Buying property in Israel from abroad: power of attorney, bank account, wire transfers, remote viewings

The power of attorney: notarized yipui koach, apostille or consulate

The yipui koach (power of attorney) is the document that lets your Israeli lawyer sign in your place: memorandum (zikaron dvarim), sale contract (heskem mechira), purchase tax return, bank documents, deed of transfer at the Tabu. Without it, nothing happens remotely. With it, almost everything does.

Three rules make it valid. It is drafted by the Israeli lawyer, in Hebrew with an English version, and it names a specific property, a maximum price and a list of acts: it is a yipui koach notarioni (notarized power of attorney) with limited powers, not a blank cheque. It is signed before an authority: either a notary in your country, after which the document receives an apostille (in the US: from the Secretary of State of the state that commissioned the notary, $10 to $50, a few days to three weeks depending on the state; in the UK: the FCDO Legalisation Office, £30 to £45, 2 to 10 working days; in Canada: Global Affairs Canada or the provincial authority since Canada joined the Hague Convention in January 2024; in Australia: DFAT), or an Israeli consulate (New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Toronto, Montreal, Sydney), which authenticates the signature without an apostille, by appointment and for a few dozen dollars. The original travels: the Tabu and the banks want the paper, not a scan. Plan a secure courier of 3 to 5 days.

An Israeli lawyer registered as a notary can also take the signature by video in some cases since 2021, but not every bank and not every Tabu office accepts that route: check before relying on it. The powers, the limits and the clauses to insist on are detailed in power of attorney and remote purchase.

Opening an Israeli bank account remotely

An account is not required for a cash purchase: the funds can go from your bank at home to the lawyer’s escrow account, then to the seller. It becomes essential as soon as there is a mortgage (the monthly payments are debited from it) and very useful afterwards for arnona, vaad bayit, electricity and rent collected.

The large banks open non-resident accounts remotely, either by power of attorney to the lawyer or by a video interview with an adviser from the international department, sometimes both. Usual documents: passport, second ID, proof of address, CRS/FATCA tax residency declaration with your tax number (SSN or ITIN, NI number, SIN, TFN), proof of occupation and income, and a first explanation of the source of the funds that will pass through. Timeline: 1 to 3 weeks; at a branch during a trip to Israel, the account opens the same day. US persons sign a W-9 and should expect the bank to report the account under FATCA; some smaller banks decline US clients altogether, the five large ones do not.

Mizrahi-Tefahot and Bank of Jerusalem are the most practised with English-speaking non-resident files; Leumi, Hapoalim and Discount have international departments in Tel Aviv. Expect account fees of ₪20 to ₪40 a month for a non-resident account, often negotiable to zero with a mortgage. To know whether you need one: do I need an Israeli bank account?

Wire transfers and anti-money-laundering checks

This is the step that most often derails a remote purchase, not because of the amount but because of the paperwork. Israeli banks apply anti-money-laundering rules strictly: every significant incoming wire (in practice from ₪50,000) must be tied to a legible source. Savings: 6 to 12 months of statements. Sale of a property: closing statement or completion statement from the solicitor. Gift: gift letter or deed (and, for a US donor, the Form 709 if the gift exceeds the annual exclusion). Inheritance: grant of probate or letters testamentary. Family loan: written agreement. A down payment that has passed through three accounts with no explanation holds the file for several weeks.

The real risk is currency: between contract signing and the balance, the dollar or the pound can move 3 to 5% against the shekel. On $390,000, that is $12,000 to $20,000. A forward contract with a broker fixes the rate for each known instalment.

Searching, viewing and negotiating remotely

A remote search works if you accept three constraints. A tight perimeter first: one or two cities, two or three neighbourhoods, a total budget that includes 10 to 12% in costs for a non-resident. The Jerusalem and Netanya pages give prices by neighbourhood. A local relay next: an agent who agrees to do live video viewings, not edited walkthroughs, and who sends the nesach Tabu (registry extract), the floor plan and the minutes of the last building-committee meeting. An independent inspection last: on a resale, a home inspector (bedek bayit, ₪1,500 to ₪3,000) replaces your eyes for damp, wiring, plumbing and the state of the building.

Off-plan, the problem is the reverse: there is nothing to view, and everything turns on the developer’s (kablan) contract and the Sale Law guarantees. The remote buyer is less disadvantaged there (see buying off-plan from a developer), provided their lawyer knows this type of contract well.

Negotiation goes through the agent, then the lawyers. A buyer abroad has one argument: a clean file (bank pre-approval, funds available, power of attorney ready) that allows a quick signing. They also have a handicap: sellers prefer a buyer who is present. Make up for it with speed and a lawyer who answers the same day.

