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Singapore

Selling Indian property as a Singapore resident

Singapore takes nothing, but India taxes the gain, and the treaty does not relieve property, whatever you may have heard about shares.

You live in Singapore and you are selling a property in India, and you want to know the tax. Singapore takes nothing on the gain, so the whole question is Indian. Many Singapore-based investors remember the India-Singapore treaty as a way to avoid Indian capital gains, but that was about shares, and it ended years ago. Property was always taxed in India. Here is what you actually pay and the withholding trap to fix.
Last reviewed: 27 July 20266 min readReviewed by Preetesh Maloo, CA

The short answer

Singapore has no capital gains tax, so it takes nothing on the sale, and the whole tax is Indian. If you held the property more than two years, the gain is long-term, taxed at 12.5 per cent without indexation, and as an NRI you do not get the 20-per-cent-with-indexation option residents have. The India-Singapore treaty does not help on property: gains on property situated in India are taxable in India. This is where people get confused, because the treaty once exempted gains on Indian shares for Singapore residents, but that exemption ended for shares bought from April 2017, and it never applied to property, which was always taxed in India. The real trap is the withholding: the buyer deducts TDS under Section 195, usually on the whole sale price rather than your gain, which locks up too much cash. The fix is a lower-deduction certificate before the sale. Reinvestment reliefs under Sections 54, 54EC and 54F can reduce the gain, and the proceeds repatriate through your NRO account within the yearly limit. That Indian side is what we handle.

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India taxes the gain, and property was never treaty-exempt

The Singapore side is simple: Singapore has no capital gains tax, so selling your Indian property is not taxed in Singapore at all. The tax is entirely Indian. A long-term gain, on a property held more than two years, is taxed at 12.5 per cent without indexation, and as an NRI you do not get the alternative 20 per cent with indexation that resident sellers have, so your gain is the sale price minus your cost at 12.5 per cent.

There is a specific confusion worth clearing up for Singapore residents. The India-Singapore treaty was famous, for years, for exempting capital gains, and many people still assume it will shelter their Indian sale. But that exemption was about shares, not property, and even for shares it ended: gains on Indian shares bought from April 2017 became taxable in India, with older shares grandfathered. Property is different and always was, under the treaty, gains on immovable property situated in India are taxable in India, so there was never a property exemption to lose. The upshot is that the treaty gives you no relief on a property sale, and the lever is elsewhere, in the withholding.

The withholding trap, and the fix

The trap on any NRI property sale is the withholding. When a non-resident sells, the buyer deducts TDS under Section 195, not the small 1 per cent that applies when the seller is resident, and buyers routinely deduct that TDS on the entire sale price rather than on your actual gain. On a property that has not appreciated much, that means a large part of the whole price is withheld against a much smaller real tax, and you wait to reclaim the difference.

The fix is to get ahead of it with a lower-deduction certificate, applied for before the sale, under what is currently Section 197 and becomes Section 395 under the new law. That tells the buyer to withhold only on your actual gain at the right rate, freeing up the cash the crude withholding would otherwise trap. Alongside it, reinvestment reliefs under Sections 54, 54EC and 54F can reduce or defer the gain if you put the proceeds into another house or specified bonds, and the net proceeds repatriate out of your NRO account within the yearly limit. Getting the certificate, the reliefs and the repatriation right is the whole job on a Singapore-resident sale, and it is the Indian side we handle.

What's involved

What the CA actually does

  1. 1

    We clear up the treaty question

    We confirm that the treaty does not relieve a property sale, so you plan on the real Indian position, not the old share exemption.

  2. 2

    We get the withholding certificate

    We apply for the lower-deduction certificate so the buyer withholds on your gain, not the whole price.

  3. 3

    We compute the gain and reliefs

    We work out the 12.5 per cent gain and apply reliefs under Sections 54, 54EC and 54F where they fit.

  4. 4

    We repatriate the proceeds

    We move the net proceeds out of India to you through your NRO account within the yearly limit.

