Cost-effective Form 27Q — TDS on non-resident payments in India

Form 27Q — who files it, when it is due, what late filing costs, and what we charge to prepare it. India (Income Tax Department). Cost-effective Form 27Q with a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts. Call the 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068, or request a written quote today.

  • 15+Years of cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served
  • 5.0Google rating
  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE

Secure a fixed quote

Your own file sets the fee. Send it over, and a written quote arrives before anything is prepared.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
In 60 words

Form 27Q is a withholding return or recipient slip: The quarterly return of tax deducted at source on payments to non-residents. Indian payers deducting tax on interest, dividends, rent, professional fees, royalties or property purchase from a non-resident.

Who this applies to

Indian payers deducting tax on interest, dividends, rent, professional fees, royalties or property purchase from a non-resident.

Here is the part that decides your answer. Everything the non-resident later relies on — credit for the deduction, the treaty rate, the refund claim — depends on this return being filed correctly with the right identifier and section. A wrong entry is corrected by revising the return, not on the non-resident's own filing.

The team reviewing a file together at a desk

What form 27q India costs here

What moves the fee on a non-resident TDS return is the payment type and the treaty work behind each payee: interest and dividends are usually straightforward, while royalties, technical fees and a property purchase from a non-resident each need the withholding position justified and the payee's identifier and residency papers in place.

Lower TDS certificate application (Form 13) — India desk price

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The lower-deduction certificate application: the computation, the cost evidence, the treaty position, and the follow-through to issue before the transaction closes.
See the full fee page

15CA/15CB remittance certification — fixed-fee price

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The remitter declaration and the accountant's certificate on an outward Indian remittance, prepared to the standard the bank will actually accept.
See the full fee page

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

One engagement for a personal return that touches more than one country: the income, the assets held abroad and the relief claimed against them.
See the fee schedule

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

The reporting obligations that attach to owning something abroad, worked out from your holdings rather than from the tax return alone.
See the fee schedule

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Returns for the year you leave, the year you arrive, and the years you earn rental or pension income from a country you no longer live in.
See the fee schedule

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Returns for companies with foreign subsidiaries, foreign income or foreign shareholders, and the schedules each of those triggers.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Registrations, withholding and the employer obligations that follow staff working across a border, set up once and correctly.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

For a filing history that stopped — the penalty position assessed first, then the years filed in the order that protects it.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — the complete list of what each engagement costs, stated as figures rather than ranges.

What the reporting test actually looks at

What decides whether Form 27Q applies
Payment typeWhat determines the rate
The obligationThe quarterly return of tax deducted at source on payments to non-residents.
Who it bindsIndian payers deducting tax on interest, dividends, rent, professional fees, royalties or property purchase from a non-resident.
Jurisdiction and authorityIndia — Income Tax Department
Category of filingWithholding return or recipient slip

When it is due

Withholding is remitted on a schedule tied to the payment, and the annual return and slips are due after the year end on their own date. The remittance timetable, not the return date, is what generates most of the exposure. The deadline is set out in writing with the engagement, along with what has to be in our hands to meet it.

What late or missed filing costs

The payer is liable for tax it failed to withhold, not merely for a penalty on it. Late remittance and late or incorrect slips carry their own charges, and the recipient's ability to claim the credit depends on the slip being right. Where years are already missed, the route chosen for the earliest year affects the relief available for the rest — so the sequence is decided before anything is filed.

The numbers, end to end

This is what the rule produces when you put figures through it.

Gross withholding against a net-basis return

A non-resident receives C$43,000 in the year. Assume withholding at 29% on the gross amount, and assume deductible costs of C$26,660 against it.

Gross withholding against a net-basis return
ItemAmount
Gross amount receivedC$43,000
Withheld at source (assumed 29% of gross)C$12,470
Deductible costsC$26,660
Net amount actually earnedC$16,340
Tax on the net amount (assumed graduated result)C$5,065
Difference recoverable by filingC$7,405

Filing on a net basis recovers C$7,405 of the C$12,470 withheld. That difference is the entire reason the elective return exists, and it is lost by not filing. That is an illustration of the mechanism, not a prediction about your file — the same computation on your figures is the first thing we do.

Treat these numbers as a worked example rather than advice — they exist to make the mechanics visible, and the rates and thresholds are assumed for the illustration. For a real filing, we verify each figure with the authority that publishes it, for your year.

How we prepare and file it, and what it costs

You get the number for Form 27Q up front, as part of one fee for the whole set rather than as a separate charge that appears at the end. See the outbound investment (odi) from India for comparable engagements.

The four steps

  1. 1We establish what happened and when, because every position here is anchored to a date
  2. 2A written scope and a fixed price, so you know the cost before committing
  3. 3The filings are prepared, cross-checked against each other, and reviewed by name
  4. 4You see the result, approve it, and we file it
  • Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars on Google, on a profile open for you to read.
  • A change of scope is re-quoted before the work, never added to the invoice after it.
  • Authorisation with each authority, so we see the assessments and slips directly rather than asking you for them.

