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Qatar NRIs · Rental Income Tax

Rental income tax for NRIs in Qatar

Renting out Indian property from Qatar 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 Qatar, the rent is taxed in India. Under the India-Qatar treaty, income from immovable property is taxable where the property sits, 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-Qatar 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 / basisSource country
Your TRC issuing authoritythe General Tax Authority (GTA), or Qatar Financial Centre Tax Department for QFC residents

Rates reflect India's domestic withholding under Section 393(2) (Section 195 until 31 March 2026) and the India-Qatar 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 Qatar

Qatar takes nothing from this Indian income. There's no personal income tax, no capital-gains tax and no inheritance tax on individuals, so the Indian rate above is the whole bill and every point you cut it by stays with you. Where Doha does trip people is the certificate, not the tax. Most Indians here apply through the General Tax Authority on the Dhareeba portal, but if you're licensed through the Qatar Financial Centre, which covers a lot of the doctors, fund managers and finance staff, you apply to the QFC Tax Department instead. Different body, different portal, different process. Sending your application to the wrong one is the usual reason a Qatar residence certificate arrives too late for the Indian deadline it was meant for.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from Qatar 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. Qatar 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, so Indian rent stays taxable in India regardless of where you live. The rent normally isn't charged in Qatar, so India's tax is all you pay on it. The note below carries any exception. 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 TDSQatar NRI tax guide: every income type and the rates that apply

Rental Income Tax sorted, by an Indian CA who works with Qatar NRIs

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