Special Income

Renting out equipment or machinery in India as an NRI

It is not property rent, and for a non-resident it can be taxed as royalty on the gross, which changes everything.

You own machinery, equipment or plant in India, and you let it out on hire while living abroad, and you want to know how the rent is taxed. It is not the same as renting out a property, there is no flat 30% deduction, and there is a cross-border twist that catches non-residents out: renting equipment to a payer can be treated as royalty, taxed on the gross at a flat rate, rather than as ordinary rent taxed on your net profit. Which it is makes a big difference. Here is how equipment hire is taxed for an NRI.

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Last reviewed: 26 July 20266 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

Rent from letting out machinery, plant, furniture or equipment is not house-property income; it is income from other sources, or business income, taxed on your net after actual expenses and depreciation, with no 30% standard deduction. But there is a specific non-resident rule: a payment to a non-resident for the use of industrial, commercial or scientific equipment is treated as royalty, and taxed on a gross basis at a flat rate, often the treaty royalty rate, rather than on your net rent. So the domestic answer, net rent as other income, and the non-resident answer, gross royalty, can diverge, and the withholding is under Section 195, not the resident rent section.

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Related situations

Not property rent: net, with no 30% deduction

First, what equipment hire is not. Renting out machinery, plant, furniture or equipment is not income from house property, so the flat 30% standard deduction that a property landlord enjoys does not apply. Instead, under Section 56, letting out plant, machinery or furniture is income from other sources, unless it is carried on as a business, in which case it is business income. Either way, it is taxed on your net: you deduct the actual expenses of the letting, and depreciation on the equipment, and pay tax on the profit.

So compared with property rent, the trade is that you lose the generous 30% flat deduction but you can claim your real costs and depreciation. For a purely domestic situation, that is the whole story. For an NRI, it is not, because a separate rule can override this entirely.

The royalty override, and the TDS

Here is the cross-border twist that catches non-residents. Where a non-resident is paid for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, that payment is treated as royalty under the deeming rules, not as ordinary rent. And royalty to a non-resident is taxed on a gross basis at a flat rate, often the reduced royalty rate under your country's treaty, rather than on your net rental profit after expenses.

So the domestic answer, net rent taxed as other income, and the non-resident answer, gross royalty at a flat rate, genuinely diverge, and which applies depends on the nature of the arrangement. That matters because a gross flat rate with no expenses can be better or worse than net-at-slab depending on your margins, so it is worth working out. On the withholding, the resident rent section, which deducts at 2% for plant and machinery, does not apply to you; a non-resident lessor's TDS is under Section 195, at the royalty or applicable rate, and only where the income is chargeable in India. There is also 18% GST on equipment hire, separate from income tax. A practising CA works out whether your equipment income is net rent or gross royalty, applies the better and correct basis, and sets the Section 195 withholding right.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

1
We classify the income
We determine whether your equipment income is net rent as other income, or gross royalty as a non-resident, since the two are taxed very differently.
2
We apply the better basis
We compute both the net and the gross-royalty outcomes and apply the correct and more favourable one, with any treaty royalty rate.
3
We fix the TDS
We get the withholding onto Section 195 at the right rate, not the resident 2% rent rate that does not apply to you.
4
We handle the GST
We deal with the 18% GST on the equipment hire, separate from the income tax.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

The hire agreement and the equipment let out
The rent received and your costs and depreciation
The TDS deducted and the section used
Your PAN, TRC and residency details

Your destination country can change the details

Requirements differ from one consulate, university and visa route to the next, how recent the figures must be, how long funds must have been held, and which certificates are mandatory. We assemble the documents around the exact checklist you're applying under. To see how India's tax treaty with your country of residence affects related filings, set your country below or compare all 46 countries.

References on this page

Equipment/machinery hire is not house-property income; it is other income or business income, net of actual expenses and depreciation (no 30% deduction)
For a non-resident, payment for the use of industrial, commercial or scientific equipment is royalty, taxed gross at a flat rate
So the domestic (net rent) and non-resident (gross royalty) treatments can diverge
The withholding is under Section 195, not the resident rent section (194-I)

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

No. The 30% standard deduction is only for house-property rent. Equipment and machinery hire is other income or business income, taxed on your net after actual expenses and depreciation.

Yes, and this is the non-resident twist. A payment to a non-resident for the use of industrial, commercial or scientific equipment is treated as royalty, taxed on a gross basis at a flat rate, often the treaty royalty rate, rather than on your net rent.

It depends on your margins. A gross flat rate with no expenses can be better or worse than net-at-slab depending on your costs, so it is worth computing both and applying the correct, more favourable basis.

Under Section 195, at the royalty or applicable rate, and only where the income is chargeable in India. The resident rent section that deducts 2% for plant and machinery does not apply to a non-resident lessor.

The exceptions that change the answer

Where the general rule stops applying to you

Every rule below has a carve-out, a cut-off date or a condition that flips the answer. These are the ones that decide real cases.

House property standard deduction and interest cap

Right now: 30% standard deduction on net annual value

Where it works differently

The property is self-occupied: Interest deduction is capped at Rs 2 lakh under s.24(b).; Second proviso to s.24(b).
The property is let out: Full interest is deductible against rent, but the resulting LOSS that can be set against other heads is capped at Rs 2 lakh a year, with an 8-year carry-forward.; s.71(3A), from AY 2018-19. Frequently missed by leveraged NRI landlords.
The new tax regime applies: No set-off of house-property loss against other income at all.; s.115BAC restriction. NRIs are in the new regime by default.

Commonly got wrong

Full home-loan interest can be set against salary. Capped at Rs 2 lakh in the old regime, and disallowed entirely in the new regime.In the old regime you may deduct home-loan interest, capped at Rs 2 lakh for a self-occupied property, with the set-off against other income capped at Rs 2 lakh a year. In the new regime, which is the default, there is no set-off at all.

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