One call is usually enough to know whether this is a filing or a project.

Reviewed against current guidance for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. Written as general guidance, not as a recommendation for your situation. Talk it through with us before acting on it.

Double tax agreement India, in practice

The subject here is Form 27Q, which is what people mean when they search for double tax agreement India. This page covers who it applies to, the filings it produces, and the fixed fee agreed before work begins.

Everything the non-resident later relies on — credit for the deduction, the treaty rate, the refund claim — depends on this return being filed correctly with the right identifier and section.

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

  1. Send what you already have

    Slips, statements, prior returns — in any order. We list what is still needed after reading them.

  2. A fee agreed in writing

    Quoted from those documents, before the work starts, and it does not move once you accept it.

  3. Each side drafted against the other

    The returns are built together rather than in sequence, so relief is claimed once and in the right country.

  4. You approve before it is filed

    The finished return comes to you first. Nothing is submitted on your behalf unseen.

How form 27q India is handled here

Factor Legal Quotient Hourly billing model
Pricing A fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts Hourly, billed as incurred
Experience 15+ years of cross-border work, 18,000+ clients Varies by file
Both sides of the border Prepared together by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once One country at a time, reconciled later
Who reviews it A named practitioner, published on the page Whoever the queue reaches
Where the work happens Our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE Whichever single office you can travel to

Key terms behind this page, defined

FC-GPR
The Indian reporting of shares issued to a foreign investor, due within days of the transaction and compounding if late.
US estate tax
A tax on the value of US-situs assets at death, reaching non-residents who never lived in the United States, with a much smaller exemption than a US person receives.
Gift splitting
The election treating a gift by one spouse as made half by each, which changes the exemption and reporting position.
Section 216
The Canadian elective return that taxes a non-resident's net rental profit at graduated rates instead of gross rent at the flat withholding rate.
form 27q India: How we read this one

Everything the non-resident later relies on — credit for the deduction, the treaty rate, the refund claim — depends on this return being filed correctly with the right identifier and section.

The engagement terms hold no matter what the analysis finds — fee and scope agreed in writing up front, a named reviewer on the output, your approval before the finished work is filed.

The published fees closest to form 27q India

A second band covers revisions. When a deduction has been reported under the wrong section or against the wrong identifier, the non-resident payee cannot claim the credit or the refund until the Indian payer's return is corrected, and the cost of that depends on how many quarters and payees are caught by the error.

Foreign asset & information reporting

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: The information returns that carry the heaviest penalties — foreign accounts, foreign property, foreign affiliates — prepared from one asset list.

See this fee page

Non-resident & departure filings

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: The filings that follow a move: the departure year, the arrival year, and the income that keeps arriving from the country behind you.

See this fee page

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

You deal with the person who did the work

The practitioner who prepared and reviewed your file is the one who answers the question about it.

18,000+ clients served

Individuals, expats and corporations across India, the USA, Canada and the UAE have filed with us — 15+ years of cross-border work.

Cross-border is the whole practice

International and cross-border tax is all we do — not a sideline next to domestic work. The edge cases on this page are our ordinary Tuesday.

A named reviewer on every file

Every page on this site and every file we deliver says which practitioner reviewed it — a person, not a team inbox.

Two of the firm’s advisers at a desk in the Delhi office

Form 27q India — the four phases

Step 1

First conversation

We establish what happened and when, because every position here is anchored to a date

Step 2

Written quote

A written scope and a fixed price, so you know the cost before committing

Step 3

Preparation and sign-off

The filings are prepared, cross-checked against each other, and reviewed by name

Step 4

Submission

You see the result, approve it, and we file it

Two of the firm’s advisers and the team in the open-plan office

How the work runs — quote first, then the work

  • Step 1: Share your documents – A secure upload link arrives after the first call — send files in any state.
  • Step 2: A written fixed fee – The quote is fixed from what you send; it does not move once accepted.
  • Step 3: Preparation, both sides at once – The returns are drafted together, reconciled line against line.
  • Step 4: Approve, then file – Nothing is filed until you have seen it and approved it.

Quoted up front, in writing.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068

Where to go next

Every link below is a full page of its own — the same depth as this one, for its own subject.

Services these clients use most

Form 8833 — treaty-based return position Everything on form 8833 treaty based return position, at the same depth as this page.
IRS streamlined domestic offshore IRS streamlined domestic offshore — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Entity selection across borders The full guide to entity selection across borders, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form 8840 — closer connection (snowbirds) Its own page: form 8840 closer connection — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Form 8993 — FDII deduction Everything on form 8993 FDII deduction, at the same depth as this page.
Form A2 — LRS remittance (India) Form a2 India — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Group restructuring or migration The full guide to group restructuring or migration tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Debt vs equity funding Its own page: debt vs equity funding — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Canadian company expanding to the US — LLCs and global taxes Everything on global taxes LLC, at the same depth as this page.

