VAT rate: 18% (raised from 17% on 2025-01-01, held at 18% through the 2026 budget; the proposed 19% hike was dropped)
Tax brackets 2026 (post Amendment 288): 10% up to 84,120 NIS, 14% up to 120,720, 20% up to 228,000, 31% up to 301,200, 35% up to 560,280, 47% up to 721,560, 50% above. The 20% and 31% bands were widened on 1 January 2026; the other thresholds were carried over from 2025 (frozen through 2027).
Credit point value: 2,904 NIS/year (242 NIS/month), 2.25 points for residents
Bituach Leumi (employee): 0.40% up to 7,122 NIS/month, 7.00% from 7,123 up to the 49,030 NIS/month ceiling; income above the ceiling is not insurable
Health tax (employee): 3.10% up to 7,122 NIS/month, 5.00% above

Step 3: Tax Calculation Functions

Progressive (marginal) tax calculation with credit point deduction. Use Python Decimal for precision.

Step 4: Formatted Workbooks

Set ws.sheet_view.rightToLeft = True for RTL sheets. NIS format: '#,##0.00 "₪"'

Step 5: Templates

The bundled scripts/generate_spreadsheet.py produces three RTL Hebrew templates via --template {invoice,salary,arnona} --output FILE.xlsx:

Invoice (Heshbonit Mas): Business/customer details, item table, subtotal, 18% VAT, total
Salary slip (Tlush Maskoret): Earnings, deductions (income tax, Bituach Leumi, health tax, pension, keren hishtalmut), net pay. For the "income tax" line, subtract the Section 45a pension credit (35% of the employee-side pension deposit, subject to annual ceilings) from the progressive tax owed, otherwise the withheld amount will be overstated.
Arnona estimator: Rates by city (Tel Aviv 55.80, Jerusalem 40.50, Haifa 33.20, Beer Sheva 27.90, Netanya 43.10 per sqm/bi-monthly)

Step 6: Google Sheets (RTL and ILS)

Many users work in Google Sheets rather than Excel. For Hebrew worksheets:

Set sheet direction via Sheet > Right-to-left (or the toolbar RTL toggle). This flips column order so Hebrew reads naturally.
Set the spreadsheet locale via File > Settings > Locale > Israel so dates parse as DD/MM/YYYY and currency defaults to NIS.
Format currency cells with Format > Number > Custom number format using #,##0.00 ₪ (or apply the built-in ILS currency format from the locale).
For live exchange rates, use GOOGLEFINANCE, for example =GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:USDILS") returns USD-to-ILS. Multiply a USD amount by this to convert to shekels.
Google Sheets has no openpyxl-style API, build templates by hand or with Apps Script. The tax constants and VAT logic in this skill apply identically.
Gemini-powered helpers: the Insert > Smart fill menu and the in-cell =AI("prompt", range) formula (rolled out to most Workspace tiers during 2026) can categorize Hebrew text, summarize columns, or draft a formula from a natural-language description. Treat =AI() output as a draft: an Israeli payroll or invoice line still needs the deterministic VAT and tax-bracket math, not an LLM guess.

Step 6.5: Common Israeli Formulas

Reusable formulas that match the constants above. They work identically in Excel and Google Sheets unless noted.

VAT (18%) inside one cell:

Net to gross:                  =A1*1.18
Gross to net:                  =A1/1.18
VAT amount on a VAT-inclusive price: =A1-A1/1.18    (or =A1*0.18/1.18)
VAT amount on a VAT-exclusive price: =A1*0.18

NIS currency format string (Excel custom format, symbol after the number per Israeli convention):

#,##0.00 [$₪-he-IL]

The shorter #,##0.00 "₪" form also works; the [$₪-he-IL] variant carries the Hebrew/Israel locale tag so the symbol survives a re-save by a user whose Excel runs in another locale.

