Mazel Tov! There are few experiences more exciting (and tiring) than having a baby. But amongst all the excitement and sleepless nights there some important financial steps you will want to take care of. Don’t worry, we got you covered. Here is a list to help you make progress in between diapers.

☑️ Get your maternity pay & stipend

First check if you qualify for maternity pay. If you paid Bituach Leumi for at least 10 out of the last 14 months or 15 out of the last 22 months prior to going on maternity leave, you will receive the equivalent of 15 weeks of your salary. If you paid Bituach Leumi for 6 out of the last 14 months prior to going on maternity leave, you will receive 8 weeks of your salary. You can start your paid maternity leave period retroactively up to 7 weeks prior to birth.

Next, you need to get paid. In most cases you need to apply here for maternity pay from Bituach Leumi, unless your employer says otherwise. Maternity pay (דמי לידה) for employees will be based on the average salary of the 3 or 6 months (whichever is higher) preceding the month you give birth, and will be paid into your bank account in one lump sum.

For those that are self-employed, your initial maternity pay will be based on the 3 months of Bituach Leumi estimates immediately prior to the month you stop working (or the equivalent 3 months of the previous year, the higher of the two). Once you submit your tax return for that year, your maternity pay will be adjusted. If you received too much it will need to be paid back. Your final maternity pay entitlement will be based on your income in the tax return (or the previous year’s income if higher).

(The mother’s partner can take one week of paid leave in parallel to the mother, if the mother agrees to shorten her paid leave by a week. Alternatively, if starting from week 7 the mother goes back to work, the partner can receive the remaining entitlement to paid leave – at the partner’s salary level.)

In addition to maternity pay, you will get a one time stipend (מענק לידה) for each child you have based on the following chart:

First child born to the family	₪1,986
Second child born to the family	₪894
3rd+ child born to the family	₪596
Twins	₪9,930
Triplets	₪14,895

☑️ Set up our maternity leave “salary”

Bituach Leumi will pay out your maternity pay in one lump sum. Don’t spend it all at once!

It’s time to make this money work for you. Start by estimating the date you will receive your first paycheck after going back to work. Then add an extra month as that pay slip will be hit hard by pension, Keren Hishtalmut, and tax deductions that were made by your employer on your behalf throughout your maternity leave.

So if you will be taking a 6 month maternity leave, divide the total amount you received by 7. Once you have that number, try to estimate how much of that monthly amount you will need to support your spending. Take that amount and save it somewhere that is both safe and accessible. Non-Americans can consider using Keren Kaspit for this purpose, while Americans may want to consider putting the money in different Pikdonot (savings accounts), one of which will mature each month of maternity leave. That way you can pay yourself a salary each month. You deserve it!

If there is money left over from your דמי לידה and/or your מענק לידה, consider getting it out of the bank and investing it for the long-term.

☑️ Choose the track for חיסכון לכל ילד

The government automatically opens a savings/investment account for every child, including your newborn. Parents have 6 months from the date of birth to choose a track for their newborn child. Here is the link for choosing a track. If you fail to choose a track within those 6 months you will be defaulted into a track that may not be ideal for your personal situation. If you need any help choosing a track, be sure to check out our full guide, here.

☑️ Get your documents in order [Especially US Citizens]

Having a baby also comes with some extra government bureaucracy attached, especially if you will soon be traveling outside the country and/or you are a US citizen. The first step is to get a birth certificate which you should now be able to request online and receive in the mail. Make sure to request a translated (English) copy of the certificate for international use.

If you intend to travel in the near future, the next step is to get an Israeli passport for the baby by making an appointment at your local branch of the Population and Immigration Authority. While you are at it, make sure to check that the rest of the families passports to ensure none are soon expiring.

If your children are automatically transmitted US citizenship at birth, it is time to make an appointment at the US Embassy or Consulate. Your child is likely considered a US citizen at birth if you or your spouse is a US citizen and were once considered a US residents (See the full rules here or speak to your US accountant to get a clearer picture.)

You can schedule this in-person appointment at either the US Embassy in Jerusalem or the US consulate in Tel Aviv. The goal of this appointment is to apply for a passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and Social Security Number for your baby.

☑️ Update your water bill

Your water bill is calculated based on the amount of people in your household (נפשות ביחידת הדיור). Once you have new member of the family, adjusting the number of people accounted for in your water bill will reduce your bill. Check your water companies website for a בקשה לעדכון מספר הנפשות and the rest should be pretty straightforward.

☑️ Open an investment account

When it comes to investing, your child has one major advantage Warren Buffet will never have – time. Time is the magic ingredient that can turn a relatively tiny investment, with little effort, into a serious fortune and newborns have a lot of it. That is why it’s so important to consider investing money for your child right away. It can be a bit tricky to get through the initial steps, but don’t let that stop you. See our full guide on this so you can get this compounding machine up and running and reach out if we can help guide you further.

☑️ Decide about extending your maternity leave

If you have worked at your company for more than one year, you can begin unpaid leave (חל”ת) once your paid leave period ends. You are entitled to take unpaid leave for up 1/4 of the time that you have worked at the company, maxing out at a year from birth.

So if, for example, you worked for a company for 2 years prior to maternity leave, you would then be entitled to take up to 6 months of חל”ת, beginning at the end of the 15 paid weeks.

Deciding whether or not to extend your maternity leave can be a difficult personal decision. By getting your finances in order, the practical considerations of this decision will be a lot easier to understand and plan for.

☑️ Update your employer and accountant

Parents of young children in Israel get extra tax credit points reducing your tax bill. The points get applied for the whole calendar year, retroactively. So if you baby is born in December, update your employer immediately to ensure that the points are applied to your final pay slip of the year.

You can use our employee net income calculator to estimate how an increase in tax credit points might increase the take-home pay on your next tlush. When you get back to work, if you haven’t done so already, make sure you check in with whoever is in charge of payroll to ensure the proper updates have been made.

Atzmaim should ensure their accountant applies the extra tax credit points when they prepare the Israeli tax return.

US citizens, be sure to update your accountant and send over the child’s SSN as soon as you have it in order to take full advantage of the extra child tax credits which you are now entitled to on your US return.

Good job, you got it all done. Now you can focus on some of the more important things in life…. like getting a few hours of sleep!