NRI tax & investment guides. The knowledge library

The Indian account types an NRI meets, side by side: what each holds, and what changes when your status does

The account names are not a choice of bank product. They are a record of your FEMA status and where the money came from. This is the map for changing status without leaving money in the wrong place.

The NRI tax recovery gap: a 2026 data report across 46 countries

We ran the same ₹15 lakh NRO fixed deposit through India's tax treaties in every country we cover. The money NRIs lose is at the withholding stage, not in some exotic loophole, and most of it is recoverable. Here are the numbers.

The Income-tax Act 2025: what changed for NRIs (old vs new forms and sections)

From 1 April 2026, India runs on a new Income-tax Act. The residence test is the same, but most of the forms and section numbers you know were renumbered. Here is the plain old-to-new map, what genuinely changed, and why your FY 2025-26 filing still uses the old forms.

NRO Fixed Deposits. The complete tax, FEMA and repatriation guide for NRIs

On NRO interest, Section 195 withholds 30% plus cess. A treaty rate (often 10% to 15%, and it is the total Indian tax, not 15% plus cess) applies only with a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 41 (formerly Form 10F). A refund of the gap is claimed in the return. A condoned past-year refund does not carry Section 244A interest.

Is NRE FD interest taxable in India? No, while you are non-resident

No. Interest on a fixed deposit in an NRE account is tax-free in India under Section 10(4)(ii), with zero TDS, for as long as you are a person resident outside India under FEMA. It becomes taxable once you return to India to settle, even in your RNOR years (resident but not ordinarily resident, the status many returning NRIs hold for their first years back), and your country of residence may tax it as worldwide income.

FCNR Fixed Deposits. The foreign-currency tax-free deposit

FCNR (B) lets you hold INR-equivalent funds in USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CAD, AUD, CHF, SGD or HKD inside an Indian bank, with interest exempt under Section 10(15)(iv)(fa), zero TDS, no INR risk for you, RBI-capped rates. The right product when you want the Indian yield without the rupee depreciation.

Selling Indian property as an NRI: TDS, Form 13, and getting your money out

The buyer withholds about 13% to 15% of the full sale price. Form 128 (formerly Form 13), under Section 395, is the certificate you file before the sale so the buyer deducts tax on the gain. This page also covers the 12.5% long-term rate, reinvestment, and repatriation.

Indian equity mutual funds: simple tax for most NRIs, a real trap for US ones

When you sell an Indian equity mutual fund, India taxes the gain at 12.5% if you held it over a year, or 20% if less. That's the whole story for most NRIs. If you live in the US, there's a catch the IRS calls PFIC, and it changes everything. Here's both, plus who can actually buy these funds and how to keep your money repatriable.

GIFT City IFSC FCY Fixed Deposits. The offshore-flavoured tax-free deposit inside India

The IFSC banking units in GIFT City sit on Indian soil but are treated as offshore for FEMA and tax. Interest on FCY deposits with these IBUs is exempt for non-residents under Section 10(15)(viii) of the Income-tax Act. Foreign currency, foreign-flavoured tax, Indian banking convenience, and rates that typically beat what your home-country bank pays on equivalent USD savings.

Tax-Free PSU Bonds. The post-2016 secondary-market tax shelter for NRIs

Between 2012 and 2016 the Government of India authorised PSUs (REC, NHAI, IRFC, PFC, HUDCO, NABARD, NHPC, NTPC) to issue bonds whose interest is fully exempt from Indian income tax under Section 10(15)(iv)(h). No fresh issuances since 2016. All available paper trades on the secondary market on NSE / BSE. NRIs can buy via an NRE-funded demat account; the interest stays tax-free for the holder regardless of when the bond was acquired. For high-bracket NRIs (US, UK, Canada) where residence-state tax already eats most yield, this is one of the cleanest fixed-income shelters India offers.

Sovereign Gold Bonds, what to do with your existing holdings as an NRI (and why you can't buy fresh)

Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) are RBI-issued bonds linked to gold prices, with a 2.5% annual interest coupon and Section 47(viic) tax-exemption on redemption gain at maturity. NRIs are NOT eligible to subscribe to fresh tranches per RBI's SGB Master Direction, but if you became an NRI after subscribing, you can hold existing bonds until early redemption / maturity. This guide covers what to do with existing SGBs as an NRI: maturity exemption, secondary-market sale, NRO repatriation, and the niche scenarios where SGBs still make sense in an NRI portfolio.

