What the representative rate is and when it is published
The representative rate is an indicator of a currency’s market exchange rate. The Bank of Israel calculates the dollar rate from a sample of the mid rates banks quote in interbank trading, taken at a random moment between 13:15 and 15:15, excluding outliers. The other currencies are calculated from the dollar rate and their rates against the dollar on world markets at that moment.
The rate is published shortly after 15:15. On Fridays, during Chol Hamoed and on holiday eves the sample is taken between 10:15 and 12:15 and the rate is published shortly after 12:15. The Bank of Israel publishes a representative rate for 14 currencies:
- USD US dollar
- EUR Euro
- GBP Pound sterling
- CHF Swiss franc
- JPY Japanese yen, rate per 100 units
- CAD Canadian dollar
- AUD Australian dollar
- SEK Swedish krona
- NOK Norwegian krone
- DKK Danish krone
- ZAR South African rand
- JOD Jordanian dinar
- EGP Egyptian pound
- LBP Lebanese pound, rate per 10 units
Days without a representative rate
There is no rate on Saturday, Sunday or Israeli public holidays, nor on Christmas, 1 January and Easter, when most foreign exchange markets are closed. The Bank of Israel list for 2026 also includes Purim and Shushan Purim, Passover eve, Tisha B’Av, Rosh Hashanah eve, Yom Kippur and the Knesset election day on 27 October. On such a day the last rate published before it applies, and the calculator shows that rate and the day it is from.
Which rate to use on a foreign-currency invoice
Under section 22 of the Income Tax (Bookkeeping) Regulations, books are kept in Israeli currency, and for a receipt in another currency you also record the currency and the amount in it. So a business invoicing in dollars or euros also needs the shekel amount, and for that it needs a rate.
The representative rate has no binding legal status, and the parties can agree on any rate. The Bank of Israel recommends deciding in advance which representative rate applies: the rate set on the transaction day, the last rate set before it, or the rate of another day. Write the rate and its date on the invoice and use the same method throughout. Which day binds you, and how to book exchange differences when payment arrives after the rate has moved, are questions for your accountant.
VAT on a foreign-currency invoice
VAT is calculated on the shekel amount: convert the amount before VAT at the rate and add 18%. That is what the tool does when you tick Add VAT, and it also shows the total in the foreign currency.
Under section 30(a)(5) of the VAT Law, a service supplied to a foreign resident is zero-rated, except in cases the law excludes, for example when the service is in practice also given to an Israeli resident in Israel. You still report the transaction, but at 0% VAT, so for a client abroad leave the VAT box unticked. If it is unclear whether the transaction qualifies, check with your accountant.
Worked example: a $2,500 invoice
On 22 October 2026 a business invoices an Israeli client 2,500.00 USD before VAT. The dollar representative rate that day was ₪3.1070. The shekel amounts:
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice amount before VAT | 2,500.00 USD | |
| Representative rate of 22.10.2026 | ₪3.1070 per 1 USD | |
| Amount in shekels before VAT | 2,500 × 3.1070 | ₪7,767.50 |
| VAT 18% | ₪7,767.50 × 18% | ₪1,398.15 |
| Total including VAT | ₪7,767.50 + ₪1,398.15 | ₪9,165.65 |
On the invoice: At the Bank of Israel representative rate of ₪3.1070 per 1 USD of 22.10.2026
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If the same invoice is issued on the morning of 22 October, before that day’s rate is out, the known rate is the one of 21 October, ₪3.0910, and the amount before VAT is ₪7,727.50, ₪40.00 less. An invoice dated Sunday 18 October 2026 gets the Friday 16 October rate: ₪3.0890.
Representative rate versus your bank’s rate
The representative rate is based on an average of buying and selling rates and does not necessarily reflect actual deals. When you actually convert money, your bank uses its own customer rates: a buying rate when it buys foreign currency from you and a selling rate when it sells to you, sometimes with a conversion fee. So when a client abroad pays 2,500.00 USD, the shekels that reach your account depend on your bank’s rate on the conversion day, not on the invoice rate. The difference is an exchange difference, booked as your accountant instructs.
Sources
- Bank of Israel: what the representative rate is: how it is calculated, sampling and publication times, days without a rate, and its non-binding status
- Bank of Israel: representative exchange rates: current rates for the 14 currencies
- Bank of Israel: dates affecting Bank of Israel activity, 2026–2027: the days without a representative rate besides Saturday and Sunday
- Income Tax (Bookkeeping) Regulations, 1973, section 22, and the Value Added Tax Law, 1975, section 30(a)(5)
We connect CRMs that issue foreign-currency invoices and convert them to shekels at the Bank of Israel rate without manual typing.
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