NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed · economical, fixed fee

Google Rating 5.0Clutch Rating 5.0

The three NRI account types are not variations on a savings account. NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed. The three NRI account types are not variations on a savings account. Economical tax advice on NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts 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.

+1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • 15+Years of the founder's cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served across our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • 5.0Google rating
  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE
Google Rating 5.0Clutch Rating 5.0

Secure a fixed quote

First we read your documents, then you get the price in writing, and only then does the work begin.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • 15+ years of cross-border experience
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • 24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
The short answer

The three NRI account types are not variations on a savings account. Interest treatment and repatriability differ by account type, and deposits are subject to deduction at source where the interest is taxable.

Do you need this?

  • You hold foreign assets and are, or will be, an Indian resident
  • A buyer, tenant or bank has deducted tax against your Indian identifier
  • You need to move money out of India and the bank is asking for certificates
  • You do not yet have an Indian tax identifier
  • You have inherited Indian property or funds

Any two of those together and NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed is almost certainly your situation. If nothing on the list applies, the helpline call still costs nothing and we will redirect you.

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

Transparent, fixed pricing for NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed

Advice on NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts is priced by how many accounts are open and what state they are in: a file where a change of residency status was never notified to the bank carries redesignation work and a history of deduction to unpick, which a tidy set of accounts does not. Quoted in writing first.

NRI Indian return (ITR-2) — fixed-fee price
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

The Indian return on India's own year, reconciled against the department's information statement, with treaty relief and the deduction-at-source credits properly claimed.
See the full fee page
India–Canada dual filing (ITR + T1) — India desk price
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Both returns as one engagement across two mismatched fiscal years, with the Indian deduction at source reconciled and the Canadian credit claimed where it is usable.
See the full fee page
Individual tax filing
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.
See the fee schedule
Foreign asset & information reporting
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

The information returns that carry the heaviest penalties — foreign accounts, foreign property, foreign affiliates — prepared from one asset list.
See the fee schedule
Non-resident & departure filings
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

For anyone taxed by a country they do not live in — rent, pensions and investment income reaching across a border after the move.
See the fee schedule
Estate & trust filing
From $799

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

For an estate holding property in more than one country, or a trust with beneficiaries who are taxed somewhere else.
See the fee schedule
Corporate cross-border filing
From $999

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Company filings where income, ownership or operations cross a border, with the related-party disclosures that come with them.
See the fee schedule
Catch-up & voluntary disclosure
From $349

in US dollars, fixed and quoted before work starts

Voluntary disclosure handled as one piece of work, from the review of what is outstanding to the returns that close it.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — every engagement, one list, no ranges hiding surprises.

Why the answer comes out the way it does

The three NRI account types are not variations on a savings account. They differ in currency risk, in whether interest is taxable in India, and in how freely money can leave.

Interest treatment and repatriability differ by account type, and deposits are subject to deduction at source where the interest is taxable. Redesignating an account on a change of residency status is a compliance step, not an administrative one.

This is why we start with a chronology rather than a form. Almost every position in this area is anchored to a date — of arrival, of departure, of a payment, of a transaction — and the evidence that supports it is either created around that date or reconstructed years later at several times the cost.

Thresholds and rates move, and summaries written for last year are not evidence about this one. So each figure in your file is sourced to the issuing authority for the specific year; anything we cannot source, we describe as a mechanism and leave unquantified until it can be confirmed. See also schedule fsi — foreign source income (India) and schedule fsi — foreign source income (India).

What we actually file

  • The treaty declaration India requires alongside a foreign residency certificate
  • Foreign asset and foreign income schedules for a resident return
  • Responses to scrutiny and reassessment notices
  • The Indian return on India's own year, reconciled to the department's information statement
  • Lower-deduction certificate applications before the transaction

The numbers, end to end

The same point, with figures rather than adjectives.

Deduction on the price against tax on the gain

An NRI sells Indian property for ₹24,500,000 with an indexed cost of ₹14,700,000. Assume the buyer must deduct at 16% of the consideration, and assume tax on the gain at 14%.

ItemAmount
Sale consideration₹24,500,000
Cost taken into account₹14,700,000
Gain actually arising₹9,800,000
Deduction on the consideration (assumed 16%)₹3,920,000
Tax on the gain (assumed 14%)₹1,372,000
Cash held back beyond the real tax₹2,548,000

₹2,548,000 more is deducted than the transaction actually owes. A lower-deduction certificate obtained before closing is what releases it at the table; without one it sits with the department until a return recovers it. The interesting question is where your own figures fall relative to that, which is a computation rather than an opinion.

An illustration, not a client file. The sums are chosen for legibility and the thresholds are stated for the example alone — nothing reaches a filing until it has been confirmed at source for your own year.