Who we bring this work to

Tax for options & futures traders Everything on options & futures traders tax, at the same depth as this page.
Physicians & surgeons — relief you're probably missing Physicians & surgeons relief you're probably missing — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for railway & transit crew The full guide to railway & transit crew tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Airline pilots — what we charge Its own page: airline pilots what we charge — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for gig-economy drivers & couriers Everything on gig-economy drivers & couriers tax, at the same depth as this page.
Education & ed-tech cross-border tax Education & ed-tech cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for forex traders The full guide to forex traders tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Engineering firms cross-border tax Its own page: engineering firms cross border tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for twitch & live streamers Everything on twitch & live streamers tax, at the same depth as this page.

Where our clients live and work

India–UAE tax corridor Everything on India UAE tax, at the same depth as this page.
Sweden tax for expats — country guide Sweden tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Russia tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Russia tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Ukraine tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Ukraine tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Trinidad & Tobago tax for expats — country guide Everything on Trinidad & tobago tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Senegal tax for expats — country guide Senegal tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Costa Rica tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Costa Rica tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Malta tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Malta tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Slovenia tax for expats — country guide Everything on slovenia tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.

The people on your file

Five named practitioners, each with the part of a cross-border file they carry. Every page on this site says who reviewed it, and the reviewer is one of these people rather than an unnamed team.

Udit Gupta

Udit Gupta

Cross-Border Tax Expert

CA (ICAI), In-Depth Tax Trained

Reviews and signs off the practice's cross-border positions, and carries final responsibility for the treaty analysis on every file that leaves the office.

Abhinav Gupta

Abhinav Gupta

Canada Tax / International Tax

Canada Tax, International Tax, Cross-Border Tax, Transfer Pricing

Canadian returns with foreign income, non-resident filings, and the transfer-pricing documentation that runs alongside intercompany work.

Raghav Gupta

Raghav Gupta

International Tax

International Tax, Transfer Pricing Specialist

Benchmarking, method selection and the local-file and master-file sets that support a group's pricing policy under examination.

Anmol Mittal

Anmol Mittal

Canada and US tax

CPA Canada, CPA USA, CA (ICAI)

Files that have to be right on both sides of the border at once — dual filings, streamlined catch-ups, and the foreign tax credit reconciliation between them.

Vinayak Indolia

Vinayak Indolia

CFO advisory

CPA, CA. Fractional CFO and Senior Advisory Specialist

Groups that need the tax position and the finance function to agree: structure reviews, intercompany policy, and the reporting a board can act on.

Meet the whole team

Cross-border tax case studies

Case study 1

An Indian Company Paying a Foreign Supplier

Payments abroad carry deduction at source and a certification filed before the money moves. Whether the treaty reduces the rate depends on what is being bought, and the classification is the decision the whole filing rests on.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

Getting Sale Proceeds Out of India

Repatriation runs on certification from an accountant and on the account the funds sit in, and the banking rules and the tax rules are separate gates. Both are cleared in sequence rather than together.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

A Canadian Landlord With Property in the United States

Gross withholding on US rents takes no account of mortgage interest, tax or repairs, so a leveraged property can face tax on turnover. An election onto net basis fixes that, and it has its own timing and its own filing.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

The Two-Year Window After Returning to India

Returning residents pass through a transitional status in which foreign income is largely outside the Indian net. The engagement establishes when the window opens and closes, and puts the transactions that benefit inside it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

A US Filer Married to Someone Outside the System

Electing to treat a non-resident spouse as a US filer buys joint rates and brings that spouse's worldwide income and foreign accounts into the return. The election is easy to make and hard to revoke, so both positions are modelled first.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

Inheriting Property in India While Living Abroad

India does not tax the inheritance itself, but the later sale and the money leaving the country both have positions of their own. The file establishes the cost base to use on that sale and what the remittance will require.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

An NRI Selling Indian Property With Tax Withheld on the Price

Withholding on a sale by a non-resident is applied to the sale value rather than to the gain, so it routinely exceeds the tax due. A lower-deduction certificate obtained before completion avoids locking the difference up until a return is assessed.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Foreign Affiliate Return Filed Years Late

The reporting obligation on a company held abroad runs separately from the corporate return and carries its own exposure. The work is reconstructing the surplus position across the open years before any filing goes in.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.

One coordinating team: filings on every side of the border are sequenced so treaty relief and foreign tax credits are claimed once — and in the right country.