Progressive income tax (2026 brackets, annual income in A1, residents only) -- Google Sheets / Excel 365:

=LET(inc, A1, credit, 2.25*2904,
  MAX(0,
    MIN(inc,84120)*0.10
    + MAX(0, MIN(inc,120720)-84120)*0.14
    + MAX(0, MIN(inc,228000)-120720)*0.20
    + MAX(0, MIN(inc,301200)-228000)*0.31
    + MAX(0, MIN(inc,560280)-301200)*0.35
    + MAX(0, MIN(inc,721560)-560280)*0.47
    + MAX(0, inc-721560)*0.50
    - credit))

The LET helper keeps the formula readable and runs once instead of repeating A1 seven times. For older Excel versions, expand LET into separate cells.

Bituach Leumi + health tax (employee side, monthly salary in A1):

Bituach Leumi:  =MIN(A1,7122)*0.004 + MAX(0, MIN(A1,49030)-7122)*0.07
Health tax:     =MIN(A1,7122)*0.031 + MAX(0, MIN(A1,49030)-7122)*0.05

Income above the 49,030 NIS/month ceiling is not insurable, so both formulas cap at that figure.

Hebrew day of week from a Gregorian date in A1 (locale-aware):

=TEXT(A1,"dddd")

Returns "ראשון", "שני", etc., when the workbook locale is he-IL. Outside an Israeli locale, fall back to =CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A1,1),"ראשון","שני","שלישי","רביעי","חמישי","שישי","שבת").

Israeli holidays via Hebcal: Hebcal does not have a direct spreadsheet function. Either:

Export a year-range CSV from hebcal.com (Yom Tov + minor holidays + parashat hashavua) and VLOOKUP against the Gregorian date column, or
In Google Sheets, drive a Hebcal REST call from Apps Script (UrlFetchApp.fetch('https://www.hebcal.com/hebcal?cfg=json&year=2026&maj=on&geo=geoname&geonameid=293397')) and write the result to a hidden sheet. The hebcal MCP server (listed in Step 7) is the cleanest path when an agent is driving the workbook.

Step 7: Recommended MCP Servers

When building financial spreadsheets, these MCP servers from the directory provide live data so figures stay current:

boi-exchange: Bank of Israel exchange rates, use for any spreadsheet that converts foreign currency to NIS or tracks the representative rate.
hebcal: Hebrew/Jewish calendar dates, use when a worksheet needs Hebrew dates (e.g., a Hebrew-dated invoice) or must skip Shabbat and holidays.

Hebrew/Jewish date handling: openpyxl writes only Gregorian dates. To show a Hebrew date (e.g., "כ״ה אדר תשפ״ו") alongside the Gregorian one, compute it via the hebcal MCP or a library like pyluach, then write it as a text string in its own cell. Do not try to format a Gregorian date cell as Hebrew, the conversion has to happen before the value reaches the sheet.

Examples

Example 1: Create an Israeli Payroll Calculator

User says: "Build a payroll Excel sheet for an Israeli employee" Actions:

Create RTL workbook with Hebrew headers
Add income tax brackets (2026 rates after Amendment 288: 10%, 14%, 20% to 228K, 31% to 301.2K, 35%, 47%, 50%)
Calculate Bituach Leumi (0.4%/7% employee-side thresholds), health tax (3.1%/5%)
Include pension (6.0% employee + 6.5% employer, plus 6.0% severance by employer) and keren hishtalmut
Apply Section 45a tax credit (35% of employee-side pension deposit) against the income tax line
Format all amounts as NIS with Hebrew labels Result: Complete Israeli payroll calculator with net salary computation that reflects the 45a pension credit

Example 2: Generate Israeli Invoice Template

User says: "Create a tax invoice template in Hebrew with VAT calculation" Actions:

Set up RTL Excel with Hebrew column headers
Add business details fields (osek murshe number, address)
Include line items with quantity, unit price, subtotal
Calculate 18% VAT, display total in NIS
Add invoice number and Hebrew date fields Result: VAT-compliant Hebrew invoice spreadsheet template

Bundled Resources

Scripts

scripts/generate_spreadsheet.py -- Generates ready-to-use RTL Hebrew Excel templates with Israeli tax constants and NIS formatting baked in. Three templates: invoice (heshbonit mas with 18% VAT line), salary (tlush maskoret with earnings and deductions), arnona (per-city rate calculator with bi-monthly and annual formulas). Run: python scripts/generate_spreadsheet.py --template {invoice,salary,arnona} --output FILE.xlsx. Requires openpyxl.

