Last updated April 28, 2021

What is Arnona?

Arnona is an annual residential property tax. The responsibility to pay Arnona belongs to the property’s residents; in the case of a rental, the tenants, not landlords, are required to pay. The cost of Arnona is determined based upon the size and location of the property.

Please note that this guide has been compiled based on Jerusalem regulations. If you are not a resident of Jerusalem, please be sure to confirm your municipality’s requirements.

Paying Arnona

The annual Arnona bill is due at the beginning, not end, of each year, usually toward the end of January. Check your bill for the exact due date. Although in the past the Arnona office overlooked delayed payments, the past few years has seen a dramatic change in stringency. As the year progresses, late payers receive lawyer’s letters and incur higher and higher fees for late payments. Consequences include expensive legal fees and frozen bank accounts.

If you are a newcomer, be aware that you will need to file your apartment under your name (see “Filing Under Your Name” below). If the bill is paid before you do so, you will be unable to obtain a discount until you file the apartment under your name and pay the bill again.

If you plan on applying for a discount later, you are still responsible to set up a payment plan (or pay in full) at the beginning of the year. When you are approved for a discount, the Arnona office will send you a form that asks for your Israeli bank account information. After you return the completed form to them, they will credit your bank account for any amount that deserves reimbursement.

How to Pay

In any bank or post office: present your bill and pay with cash, check or credit card

On the Iriyah website: pay by credit card

By phone: call 02-629-6000 for the automated payment system, or 02-629-6333 ext. 1 for a human representative (neither is available in English)

Payment Plans

1. Pay the entire bill, either before or after filing for a discount, at the beginning of the year. This option gives you an additional 1% discount.

2. Set up horaat keva, monthly automatic payments, through your bank account. To do this, complete the required authorization form, have your bank sign it, and submit it to the Arnona office. This option offers a discount of 0.75%.

3. Pay in installments with your credit card. This option offers no discount. You may incur interest from your credit card company.

4. Submit up to 12 postdated checks, the last of which is dated in December of the current calendar year. Each time a check is cashed, you will receive a detailed receipt. This option does incur interest that must be paid to the Arnona office after the last check is deposited.

Filing Under Your Name

Entering an Apartment

When you first move into your apartment, file the apartment under your name at the Iriyah (Municipality). You cannot apply for an Arnona discount if the apartment is not under your name. Take care of it on time! You may not file an apartment under your name if you have already moved out.

If you would like to put your name on an apartment that you moved into before the start of the current calendar year, you may not be eligible for a discount on the dues of the previous calendar year.

If you are a teudat zehut holder, you may submit your name change request in person, by email or by fax. If you do not have a teudat zehut, you must appear in person.

Email: pniyot@jerusalem.muni.il

Fax: 02-629-6331

If you have purchased the property, submit your purchase contract and a copy, along with your ID.

If you are a renter, submit a written statement signed by you and your landlord that states that you are the new tenant and that the previous tenant has left, including the property’s address, relevant dates, and all parties’ names and passport or teudat zehut numbers. A sample letter is available at Chaim V’Chessed. Submit the form along with two copies of your rental contract at the Iriyah.

Once you have been registered as the owner or tenant, the Arnona office will issue a new bill in your name for the period beginning from your date of entry until the end of the calendar year.

Exiting an Apartment

When you move out of an apartment, make sure to fill out the Iriyah form titled hoda’a al siyum hachzakat socher b’neches, which affirms that you are leaving and ensures that you are no longer held responsible for Arnona payments. You must also file your new apartment under your name (see above).

Arnona Discounts

If you or another resident of your household fall under one of the following categories, you may be eligible for an Arnona discount, or hanacha, of up to 90%.

Disabled

Low Income (see below)

Mandatory Service/Released Soldiers

In Urgent Need

New Immigrants

Recipients of Avtachat Hachnasa or Alimony

Senior Citizens

Single Parent Families

New & Empty Properties

Income-Based Discount

Eligibility for an income-based discount is granted based on the monthly average of income received either during October, November and December of the previous calendar year, or throughout the whole year. You may select which option works better for you on the application form. See chart below to approximate your eligibility.