U.S. & Cross-Border Tax Returns

Dual filers: U.S. citizens in Canada and Canadians with U.S. income run two parallel systems — we prepare both, in the right order, every year.

Expat & Emigration Tax

The move year is its own project: the elections and valuations filed that year decide the next decade of both countries’ returns.

Non-Resident Canadian Tax

Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.

Transfer Pricing & BEPS

Documentation prepared with the return is the cheapest insurance in international tax; reconstructing it during an audit is the most expensive.

Cross-Border Estates & Trusts

Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.

Cross-Border Corporate Tax

Expansion raises the same four questions every time — entity, PE, repatriation, payroll. We answer them before the tax authorities do.

India Tax for NRIs & Returning Residents

The deduction is taken on the sale price, not the gain — which is why an NRI property sale strands cash unless the certificate is applied for before closing.

Canadian Tax with a Foreign Element

Residency is decided on facts, not on a form — and the year you arrive or leave is the one where the largest amounts turn on the smallest details.

UAE Tax for Expats & Their Home Country

A zero-tax country is only half the answer — the question that decides the bill is whether the country you came from still treats you as resident.

Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces
Technology & SaaS
Professional Services Firms
Cross-Border Real Estate
Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers
Athletes, Artists & Entertainers
Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
Investment Funds & Holding Companies

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces

Cross-border tax for sellers shipping worldwide: marketplace withholding, foreign registrations and inventory nexus handled before they become audits.

Marketplaces withhold, remit and report in their own right, so the tax position of a single sale is decided by where the stock sat, where the buyer was and which platform collected — not by where the company is registered. We reconcile the platform's own filings against the returns before either is submitted.

  • Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
  • Marketplace withholding reviews
  • Inventory nexus & PE analysis
  • Multi-currency books reconciled
Explore E-commerce & Marketplaces

Technology & SaaS

  • Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
  • IP structuring with real substance
  • Equity for cross-border teams
  • U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
Explore Technology & SaaS

Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers

  • Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
  • Customs value vs transfer price
  • Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
  • Country-by-country reporting
Explore Trade & Manufacturing

Athletes, Artists & Entertainers

  • Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
  • Multi-state & country calendars
  • Touring income allocation
  • Royalty & image-rights withholding
Explore Athletes & Entertainers

Remote Workers & Digital Nomads

  • Residency analysis before moving
  • Employer payroll exposure
  • Totalization & social security
  • Foreign tax credits
Explore Remote Workers

Investment Funds & Holding Companies

  • Treaty access & PPT reviews
  • FAPI & surplus computations
  • Withholding-efficient routing
  • Governance & substance
Explore Funds & Holdcos

Form 27Q — questions we are asked

Do I file Form 27Q even if no tax is owed?

Withholding return or recipient slip obligations of this kind are generally required on the facts rather than on the tax result, so a nil position does not remove one. Indian payers deducting tax on interest, dividends, rent, professional fees, royalties or property purchase from a non-resident.

What happens if I have missed Form 27Q for several years?

Missed years are dealt with as a package rather than one at a time, because the route chosen for the first year affects the relief available for the rest. We map the years and the obligations before anything is filed.

Is Form 27Q the same as the other reports I already file?

No. The quarterly return of tax deducted at source on payments to non-residents. Satisfying a different obligation, even one covering the same accounts or entity, does nothing for this one.

How do I get back tax withheld in another country?

By the route that country provides, and it is rarely automatic. Where an elective return is available — on rent or pension income, for instance — filing it recomputes the tax on net income and refunds the difference. Where it is not, you file a refund claim with the withholding authority, supported by evidence of your residence and entitlement to the treaty rate. Both take time, which is why fixing the rate before payment is worth more. See withholding refund and recovery.

How many days can I spend in a country before I become tax resident?

It depends on the country, and a day count is only ever the start. Many use a threshold in a tax year, some also look at averages across several years, and some have no day test at all and decide on where your home and life are. Two countries can both conclude you are resident, which is what the treaty tie-breaker exists to settle. Counting days without checking the tie-breaker is how people end up filing as resident nowhere. See the residency tie-breaker.

What are Forms 15CA and 15CB for?

They clear a payment out of India. Form 15CA is the remitter's declaration of the payment and the tax withheld on it; Form 15CB is an accountant's certificate on the taxability of the amount, the treaty article relied on and the correct withholding rate. The bank generally will not execute the transfer without them, in the categories where they are required. The work is deciding the rate correctly, because the certificate is the record of that decision. See 15CA and 15CB certification.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068

Form 27Q, quoted before we start

Send us the facts. You will get a scope and a fixed fee in writing, and nothing starts until you agree to both.

  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file
  • Fixed fees agreed before work starts
  • A named reviewer signs off every filing

Our practitioners are alumni of leading accounting and tax institutions

Where our partners studied — CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), AICPA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Request a Quote +1 (416) 619-0068