Advance tax and self-assessment for NRIs — do I need an adviser, or can I do it alone?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: liability is estimated across the year and paid in instalments, with interest for deferment and for shortfall.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
Do I have to pay advance tax in India if I live abroad?
Living abroad does not remove the obligation. Tax there is collected during the year, not after it, so if you have Indian income that deduction at source does not fully cover, the balance falls due in instalments as the year runs. Rent from a flat, business receipts, interest deducted at a rate below your eventual liability — each leaves a gap the instalments are meant to close. The question is not whether you are an NRI but whether anything has been left uncovered, and that is worked out from your Indian income as a whole rather than source by source.
My tenant deducts tax on my rent — is that enough?
Often it is not. Deduction at source reduces the instalment base; it does not replace the estimate. If the deducted amount comes to less than the tax your Indian income eventually attracts — because the rate applied is not your rate, or because you have other Indian income the tenant knows nothing about — the shortfall was still due during the year, and interest runs on it. Check the deducted total against a full-year estimate rather than assuming a deduction has settled the matter.
What happens if I just pay everything when I file?
The tax gets paid, but late. Interest runs both for deferment — instalments that should have been paid earlier in the year — and for the shortfall still outstanding after the year ends. Neither is a discretionary charge; both are computed mechanically from the dates and the amounts, which is why a return filed punctually can still carry interest. The way to avoid it is to estimate early and revise the estimate as the year develops, not to file faster.
Does a lower deduction certificate change what I owe in instalments?
It changes the instalments, though not the final liability. A certificate reduces what is deducted at source, and deduction at source is what reduces the instalment base — so cutting the deduction moves tax back onto you to pay directly during the year. That is usually the intended result, because the alternative was over-deduction and a wait for a refund. What it must not do is come as a surprise. Apply for the certificate and reset the instalment schedule in the same exercise.
How do I estimate Indian income I have not received yet?
You estimate it, then revise it. The instalment system assumes a full-year projection made before the year is over, so the first estimate rests on last year's pattern plus whatever is already known to be changing — a tenancy ending, a deposit maturing, a property under offer. As each of those resolves, the projection is updated and the remaining instalments absorb the difference. An estimate that turns out low is not a failing in itself. Leaving it unrevised once you know better is what creates the interest.
I am selling a flat in India — when is the tax due?
Not at filing time, if the sale happens with months of the year still to run. A gain enters the projection once the sale is real, and the instalments falling due after it carry the extra tax. There is usually a deduction at source on the proceeds as well, which reduces what is left to pay but rarely matches the tax on the gain, because it is applied to a price rather than to a profit. Work out both before completion rather than after.
Who is an NRI for tax purposes?
Residence in India is decided by days present in the tax year, with a second limb that also counts days over the preceding four years, and separate rules for Indian citizens leaving for employment. Fall outside the tests and you are non-resident, taxed in India only on Indian-source income. Between full residence and non-residence sits RNOR — resident but not ordinarily resident — which shelters foreign income for a limited window after returning. See RNOR status.
What is Schedule FA and who has to complete it?
It is the foreign asset disclosure in an Indian return, and the trigger is residential status rather than income: a resident discloses foreign bank accounts, custodial and equity holdings, foreign life insurance with a cash value, immovable property and other assets held at any time in the year, plus any beneficial interest. A non-resident does not. The obligation is disclosure-based, so it applies to an account that earned nothing, and the penalties under the black-money legislation are what make it worth getting right. See Schedule FA reporting.