When can you apply?

Most years, discounts may be applied for starting mid-January. If the discount chart has not yet been published by the Municipality, or if you plan on applying for a discount later, you are still responsible to set up a payment plan (or pay in full) at the beginning of the year. Severe consequences may otherwise apply. See “Paying Arnona” above.

Moreover, if you receive a discount but neglect to pay your dues by the end of the calendar year, policy dictates that the discount will be revoked.

If you have not registered your apartment under your name, you must do so before applying for a discount. See “Filing Under Your Name” above.

How do you apply?

For those with a teudat zehut, applications may be submitted by mail, by fax, or in person during public reception hours. If one or both spouses are visa holders, the application must be submitted in person. Make an appointment before you go to ensure a smoother experience. See the end of this article for office information.

Visa holders will only receive a discount for the part of year during which their visas are valid. Once they are renewed, they must be presented to the Arnona office so that the discount may apply for the remainder of the year.

What do you need?

If you are not a resident of Jerusalem, please confirm your local municipality’s regulations.

1. Teudat zehut or foreign passport with valid A-category visa for all family members, and a copy of each. If an Israeli child is not yet listed on a parent’s teudat zehut, bring a copy of the birth certificate.

2. Arnona reduction form, available at the Arnona office, online, or at Chaim V’Chessed

3. Arnona bill

4. Chozeh (rental contract): must include the teudat zehut (Israeli ID) numbers or foreign passport numbers of both you and your landlord; must be written according to the secular months; and must be current. If it expires before the end of the year, a signed statement of extension must be included.

5. If an adult resident is a salaried worker:

a. Tlushim (payment records) of October, November and December of the previous year, or of the entire year, if you would like it all taken into account. Tlushim must be signed by the workplace.

b. If he or she earned less than a full-time salary, and/or if there were months that he or she did not work over the accounted period, present a doch rikuz mekomot avodah from Bituach Leumi. This certificate states where and for how long he or she was employed over the accounted period.

To obtain this document, you may either visit the Ben Shetach branch of Bituach Leumi (one spouse may obtain this letter on the other’s behalf) or simply print it out from a self-service machine in the Arnona office (next to the elevators). For the second option, you will need your Bituach Leumi number and a four-digit PIN code, also used to access the Bituach Leumi phone line.

c. If one received maternity leave for part of the accounted period, include a certificate from Bituach Leumi that details the amount paid per day of the leave, and tlushim for the rest of the period.

6. If an adult resident is a self-employed worker: shumat mas for the previous calendar year

7. If at least one resident over age 18 was unemployed and was not a student during October, November and December of the previous calendar year:

a. Present a letter from a dayan, judge or lawyer stating that this resident does not work.

b. If the resident has a teudat zehut or holds a permitted-to-work visa, a doch rikuz mekomot avodah from Bituach Leumi (see above) must be obtained and presented with the discount application.

If you are not a Bituach Leumi member, go to the Bituach Leumi office and request a certificate stating that you are not a Bituach Leumi member. Come prepared with your passport. The certificate should say that “the holder of this passport number is not registered with Bituach Leumi.” One spouse can obtain this on behalf of the other.

c. Families of three or more children under age 18 where the mother does not work –

i. If the family receives avtachat hachnasa from Misrad Hachinuch, present a bank account statement from October, November or December of the previous calendar year in which the stipend appears. The statement must include the name and teudat zehut number of the bank account owner.

ii. If the family does not receive avtachat hachnasa from Misrad Hachinuch, present bank accounts from October, November and December of the previous calendar year, as well as a letter from a dayan certifying that (a) the mother does not work and (b) the reason why the family did not receive the pension.

8. If you do not pay your rent independently, you must bring a letter from a dayan, judge or lawyer describing how the rent is paid (e.g. parents pay directly to the landlord). If your parents pay the landlord directly, this must be stated explicitly, specifying the method of payment (either “by check” - include a copy of the check - or “by cash via a messenger/shaliach”).  This letter may be combined with [7a] above.