Form 10F's new name is Form 41: the difference, and which one NRIs file

Form 10F's new name is Form 41. It is the treaty-information form, renumbered under the Income-tax Act 2025 from 1 April 2026, and supports a treaty-relief claim where you meet the relevant conditions. File Form 10F for income up to 31 March 2026 and Form 41 for income from 1 April 2026. Bank already cut the full rate? Check whether you can claim eligible excess withholding in your Indian return; the steps are below.

Form 13 Lower Deduction Certificate for an NRI property sale

From 1 April 2026 the application is Form 128 under Section 395. For a sale in FY 2025-26 it is still Form 13 under Section 197. The Assessing Officer decides whether to issue a certificate and what rate it carries. Filing the form does not itself change what the buyer deducts.

Schedule FA: the foreign-asset disclosure that triggers Black Money Act exposure for returning NRIs

Once you become Resident & Ordinarily Resident in India, every foreign asset you hold. Your US 401(k), UK SIPP, Canadian RRSP, Singapore CPF, even a small Vanguard brokerage, must be disclosed in Schedule FA of your ITR-2 each year. Skip a year and the Black Money Act 2015 exposes you to a ₹10 lakh per-year penalty under Section 43 (Section 42 if you never file at all) where your foreign assets top ₹20 lakh or include property, plus a 90% penalty under Section 41 if the asset is treated as undisclosed foreign income, plus possible imprisonment (Sections 49 to 51). Here's the complete picture: who must file, what goes where, the two safe-harbour thresholds, the Section 89A deferral route for retirement accounts, and the path back if you missed prior years.

Every NRI redemption tax rate in one place, stocks, mutual funds, SGB, EPF, bonds, NPS, REITs

When you sell or redeem Indian investments as a non-resident, the rate your AMC, broker, RBI, EPFO, or RTA cuts at source is rarely the rate you actually owe. This is the single-page reference: at-source TDS rate, DTAA treaty floor, Form 13 / lower-deduction lever, and the repatriation paperwork, for every major asset class an NRI typically holds.

NRI selling Indian listed equity. The complete tax + repatriation guide for FY 2026-27

If you hold Indian shares via your Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) account and you're now an NRI, your broker withholds capital gains TDS on every sale. The post-Finance (No 2) Act 2024 rules changed the rates from 23 July 2024 onwards. Here's the full picture: what TDS the broker cuts, what the DTAA does (and doesn't) reduce, when Form 13 is worth applying, and how to get the money out of India.

SGB redemption tax for NRIs: exempt only at maturity, for the original subscriber

Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) are issued by RBI for the Government of India. NRIs cannot buy new ones, but if you subscribed at issue as a resident and later became an NRI, you can hold to maturity. From 1 April 2026 the capital gain on redemption is exempt only if you subscribed at the original issue and held continuously until RBI redeemed the bond at maturity. Early redemption to RBI and bonds bought on the exchange are now taxable. Here is how each exit is taxed.

EPF withdrawal for NRIs and returning NRIs. The 5-year rule, the 10% TDS, and the foreign-tax-credit play

Whether you're resigning your Indian job to move abroad, or you're a returning NRI closing out an old EPF balance, the tax treatment turns entirely on one question: did you complete 5 years of continuous service? Less than 5 years means the entire withdrawal becomes taxable as Salary in the year of withdrawal. Five or more years means it's tax-free. Here's the complete picture, including TDS coordination, UAN portability, and the foreign-side tax-credit angle.

NRI bonds, NPS, and REITs/InvITs. The complete tax + repatriation reference

Beyond stocks, mutual funds, and SGBs, NRIs typically hold a mix of bonds (government, corporate, tax-free), NPS accounts, and REITs/InvITs. Each has its own statutory framework, TDS regime, and DTAA treatment. This is the single guide that covers all three asset classes, when interest is exempt, when capital gains are taxed, how the NPS 60/40 exit works, and how REIT distributions are split for taxation.

NRI mutual fund TDS, why it's 30%, and what you can claim back

Every NRI who redeems an Indian mutual fund sees the same shock. The AMC sliced off 30% (or 20% on equity MFs, or 12.5% on LTCG) before crediting your NRO. That's Section 195 working as designed. For capital gains most treaties leave India's rate in place, so the gap usually comes back through the ₹1.25 lakh exemption and your return. Distributions are where the treaty rate helps. Here's the complete rate stack by fund type and your country.

How to avoid the 30% TDS on your NRO account interest

You cannot use Form 15G or 15H as a non-resident to stop NRO withholding. Ask your bank whether treaty relief applies to future interest, and check any tax already deducted against your final liability. A return can claim eligible excess withholding, not automatically everything the bank took.