Car owners in Israel: beware! The following article is liable
to upset you. If you are car-less, however, the following
report might make you feel better the next time you order a
taxi. You are actually saving a quite a lot of money.
Chashav Maarchot Meida has figured out how much it costs to
maintain a private car in Israel today. The average upkeep
for a car of 1600 cubic centimeters (cc) -- which cost NIS
62,000 to buy and covers 1250 kilometers a month -- is NIS
2102 ($525) monthly; NIS 25,224 ($630) annually. The actual
cost is NIS 1.68 per kilometer.
If you own a second car (1300 cubic centimeters at a cost of
NIS 41,000 and covering 1250 kilometers a month) the upkeep
is NIS 1627 ($400) monthly or NIS 19,524 ($4800) annually, at
an actual rate of NIS 1.30 per kilometer.
In order not to scare you too much, let us note that these
figures also include depreciation costs. But the expense for
gasoline alone is not cheap either: it is more than double
the cost of a monthly bus pass. If only one person uses the
family car, it is a very expensive convenience. If the car
serves the entire family, however, the figures are
proportionately reduced. According to Chashav's estimates,
average gasoline costs were NIS 572 ($143) per month for an
average car (1600 cc). Last year, the cost was NIS 477 ($119)
a month.
If you own an average jeep -- let's say 2500 cubic
centimeters covering 30,000 kilometers a year and consuming
289 liters of solar gas a year -- you pay NIS 604 per month
for fuel, while last year you paid only 387: a raise of
55%.
For tax purposes, the amount you are allowed to deduct for
business use of various cars is as follows: 1300 cc: NIS 2.59
per kilometer; 1600 cc: NIS 2.88 per km; 1800 cc: NIS 3.22
per km.