References

references/israeli-tax-rates.md -- Israeli income tax brackets, Bituach Leumi and health tax rates, VAT rate, pension requirements, minimum wage, and common financial constants. Consult when building any financial calculations for Israeli context.

Gotchas

Hebrew text in spreadsheets requires RTL cell alignment. Default LTR alignment causes Hebrew to display incorrectly, with punctuation and numbers appearing on the wrong side.
Israeli date format in spreadsheets is DD/MM/YYYY, not MM/DD/YYYY. Excel and Google Sheets may auto-parse "01/03/2026" as January 3rd (US) instead of March 1st (Israeli). Always set locale to Hebrew (Israel).
NIS currency formatting places the symbol after the number, not before it (US-style). Both ₪ and the abbreviation ש"ח are acceptable in Israel. This skill and the bundled script standardize on #,##0.00 ₪ (symbol after the number). Pick one convention and use it consistently across the whole workbook, do not mix ₪ and ש"ח in the same sheet.
Israeli tax calculations in spreadsheets must account for VAT at 18%. Agents may hardcode older VAT rates (17%) from pre-2025 training data.
2026 income tax brackets are NOT the same as 2025. Amendment 288 widened the 20% and 31% bands effective 1 January 2026 (20% now to 228,000 NIS/yr; 31% to 301,200 NIS/yr; the 35% floor moved up to 301,201). Older payroll templates copied from 2024-2025 sources will overstate the tax for middle-income employees.
Excel's SORT and the column header sort on Hebrew text matches the first letter only on some builds; subsequent letters fall back to Unicode codepoint order, which is not the Hebrew alphabetical order. For Hebrew names lists, expect ~5-10% misordering and verify by eye, or sort in Google Sheets which uses a Unicode collation that handles Hebrew correctly.
Merged cells in an RTL Excel sheet sometimes "flip" their alignment when the file is opened by an Excel build with a non-Israeli system locale: the merged span renders in the wrong direction even though rightToLeft is set. Avoid merged cells across rows in RTL workbooks; use centered text in a wider unmerged column instead.

Reference Links

Source	URL	What to Check
Israeli Tax Authority	https://www.gov.il/en/departments/israel_tax_authority	Income tax brackets, credit points, VAT rate
Bituach Leumi	https://www.btl.gov.il/English%20Homepage/Pages/default.aspx	Social security and health tax rates
openpyxl Documentation	https://openpyxl.readthedocs.io/en/stable/	Writing XLSX files with formatting from Python
Bank of Israel	https://www.boi.org.il/en/	Exchange rates, monetary policy, CPI for indexation
Excel RTL Worksheet (Microsoft Learn)	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/excel.worksheet.displayrighttoleft	Sheet direction and RTL rendering

Troubleshooting

Error: "NIS symbol appears on wrong side of number"

Cause: Excel locale not set for Hebrew/Israel Solution: Use format string #,##0.00 ₪ (symbol after number) for Israeli convention, or set the workbook locale to he-IL.

Error: "Hebrew column headers display as question marks"

Cause: Workbook not saved with UTF-8 encoding or font doesn't support Hebrew Solution: Ensure the workbook uses a Unicode-compatible font (like David, Heebo, or Arial). When using openpyxl, Hebrew strings are automatically UTF-8 encoded.

israeli-spreadsheets

Israeli Spreadsheets

Instructions

Step 1: Set Up Python Environment

Step 2: Israeli Financial Constants