What Documents to Hold Onto in Israel?

Last updated: 22.12.2024

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In Israel, as in the country you made Aliyah from, there will be many official documents, both physical and digital, that you will receive from the government, different companies, employers, service providers, stores etc.

This guide provides an overview and recommendations about which ones are necessary to keep and for how long.

For 1 Year

Pension statements – the latest annual statement.
Keren Hishtalmut – קרן השתלמות – statements – the latest annual statement.
Bills – a year from the time you paid. Make sure you have the confirmation number that you received when you paid! This includes electric, water, gas, cell phone, home phone, internet, Kvish 6 (כביש 6 – Toll Road #6), cable TV, and anything else you have a subscription for.
Credit card and bank statements – for three months. All of the statements are available on the card’s/bank’s website and can usually be accessed for up to one year.

For 7 Years

Rental contracts – for seven years from the end of the contract. It could protect you from a future lawsuit and applies equally to renters and landlords.
Government and Local Municipality bills – Save any proof of payments to the government or the local municipality for seven years minimum as you never know when you will need to prove that you paid your parking tickets, Arnona, Bituach Leumi etc. As above, make sure that you have the confirmation number you received when you paid.
Tlushei Maskoret – תלושי משכורת – pay stubs – All of them, just in case you need to prove that you worked and all of your rights were given and received.

Forever

106 Form – טופס 106 – This is a summary of the income you received from your employer for the past year. This is helpful when filing tax returns and will come in handy when you start collecting pension.
161/161א – This is a summary of all payments made by your employer when you leave your job or are fired. This will also be good to have when you retire.
Work contracts – Always keep them even after you leave a job.
Certificates – From diplomas to birth certificates – keep them all. This includes any Sherut Leumi – שירות לאומי – National Service certificates or a Ptor – פטור – Exemption from Army service or your actual Teudat Shichrur – תעודת שיחרור – Army release form.
Mortgage and loans – At least until you finish paying them off. Make sure to keep the “paid in full” confirmation letter too
Housing documents – From proof of buying your house to approval at the Tabu – the land registry office that the house is under your name, as well as any official floor plans and electric and plumbing plans.
Warranties – Until they expire. Often the actual purchase receipt constitutes the proof of warranty, and since they often fade with time it is recommended to either scan or take a picture of the actual receipt.
Wills – Always and make sure there is an extra copy somewhere else. If you change or update your will, keep all versions of them.
Medical – even though many items are digitized in your Kupat Cholim file, having easy access to important medical documents can be helpful. It is also a good idea once in a while to ask your family doctor to write a short summary of your medical history if you don’t have it all in one place. One should also keep any Michtav Shichrur – מכתב שחרור – hospital release letter, after a hospital stay, especially after childbirth, as it is not included in your Kupat Cholim file. You should also keep a copy of your children’s Pinkas Chisunim – פנקס חיסונים – Vaccination booklet.

Recommendations

Although there is no one correct answer on how to save documents, either physically or digitally, find and create a system that works for you.
Before throwing anything out, scanning and saving is probably the best practice. You can save them to your email, external hard drive, a cloud platform, etc. the key point being that they are backed up.
Even if it takes time, it’s good to get into the habit of scanning all your documents so they are backed up and digitized. Once you have started it is easier to maintain it as well.

This guide was created and translated by Shivat Zion based on an article by the Fionist Dream.

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What Documents to Hold Onto in Israel?

For 1 Year

For 7 Years

Forever

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