Do I file in both US and India?
Usually yes, at least for the transition year. US persons with Indian income reconcile Indian deduction against Indian liability and claim a US credit across mismatched years; returning Indians work the same machinery with the transitional residency window in play.
Which return do you prepare first?
Whichever one the credit depends on. Preparing them in the wrong order is the most common reason a credit is claimed in the wrong place, and it is also the most common reason a client ends up paying twice and reclaiming later.
Does the treaty mean I only file once?
No. A treaty allocates the tax; it does not consolidate the filing. Both obligations survive, and in some cases the treaty position itself has to be disclosed on a return before it can be relied on.
What about sub-national tax — states and provinces?
They set their own residency and sourcing rules and are not bound by the federal treaty in the same way. A position that is protected federally can still produce a state or provincial return, which is the single most common surprise in this corridor.
Can you work with my adviser in the other country?
That is how most corridor engagements run. They keep their side, we take ours and the interaction between the two, and the scope boundary is agreed in writing so nothing is duplicated or dropped.
What if I am behind in one country and current in the other?
That is the usual pattern. We map the unfiled years first and check which catch-up routes are open before anything is filed, because the route chosen for one year affects the relief available for the rest.
I am a US citizen living in India — do I still file in the US?
Yes. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so moving to India adds a return rather than replacing one. What changes is the content: Indian income now has to be reported in the US as well, with relief claimed for Indian tax, and the two countries' periods do not match. The work therefore becomes a mapping exercise — allocating income to the right Indian period and the right US year, then building the relief claim from the tax actually borne. Filing at home continues for as long as citizenship does.
Why was tax deducted in India before I received the money?
India collects at source on most receipts paid to a non-resident, and does so before any exemption or reduced treaty rate is taken into account. The deduction is a payment on account rather than a final charge, so nothing has gone wrong — but the money only comes back by filing. The Indian return is largely a reconciliation: what was actually deducted against what was actually due, with the difference claimed back. The documentary side, matching each deduction to the certificate that evidences it, is usually more work than the computation itself.
How do I claim US credit for Indian tax on different tax years?
By apportioning first. India's year runs April to March and the US year is the calendar year, so Indian tax paid by reference to an Indian period has to be attributed to the US years the underlying income actually falls in. Do that before any figure is computed. The claim then needs documents evidencing both the income and the tax actually borne, and the Indian and US positions have to be consistent with each other. The same income split one way in one country and another way in the other is what draws questions on both sides.
I sold a flat in India — why was so much withheld?
Because India takes tax at source on the receipt rather than on the profit, and before any exemption is considered. A deduction computed on sale proceeds will routinely exceed the tax actually due on the gain, sometimes by a wide margin. That excess is recovered by filing in India, and its size is the usual reason people discover the Indian return exists at all. The other half of the work is the US side, where the same disposal has to be reported, the gain computed under US rules from the acquisition history, and relief claimed for the Indian tax finally borne.
I am moving back to India — when does Indian residency start?
Residence is decided by each country's own rules, and India has a transitional residency window for people returning after a period abroad which affects what has to be reported rather than simply switching everything on at once. The date matters more than most clients expect: it determines which income belongs to which country, and both returns have to be prepared against the same one. Settle the position and write it down before either filing is started. Reversing that order is the common reason a first-year file has to be redone.
I inherited property in India — what does the US side need?
The inheritance itself and what happens afterwards are separate questions. Once you hold the asset, the income it produces — rent, interest, eventually a gain on a sale — is reportable in the US because of your status, and India will take tax at source on those receipts before any exemption is considered. What makes the later work manageable is the acquisition record: how the asset came to you, when, and on what basis its cost is established. Assemble that while the family documents are to hand, rather than years later with a sale in progress.
Do NRIs pay tax on money sent to India?
Sending your own funds to India is a transfer of capital, not income, so the remittance itself is not taxed. What is taxable is income the money then earns in India — interest, rent, capital gains — under the rules for the account type it sits in. Sending money out of India is the direction that needs certification before the bank will act. See NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts.
What is a double tax treaty and what does it actually do?
It is an agreement between two countries that divides up the right to tax. Article by article it decides which country taxes employment income, dividends, interest, royalties, pensions, property and business profits — and where both may tax, it caps what the source country can withhold and tells the other to give credit. It also breaks residence ties and opens a government-to-government channel for disputes. What it never does is apply itself: a treaty position is claimed. See our treaty work.