Signing the contract and the mortgage remotely

1. The zikaron dvarim and the heskem mechira. Signed by the lawyer under the power of attorney, after you approve the text by email. The deposit (10 to 20%) goes from your account abroad to the lawyer’s escrow account, who releases it only once the hearat azhara (caution note) is registered at the Tabu in your name.
2. The purchase tax return. Filed online by the lawyer within 30 days, signed under the power of attorney. Payment (8% of the price for a non-resident, ₪224,000 on ₪2.8M, brackets explained in purchase tax in Israel for foreigners) is made within 60 days from your Israeli account or by international wire to the Tax Authority’s account. Price it with the calculator.
3. The mortgage (mashkanta). File lodged remotely, appraisal on site, final offer, then signing of the loan documents: at an Israeli consulate, before a local notary with an apostille, or under a specific power of attorney if the bank accepts it (not all do). Life and building insurance taken out online. The full process, bank by bank, is in mortgages for non-residents. Buyers who would rather not deal with an Israeli bank at all can draw on a HELOC or a cash-out refinance at home and buy in cash.
4. Keys and registration at the Tabu. The lawyer receives the keys against the balance, does the walk-through with the agent or a representative, and lodges the deed of transfer. Registration in your name follows a few weeks to a few months later.

Tax in your home country: what the purchase changes in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia

Buying in Israel creates no reporting obligation in the US at the moment of purchase, with one exception: the Israeli bank account. A US person reports it on the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) once aggregate foreign balances exceed $10,000 at any point in the year, with penalties starting at $10,000 per non-wilful violation, and on Form 8938 under FATCA above $50,000 (single, living in the US) or $200,000 (living abroad). The property itself appears on neither form. After that, three subjects come back every year. American buyers have a dedicated page, buying property in Israel from the USA, and British buyers buying property in Israel from the UK; for a purchase run remotely, the choice of lawyer matters most: see how to choose your real estate lawyer.

• No wealth tax. Neither the US, the UK, Canada nor Australia taxes the holding of a foreign home. The only annual asset reporting is Canada’s T1135 (foreign income verification statement) when the cost of foreign property held for income exceeds CAD 100,000; a home used personally is exempt.
• Rental income. Taxable in Israel first (exemption up to ≈ ₪5,650 a month in 2026, or a flat 10% with no deductions, or the real regime), then declared at home: Schedule E on the US 1040 with a foreign tax credit on Form 1116 under the US–Israel treaty; the foreign pages (SA106) of the UK self-assessment, with credit for Israeli tax under the UK–Israel treaty; the T776 in Canada and the foreign income schedule in Australia, each with a foreign tax credit or offset. In practice the Israeli rent is rarely taxed twice, but it raises your marginal rate at home. UK arrivals who relied on the remittance basis should note that it was replaced in April 2025 by the four-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime.
• Capital gains on resale. Taxed in Israel (mas shevach, 25% on the real gain, with exemptions for a single home under conditions for non-residents), then at home under the treaty, again with a foreign tax credit. US persons also face the dollar-denominated gain rule: a shekel gain can become a larger or smaller dollar gain depending on the exchange rate between purchase and sale.

Country-by-country rules, treaties and forms are on Shekel Guide, our site on money and taxes in Israel.

Managing the property after the purchase, from abroad

An apartment in Israel generates every month arnona (municipal property tax, ₪300 to ₪900 a month for a 4-room apartment depending on the city and zone), vaad bayit (building-committee fees, ₪150 to ₪600, more with a lift and a doorman), water, electricity, gas, and building insurance. Everything is paid by direct debit from an Israeli account or by card online. If you leave the property empty, the municipality can grant an arnona reduction on request, for six months at most in most cities.

If you rent it out, a property manager takes 5 to 10% of the rent (up to 15-20% on short-term lets) to find the tenant, draft the lease, collect, handle repairs and deal with the vaad bayit. A standard Israeli lease runs one year, renewable, with a bank guarantee or a security cheque from the tenant. For rental tax and remote management, see the investing and renting out section.

Keep two documents current: the power of attorney (for future paperwork, a resale or a mortgage) and a local contact person registered with the building committee. A property with no local contact accumulates unread mail and fines.

Worked example: a couple from New Jersey buys in Netanya without coming

Actual calendar: power of attorney signed at the Israeli consulate in New York in week 1, account opened at Mizrahi-Tefahot by video in week 3, contract signed by the lawyer in week 5, purchase tax paid in week 12, bank funds released and keys in week 16. The couple came once, two months after the keys, to furnish the place.

Frequently asked questions

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