Israel NRIs · Dividend Tax

Dividend tax on Indian shares for NRIs in Israel

Dividends from Indian companies are withheld at the non-resident rate before they reach you in Israel. Here's the treaty position and how to reclaim any excess.

When an Indian company pays you a dividend while you live in Israel, the company withholds tax at source before the money reaches you. India's default withholding on non-resident dividends is 20% under Section 393(2), the successor to Section 195. The India-Israel treaty position is more favourable, capping the rate at 10% for individual residents, a real saving over the 20% default (Article 10). To claim it you need Form 41, the successor to Form 10F, and a Tax Residency Certificate on file with the company or your broker.

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India-Israel key facts: dividend tax

Default non-resident TDS rate	20%
India-Israel DTAA treaty rate	10%
Your saving via the treaty	10%
Treaty article / basis	Article 10: flat 10% treaty cap (unchanged by the 2016 protocol)
Your TRC issuing authority	the Israel Tax Authority (Rashut HaMisim)

Rates reflect India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026) and the India-Israel treaty. Surcharge and cess apply on top where relevant.

How it works on the India side

Since the 2020 shift back to classical dividend taxation, dividends from Indian companies are taxable in the shareholder's hands and the company deducts TDS before paying. For a non-resident the default is 20% under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026), plus surcharge and cess, and Section 115A taxes those dividends at 20% of the gross amount with no expenses allowed. A lower rate only ever comes from a treaty, and only where that treaty writes one for individuals: several of India's treaties reserve the reduced dividend rate for companies holding a large stake in the Indian payer, and some countries have no treaty with India at all, so portfolio investors there stay at the domestic rate.

Where a lower individual rate does apply, you claim it with Form 41 (formerly Form 10F) and a Tax Residency Certificate lodged with the company or broker, and any dividend withheld at the higher rate before your paperwork was on file is reclaimed through your Indian return. Where no lower rate applies, the 20% is generally your final Indian tax, so the questions worth asking are whether the payer withheld more than the correct rate and surcharge, and whether the country you live in gives you a credit for that Indian tax.

What changes because you live in Israel

Israel may not tax this Indian income at all, and that's exactly what makes over-withheld Indian tax expensive here. Make aliyah, or come back after ten or more years abroad, and sections 14(a) and 97(b)(3) hand you a ten-year holiday covering Indian interest, dividends, rent and gains on assets outside Israel, whenever you bought them. Relief for the Indian tax runs basket by basket and never beats what Israel itself would have charged, which in those years is nothing, so a bank or registrar that deducts too much leaves you chasing a refund from India, not from the ITA. If you became an Israeli resident on or after 1 January 2026, Amendment 272 also scrapped the old reporting break, so you declare that Indian income and those Indian assets every year even though Israel taxes neither.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from Israel NRIs

India's default is 20% under Section 393(2), but the India-Israel treaty caps it at 10% for individual residents, a saving of 10%. To get the lower rate you file Form 41 with a Tax Residency Certificate from the Israel Tax Authority (Rashut HaMisim). Any excess withheld beforehand is reclaimed on your Indian return.

Yes. With Form 41 and a Tax Residency Certificate on file, the treaty rate of 10% applies instead of the 20% default, a 10% reduction. Dividends withheld at the higher rate before your paperwork was lodged are reclaimed when you file your Indian return.

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