In addition, you must provide a letter from the landlord with his contact information (name, address, cell phone, email), stating via which method he receives the rent money (as above). It is recommended he include the amount being paid.

9. For a yeshiva or kollel student, submit an original certificate from the yeshiva or kollel (on the yeshiva’s professional letterhead, including its mispar amuta, non-profit number). This letter must clearly delineate the student's name, the student’s passport or teudat zehut number, days and hours of study, stipend paid for the previous October, November and December, and the name, position and ID number of the signer.

10. Children over age 18 –

a. Students: original certificate from school with name and ID number of child

b. Employed children: tlushim of previous October, November and December

11. Documentation of any other income, e.g. rent from owned apartments (note that if you rent out your own apartment and live in a rented apartment, only the difference in rent will be taken into account as income)

12. If you received sal klita (absorption stipend from Misrad Haklita) during October, November, and December of the previous year, you must bring a letter from Misrad Haklita stating as such.

13. If the household receives avtachat hachnasa (pension) or any other pension from Bituach Leumi, aside from kitzvat yeladim, present a letter from Bituach Leumi that certifies the amount of the stipend. (Note that those who receive kitzvat zikna or kitzvat yeled neche are eligible automatically for separate discounts.)

14. A-category visa holders are required to provide daf knisot v’yetziot from Misrad Hapnim for both parents.

Income-Based Discounts on Large Apartments

An income-based discount may not be granted if you live in a very large apartment. We recommend taking this into consideration when deciding whether to rent part of a large divided apartment.

Apartments of up to 100 meters are eligible for a low income hanacha if other requirements are met. In apartments of over 100 meters, a discount may be obtained, but it will only apply to 100 meters of the apartment.

Exception: families of ten or more are eligible for a hanacha based on family size. A hanacha is granted on ten meters per resident – so a family of eleven can receive a hanacha on 110 meters.

From 160 meters and up, you cannot get a hanacha at all.

Exception: if the family living there has 13 children or more, a hanacha may be obtained.

For residents of apartments larger than 120 meters, parental support is taken into account as personal income.

Exception: if there are 10 or more residents in the apartment, it is not taken into account.




Table of Income-Based Discounts for 2020

Working children over age 18: if one child is working, a salary of less than 5,300 NIS is not calculated as income. 50% of subsequent children’s full salaries are calculated as part of family income.

Arnona Resources

Arnona Office, Jerusalem

Kikar Safra 1, 1st floor, Kikar HaIriya

www.jerusalem.muni.il

Office hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:00 am‒1:00 pm; Tuesday 3:00 pm‒6:00 pm

To schedule an appointment: call *3552 or visit tor.jerusalem.muni.il

Operator: 02-629-6333 (answering service in Hebrew) Sunday‒Thursday 8:00 am‒3:30 pm and 4:00 pm‒6:00 pm

Automated telephone service: 02-629-6000 (operates 24 hours a day, except on Shabbos and holidays)

General email: pniyot@jerusalem.muni.il

Discounts email: discounts@jerusalem.muni.il

Fax for reduction division: 02-629-6398

Degel HaTorah

Degel HaTorah provides Arnona discount assistance at their office and answers questions over the phone. For those who hold teudot zehut, Degel can also submit discount applications to the Iriyah.

Reishis Chochma 23, Geula • 02-677-4500

Dayanim

A dayan’s letter is necessary in most cases of low-income discount applications. Here are a few options to explore in Jerusalem. Options are not limited to those included here.

Badatz Eidah Chareidis, Binyanei Zupnik, Geulah – 02-532-6180

Beis Din Nesivos Chaim, Panim Meirot 1 (around side of building) – 02-502-3637

Agudas Yisrael, Yeshayahu Press 2, Geulah (30 NIS fee)


Note: Degel HaTorah no longer issues dayan’s letters.