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France NRIs · Rental Income Tax

Rental income tax for NRIs in France

Renting out Indian property from France means your tenant must deduct tax on the gross rent. Set it up right and reclaim the heavy over-deduction.

When you rent out Indian property while living in France, the rent is taxed in India. Under the India-France treaty, income from immovable property is taxable where the property sits (Article 6), so the rate doesn't drop for living abroad. Because you're a non-resident landlord, your tenant is legally required to deduct tax at source on the rent under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026), at the 31.2% non-resident rate on the gross rent, not under the lighter resident-landlord rule. That deduction is heavier than your actual tax, because you get a 30% standard deduction when you file, so most of the gap comes back as a refund.
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India-France key facts: rental income tax

Default non-resident TDS rate31.2%
What the treaty changes hereIt sets no lower rate on this income. What a treaty decides here is which country gets to tax it.
Treaty article / basisArticle 6, source country taxation; declared on 2044 / 2047 with FTC
Your TRC issuing authorityDGFiP (Direction Générale des Finances Publiques), local SIE/SIP

Rates reflect India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026) and the India-France treaty. Surcharge applies on top; the 4% cess is already included in this figure.

How it works on the India side

A tenant paying rent to an NRI landlord must deduct TDS under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026), the provision for any payment to a non-resident, which means the tenant has to take a TAN, deduct each month on the gross rent, deposit it, file a quarterly Form 144 (the old Form 27Q) against your PAN, and issue you a TDS certificate. The common, costly mistake is the tenant using Section 194-IB, the 2% resident-landlord rule, which doesn't apply to a non-resident landlord and leaves both sides exposed.

The deduction on gross rent is more than you actually owe, because your taxable rental income is much smaller: a flat 30% standard deduction comes off under Section 24(a), and home-loan interest comes off too. When you file your return, the TDS the tenant deposited is set against your real liability and the excess is refunded, but only if the tenant's quarterly statement correctly reports it against your PAN, which is why setting the tenant up right from the start matters. If you'd rather not wait a year for that refund, a lower-deduction certificate on Form 128 under Section 395 (the old Form 13 under Section 197) can cut the monthly deduction at source instead.

What changes because you live in France

France runs a reporting duty that's separate from what you owe. Every Indian account you opened, held, used or closed during the year goes on form 3916 / 3916-bis alongside your 2042 return, even a dormant NRO holding a few hundred rupees, even in a year it paid you nothing, and the same form catches Indian life-insurance and capitalisation policies (articles 1649 A and 1649 AA CGI). Miss one and the fine is 1,500 euro per account, per year, not per return. Skip a declaration in a year your foreign accounts together, Indian ones included, top 50,000 euro at any point, and DGFiP gets ten years instead of three to reassess the income tied to them (LPF article L. 169), which is exactly what a property sale or a large redemption landing in your NRO triggers.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from French NRIs

Under Section 393(2), the successor to Section 195, because you're a non-resident landlord. The tenant has to take a TAN, deduct on the gross rent at the 31.2% non-resident rate, deposit it, file a quarterly Form 144 (the old Form 27Q) against your PAN and give you the TDS certificate. Section 194-IB, the 2% rule most tenants know (it was 5% until 1 October 2024), applies only to resident landlords and is the wrong provision for a non-resident.

Yes. The deduction is on the gross rent, but your taxable rental income is much smaller, because you get a flat 30% standard deduction under Section 24(a) plus any home-loan interest before tax is computed. The over-deducted amount comes back as a refund when you file your Indian return, provided the tenant's quarterly statement correctly reports the TDS against your PAN. French NRIs who don't want to wait for that refund apply for a Form 128 certificate instead.

No. Income from immovable property is taxable where the property sits (Article 6), so Indian rent stays taxable in India regardless of where you live. France may tax the same rent, with a credit for the Indian tax paid, though whether it does turns on remittance and residence-year rules the note below sets out. The treaty stops double taxation. The saving comes from the 30% standard deduction and reclaiming the over-deducted TDS, not from a lower treaty rate.

Go further

Read the full guide, or see your country's complete picture

NRI landlord: setting your tenant up for Section 195 TDSFrance NRI tax guide: every income type and the rates that apply

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