Year-end, what your accountant asks for

The request from your accountant usually lands in February or March, and it sounds short: send me the year-end material. In practice it is ten to fifteen separate items, some of them sitting in your invoicing software and some that have to come from the bank, the insurer or the Tax Authority. Anyone who starts collecting in March spends two weeks on documents that should have been ready long before.

This page lists exactly what gets asked for, where each item comes from, and what is worth sorting out in December so the collection takes an hour instead of a fortnight.

The deadlines worth knowing

The law says an individual return is filed by 30 April following the end of the tax year, and in practice the Tax Authority extends that almost every year. For tax year 2025, the deadline was 29 May for a return that is not filed online and 30 June for an online one.

A business represented by an accountant comes under the representatives' extension arrangement and files later, according to the quota set for that firm. Anyone unrepresented who wants an extension has to approach the assessing officer in advance, and by the statutory date file an estimated return and pay the tax due on it. An extension is not a postponement of the payment.

What comes out of your invoicing software

This is the part that should take minutes, and takes days for anyone working without a system.

The main item is the Open Format file, the standard export your accountant imports directly into their own system. After it comes the income summary for the year, a summary of expenses by category with the receipts behind them, and copies of the periodic VAT reports filed during the year. Your accountant compares the total in those VAT reports against the income in the books, and any gap is the first thing they ask about.

Worth checking before you send: no documents issued outside the system. One invoice issued from a Word file in a rushed moment is exactly what creates a hole in the numbering and an awkward question later.

What comes from the bank and the card issuer

Statements covering the whole year for the business account, and for a business credit card, the card statements too. On top of that, the annual certificate of fees and interest, which is a deductible expense in its own right.

This is where a lot of freelancers lose time in their first years: when business spending is mixed into a personal account, somebody has to go line by line and decide what is business and what is not. That is work an accountant charges for, and a separate account avoids it entirely.

What comes from the funds and insurers

An annual certificate of pension-fund deposits, one for study-fund deposits, and certificates for life insurance and disability cover. All three carry tax benefits, and the benefit is lost if the certificate never arrives.

The funds send these by post or email in January, and they can also be downloaded from each provider's personal area. Anyone depositing manually rather than by standing order should confirm that the December deposit actually landed before 31 December, because a deposit recorded in January belongs to the following year.

What comes from the Tax Authority and National Insurance

Confirmation of the income tax advances paid during the year, and a National Insurance statement of contributions paid. Part of those contributions is deductible, so the statement is not a formality.

Anyone who is also employed attaches a Form 106 from the employer. Anyone employing staff attaches Form 126 and the withholding certificates they issued. And anyone paid by customers who withheld tax at source needs those withholding certificates, otherwise the tax already deducted is not credited to them.

The stock count, where relevant

A business holding goods, raw materials or finished products counts them physically on 31 December and records quantity and cost per item. Closing stock feeds straight into profit: goods bought and not sold are not this year's expense.

A service business with no inventory skips this entirely. Anyone who does need it should photograph the count sheet and sign it with the date, because that is the document an audit asks for.

Items that depend on what you do

A mixed-use vehicle means the vehicle details, the odometer reading at the start and end of the year, and the maintenance and fuel costs. Working from home means the electricity, municipal tax and internet bills, plus the proportional area of the workspace. Donations to a recognized institution under section 46 need the original receipt with the approval number. Foreign income needs foreign withholding certificates, where tax was withheld.

What actually holds a file up

In most cases it is not one big missing document, it is three small ones. Receipts lost on expenses already recorded, an amount corrected by hand on a document instead of by credit note, and a gap between what was reported for VAT and what the books show.

There is also the retention question. Documents must be kept for seven years from the end of the tax year, and that covers the digital files too, not only paper. A file sent to the accountant with no copy kept on your side does not meet the requirement, and the duty continues after closing the business.

What is worth doing in December

Three things that cannot be completed after the fact. Pension and study-fund deposits, which count by the date they actually land. The stock count, which cannot be done retroactively in February. And closing out open customer debts, because a debt that will never be collected is better handled as a bad debt on time than dragged forward.

Alongside that, it is worth running an Open Format export in December even if you send it to nobody. If something in the books does not add up, better to find out while there is still time to fix it.

How Slate helps at year-end

The Open Format file exports in one click from the documents already issued. The VAT report is calculated from the same data you entered, so there is no gap between what is shown and what was filed. Expenses are stored with the deduction percentage frozen at the moment of recording, including the receipt image, and every list can be exported. An issued document cannot be edited or deleted, so the books that reach your accountant are what actually happened.

This is general information, not tax advice. For a specific situation, talk to an accountant or tax adviser.

Common questions

When is the annual tax return due for the self-employed in Israel?

The law sets 30 April, and the Tax Authority extends it almost every year. For tax year 2025 the deadline was 29 May for a paper return and 30 June for an online one. A business represented by an accountant files later, under the representatives' extension arrangement.

What documents does an accountant ask a freelancer for at year-end?

The Open Format file from your invoicing software, an expense summary with the receipts behind it, business bank and credit card statements, annual certificates from the pension fund and study fund, life and disability insurance certificates, a Form 106 if you also have salaried income, confirmation of advances paid to the Tax Authority and National Insurance, and a stock count as of 31 December if the business holds inventory.

What is a stock count and who has to do one?

A business holding goods or raw materials counts them physically on 31 December and records quantity and cost. Closing stock feeds straight into taxable profit. A service business with no inventory skips it.

Can you file the annual return without an accountant?

Yes, the return is filed online through the Tax Authority personal area and you can complete it yourself. A business with inventory, a mixed-use vehicle, foreign income or losses carried forward usually comes out ahead with representation.

What happens if receipts for expenses are missing?

An expense with no supporting document is not recognized. You can ask the supplier for a copy, though a year later that gets hard. This is why photographing a receipt at the moment of payment beats collecting them in March.

Do the documents have to be kept after the return is filed?

Yes. The retention period is seven years from the end of the tax year, and it covers the digital files, not only paper.

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