Arnona discounts in Israel: who qualifies, how much, and how to apply

An Arnona discount is generally granted from the application date and within the current fiscal year — remember in November and you’ve lost most of the year. That’s why this is the first section of the guide, not the last: if there’s a chance you qualify, apply now.

Some municipalities also require renewing the application every year (especially income-test discounts). Set a reminder for early January.

The broadest track: a graduated discount based on average monthly income per person in the household, per a table updated yearly. The lower the income per person, the higher the discount — in brackets reaching up to 80%.

The examined income usually includes all income sources of everyone living in the apartment (salary, benefits, pension), based on recent pay slips or the annual tax assessment. The self-employed file by assessment.

Recipients of the old-age pension qualify for a basic discount (typically 25% on up to 100 m² of the apartment). Those who also receive income supplement — the discount climbs up to 100% for those same 100 m².

The discount applies to the residential apartment only and to one holder — and here too, you apply at the municipality with an ID and a National Insurance confirmation of the pension.

A new immigrant qualifies for a substantial discount — typically up to 90% on up to 100 m² — for 12 months, chosen from the eligibility window fixed in the regulations (usually the first two years after aliyah). Meaning: you don’t have to use it immediately, but you must not miss the window.

Apply with the immigrant certificate (teudat oleh) and ID. If you made aliyah recently and just moved apartments — make sure the discount "moved" with you to the new municipality; it won’t do it on its own.

Recipients of the general disability benefit, IDF and hostile-action disabled, the blind (blind certificate) and families with a disabled child — each of these groups has its own discount fixed in the regulations, at rates that vary by category and municipality.

The basis is always the same: an official confirmation of the benefit or disability from the authorized body (National Insurance, Ministry of Defense), attached to the municipal application.

An apartment standing completely empty — no furniture, no use — earns a full discount for a limited period (up to six months), once per holder per property. Relevant, for example, when you bought a place and the renovation is delayed, or between tenants.

A property damaged to the point of being unusable is a separate track with a longer exemption — requiring a declaration and sometimes a municipal inspector’s visit.

Conscripted soldiers qualify for a significant discount during service and shortly after, and recent years added benefits for active reservists — the rates and terms vary between municipalities, so check specifically.

Students have no uniform national discount — but some municipalities grant their own, and low-income students often qualify via the income test anyway. Both tracks are worth checking.

First complete the holder swap (if you just moved), then file the discount application — most large municipalities have an online form on the city website; smaller ones go through the collections department.

Attach your category’s documents, keep the submission confirmation, and follow up: if approved — the discount appears on the next bill; if rejected and you believe wrongly so, every municipality has a discounts committee you can appeal to, and for exceptional financial hardship there is also a "hardship" track at that committee.