What to have ready

Documents you'll typically need

  • The purchase and sale details and dates
  • Your cost and any improvement records
  • The buyer's details for the TDS
  • Your Singapore tax residency certificate and PAN

References on this page

  • Singapore has no capital gains tax, so it takes nothing on the sale; India taxes the gain at 12.5% for a long-term holding
  • The India-Singapore treaty does not relieve property gains: gains on property situated in India are taxable in India
  • The treaty's old share-gains exemption ended for shares bought from April 2017 and never applied to property, which was always taxed in India
  • The buyer withholds TDS under Section 195, usually on the whole price; a lower-deduction certificate (old Section 197, new Section 395) is the fix

Frequently asked questions

Common questions

No. Singapore has no capital gains tax, so it takes nothing on the sale. All the tax is Indian, where a long-term gain is taxed at 12.5 per cent without indexation.

That was about shares, not property, and even for shares it ended: gains on Indian shares bought from April 2017 became taxable, with older shares grandfathered. Property gains were always taxable in India under the treaty, so there is no relief on a property sale.

Because the buyer deducts TDS under Section 195 on the whole sale price, not just your gain. Applying, before the sale, for a lower-deduction certificate makes the buyer withhold only on the actual gain. Otherwise you reclaim the excess later through a return.

Yes, potentially. Reinvestment reliefs under Sections 54, 54EC and 54F let you reduce or defer the gain by putting the proceeds into another house or specified bonds within the time limits. We work out which fits and claim it.

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.

LTCG rate: assets other than STT-paid listed equity (includes property)

Right now: 12.5% without indexation

Where it works differently

A RESIDENT individual or HUF sells land or a building acquired before 23 July 2024
May elect the lower of 12.5% without indexation or 20% with indexation.
Grandfathering proviso inserted by Finance (No. 2) Act 2024.
A NON-RESIDENT sells the same property
12.5% without indexation only. The election is NOT available.
The grandfathering proviso is expressly limited to resident individuals and HUFs. This is the highest-value NRI distinction on the site.
Shares or debentures of an Indian company were bought in convertible foreign exchange by a non-resident
The first proviso to s.48 computes the gain in that foreign currency, neutralising rupee depreciation. This is separate from, and not lost with, indexation.
First proviso to s.48 survives the 2024 changes.
Adding surcharge and cess
Surcharge on capital gains under s.111A/112/112A is capped at 15%, plus 4% health and education cess.
The cap applies to gains under s.111A, s.112 and s.112A.

Commonly got wrong

  • NRIs can choose 20% with indexation on property bought before July 2024. The election is resident-only. Stating otherwise understates an NRI's tax, which is the worst direction to be wrong in.Residents may elect 20% with indexation for pre-23-July-2024 land and buildings. Non-residents get 12.5% without indexation, full stop.
  • LTCG on property is 20%. Stale since 23 July 2024 unless the transfer predates it.12.5% for transfers on or after 23 July 2024.

TDS rate when buying property from an NRI

Right now: 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on LTCG

Where it works differently

The gain is short-term
TDS is at the applicable slab rate, effectively 30% plus surcharge and cess for most NRI sellers.
s.195 requires deduction at 'rates in force' for the actual character of the income.
No lower-deduction certificate is obtained
TDS applies to the ENTIRE SALE CONSIDERATION, not to the gain.
s.195 operates on the sum paid unless the AO determines otherwise. This is the whole commercial case for Form 13 / Form 128.
There are joint NRI sellers
TDS is deducted separately against each seller's PAN in their ownership proportion.
Rule 37BA. Deducting entirely against one PAN strands the other's credit.
The buyer deducts 1% under s.194-IA
Wrong section. The buyer becomes an assessee-in-default under s.201 for the shortfall plus 1% per month interest and penalty under s.271C.
s.194-IA applies only where the seller is a RESIDENT.

Commonly got wrong

  • TDS on property purchase is 1% over Rs 50 lakh. That is s.194-IA, for RESIDENT sellers only. For a non-resident seller it is s.195 at the full capital-gains rate, with no threshold.1% applies only if the seller is a resident. NRI seller means s.195 at 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on the whole consideration unless a certificate is obtained.
  • The buyer files Form 26QB. 26QB (now Form 141) is for s.194-IA. An NRI-seller purchase needs a TAN and Form 27Q (now Form 144).Buying from an NRI, you need a TAN, you deduct under section 195, and you file Form 27Q (Form 144 from 1 April 2026). Form 26QB is only for resident sellers.

Selling Indian property from Singapore?

Tell us the figures and dates. A practising CA will get the lower-TDS certificate and fix the Indian tax on a free call, no obligation.

No card, no obligation. All certification and filing work is handled by ICAI-registered practising Chartered Accountants.