CA K Sanjay BhargavChartered Accountant
Open menu

Services

Tax Notices & AssessmentsIncome Tax & ITR FilingForeign Income / RSU & ESOPF&O & Intraday Trading TaxCapital Gains & Portfolio TaxReal Estate & Developer TaxRERA Certification & FilingsService Exports & IT FirmsGCC & Captive UnitsManufacturing & IndustryGST Registration & ReturnsAudit & AssuranceInternal Controls & IS AuditCMA Data & Project ReportsAccounting & BookkeepingCompany Incorporation & ROCNRI TaxationNRI RepatriationForeign Companies in IndiaFEMA & FDI Compliance
AdvisoryBlogContactMessage on WhatsApp

NRI repatriation: moving your money out of India

For non-residents taking money out of India: the sale proceeds of a flat or land, an inheritance, NRO balances and deposits, and rent or other income that has built up.

The tax is cleared, the paperwork the bank asks for is assembled, and the amount is planned against the USD 1 million per financial year limit — handled remotely, from wherever you are.

Message on WhatsAppCall now

Before you write in

  • Repatriating Money From India as an NRI: The Full Route

    Every repatriation runs the same five gates in the same order: what the money is, which account holds it, which FEMA limit applies, whether the tax is settled, and what the bank needs to see. Get the first one right and the other four follow.

  • Form 15CA/15CB Is Now 145/146: When You Need a CA

    Banks ask for a CA certificate on every remittance. It is required on one of four parts, above Rs 5 lakh and only where the sum is taxable. Which part is yours.

  • Gifts Between NRIs and Family in India: Tax and FEMA

    A gift from a relative is not taxed in India in either direction, but that is only one of four questions. The route FEMA allows, the TCS the bank collects on the way out, the two different definitions of 'relative', and the clubbing rule that taxes the giver on what the gift later earns.

What is covered

  • Property sale proceeds — the capital gains computation, a lower-deduction certificate before the sale so the buyer does not withhold on the full price, and the documents the bank needs to remit. See repatriating property sale proceeds.
  • Inheritances — money, deposits, shares or property left to you in India, and the documents that establish it. See repatriating an inheritance.
  • NRO balances — deposits, rent, pension and dividends that accumulated in rupees, including transfers from NRO to NRE
  • Forms 145 and 146 — the declaration the bank asks for and, where the remittance is taxable, the CA certificate. See when you need a CA certificate.
  • The USD 1 million limit — what counts, and planning a larger amount across financial years. See the USD 1 million limit.
  • OCI cardholders and foreign citizens who have inherited Indian property, where the rules on what can be held and sold are narrower. See inheriting property as an OCI.

The order that works

Repatriation goes wrong when it starts at the bank. The bank’s questions are the last step, and they are easy to answer once the earlier ones are settled:

  1. Establish the source — what the money is, and the documents that prove it: sale deed, will, succession papers, deposit statements.
  2. Clear the tax — deducted at source, paid on the gain, or shown not to arise. For a property sale, this is where a lower-deduction certificate saves the most money.
  3. Plan against the limit — how much goes this financial year and how much the next.
  4. Prepare Form 145 and, where needed, Form 146, and the bank’s own request form.
  5. Remit, and keep the file: the bank’s advice, the certificates and the tax proof are what your next return and any later question will rest on.

The whole route, with a downloadable document checklist by source of funds, is in repatriating money from India as an NRI.

Related

Filing the Indian return itself, residential status and treaty relief are on NRI taxation. Gifts from resident parents are covered in gifts between NRIs and resident family, and the tax on the sale itself in selling property in India as an NRI. This page covers the tax and regulatory mechanics of moving money; it does not advise on what to invest in.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I send out of my NRO account?

Up to USD 1 million per financial year, April to March, for all remittances from NRO balances taken together, including the sale proceeds of assets and assets you inherited. The limit is per person, not per bank or per account. Balances in an NRE or FCNR account sit outside it and are freely repatriable. Where the amount to be moved is larger, it is usually planned across financial years rather than taken in one go.

Do I need a CA certificate for every remittance?

No. Form 145 (formerly 15CA) is the declaration the bank asks for, and it has four parts. The CA certificate in Form 146 (formerly 15CB) is needed on one of them only: where the remittance is above ₹5 lakh and chargeable to tax. Which part applies depends on what the money is, and settling that before you go to the bank saves a second visit. The detail is in the guide on Forms 145 and 146.

The buyer of my flat wants to deduct tax on the whole sale price. Can that be reduced?

Yes, if you apply before the sale. Tax on a non-resident's property sale is deducted on the price, not the gain, which can mean several times the tax actually owed. A lower or nil deduction certificate from the Income Tax Department, applied for with a computation of the real gain, instructs the buyer to deduct less. Without one, the excess comes back only as a refund after you file the return.

I inherited money and a flat in India. Can I take it abroad?

Yes, within the USD 1 million a year limit, once the inheritance is established and any tax on income or gains after the inheritance has been paid. Receiving an inheritance is not itself taxed in India. The bank will want the will, probate, succession certificate or legal-heir documents that apply to the asset, and the CA certificate where the remittance is taxable.

Can all of this be done while I am abroad?

Almost all of it. The computation, the certificates, the lower-deduction application and the return are done remotely, and most banks accept the remittance request by email or through their NRI desk. A property sale usually needs either your presence at registration or a power of attorney executed abroad and adjudicated in India, which is worth arranging early.

My parents in India want to send me money. Is that repatriation?

No, it is a remittance by a resident under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which has its own limit of USD 250,000 a year and tax collected at source above ₹10 lakh. A gift from a parent is not taxed in your hands. How that works, and how the documentation differs from repatriating your own money, is covered in the guide on gifts between NRIs and resident family.

Money in India you want to move abroad?

Send where the money came from — a property sale, an inheritance, deposits or rent — which account it sits in, and roughly how much. The tax position, the certificate the bank will need and how the amount fits within the USD 1 million limit are worked out before you approach the bank. WhatsApp or email, whichever suits your time zone.

Message on WhatsAppCall now
WhatsAppCall