, an oleh hadash and a veteran returning resident are exempt from tax on income produced outside Israel and have a matching reporting exemption. The 2026 temporary order works on a different plane: it applies to income from personal exertion produced in Israel. Its conditions, annual ceilings and exclusions are set out in the article on that order.

The window open until 10 February 2027

The Law to Encourage Aliyah to Israel and Return to It (Temporary Order), 5786-2026, adds an exemption on income from personal exertion produced in Israel, for tax years 2026 to 2030 and subject to annual ceilings.

Access depends on the date Israeli residence was acquired. The text of the law sets the qualifying period to the end of the 2026 tax year and has not been amended. Section 38 of Basic Law: The Knesset keeps in force a temporary provision that would have expired during the first three months of a new Knesset’s term, until the end of those three months. The Israel Tax Authority service page gives the qualifying period as 5 November 2025 to 10 February 2027.

Delaying the move does not shift the ten year count. The window under the temporary order closes on the date stated.

What establishes the date in practice

The three branches of paragraph 3.4 rest on dated facts: actual use of a permanent home, the presence of the family in Israel, and the date on the certificate from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. The circular adds that other ties to Israel may establish an earlier date, which makes the order of events decisive.

Sources

Income Tax Circular 1/2011, Israel Tax Authority, 18 January 2011, paragraphs 3.4, 3.5 and 4.1.2. Tax ruling 2983/16. Section 14 of the Income Tax Ordinance. Law to Encourage Aliyah to Israel and Return to It (Temporary Order), 5786-2026. Israel Tax Authority letter, Senior Deputy Director for Assessment and Audit, 2 August 2026. Income Tax Circular 7/2026. Section 38 of Basic Law: The Knesset.