The four steps

  1. 1We start with the chronology: dates, countries, and what has already been filed
  2. 2You get the scope and the fee in writing before we touch anything
  3. 3The work is prepared and reviewed by a named person, not a queue
  4. 4Nothing is filed until you have read it

What you pay, and when

You get a number before you commit, not an estimate that drifts. The scope is written down, the fee is fixed against it, and if the scope changes we re-quote rather than invoice the difference. Comparable engagements and their fixed fees are set out on the pricing pages.

  • Documents move through an access-controlled portal rather than email.
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file; we take the cross-border piece, with the boundary in writing.
  • Consultations scheduled to your working day rather than ours.

Where to go from here

We would rather scope it properly than quote it quickly. One call to our 24-hour helpline is usually enough to tell you whether this is a filing or a project, and what each would cost. The call is free, and we will say so if the answer is that you do not need us.

Read and approved for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, International Tax, Cross-Border Tax & Transfer Pricing Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. General guidance only. Your own facts decide the answer, so bring them to a call before relying on this.

Where how to account for tax comes into this file

Read this page for how to account for tax. It works through NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts from the beginning — whether it applies to you at all, what has to be filed if it does, and what the engagement costs, priced up front.

People also search for: brazil tax · double taxation avoidance agreement · double taxation avoidance · what is foreign source income · dtaa double taxation avoidance agreement.

The three NRI account types are not variations on a savings account.

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

  1. Upload the file as it stands

    A secure link arrives after the first call. Incomplete is fine; that is what the review is for.

  2. The number is settled up front

    Priced from your own documents and confirmed in writing before any preparation begins.

  3. Both returns on one desk

    One engagement covers every country the file touches, reconciled line against line.

  4. Your approval, then the filing

    The return is yours to check first. We file once you say so.

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

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

Four terms worth pinning down

Portability
The election allowing a deceased US spouse's unused exemption to be used by the survivor. It has to be claimed on a return.
NR4
The Canadian slip reporting amounts paid to non-residents and the tax withheld. Its codes decide whether the recipient can claim a treaty rate or a credit.
Deemed disposition on death
The rule treating most capital property as sold at market value immediately before death, which is how Canada taxes at death instead of levying an estate tax.
Reverse charge
A mechanism shifting the obligation to account for tax from the foreign supplier to the local business customer.
NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed: How we read this one

Interest treatment and repatriability differ by account type, and deposits are subject to deduction at source where the interest is taxable.

None of what follows shifts the terms. Scope and fee are settled in writing before anything is prepared, the result carries a named reviewer, and nothing is filed unseen.

NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed — what the published fees look like

The fees further down cover the narrower questions people arrive with, chiefly which account interest is taxable in India and how freely a balance can be sent out. Where deposits sit in more than one currency, or a joint holder is resident in India, the deposit terms themselves have to be read before answering.

Foreign asset & information reporting
$349in US dollars, fixed before work starts

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

See this fee page
Individual tax filing
$349in US dollars, fixed before work starts

Covers: Individual returns where salary, investments or property sit outside the country of residence, prepared so relief is claimed once and in the right place.

See this fee page
Non-resident & departure filings
$349in US dollars, fixed before work starts

Covers: 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 this fee page

Why clients bring NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed to us

Both sides prepared together

Two returns built against each other by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once and nothing falls between the two systems.

The reporting penalties get named early

The heaviest exposure on a cross-border file is usually a disclosure form, not the tax. We identify which ones apply before a deadline turns into a penalty.

The order of filing is planned, not improvised

Which return goes first decides whether relief can be claimed at all. That sequence is worked out before anything is submitted.

The fee is fixed before we start

Quoted from your documents and agreed in writing. The number you accept is the number you pay.

The team at work in the open-plan office
The firm’s founder at his desk in the Delhi office

A fixed quote first, in writing

  • Step 1: Documents first, questions second – We read the file before asking anything, so the questions we do ask are the ones that matter.
  • Step 2: A quote you can hold us to – Fixed in writing against a defined scope. No hourly meter, and no revision after the fact.
  • Step 3: The order of filing decided deliberately – Which return goes first can decide whether relief is available at all. That is planned, not discovered.
  • Step 4: Nothing filed without your sign-off – You see the completed work, ask what you need to, and approve it before submission.

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.

Core services for this situation

Secondment agreements and reimbursement Its own page: secondment agreements and reimbursement — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Pillar Two readiness assessment Everything on pillar two, at the same depth as this page.
Delinquent information return procedures Delinquent information return procedures — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Form 1040-X — amended return The full guide to form 1040-x amended return, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Form TX19 — estate clearance certificate Its own page: tx19 estate clearance certificate — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Black Money Act disclosures (India) Everything on black money act disclosures India, at the same depth as this page.
EPF, PPF and gratuity when you leave India Epf, ppf and gratuity when you leave India — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Liberalised Remittance Scheme and TCS on remittances The full guide to liberalised remittance scheme and TCS on remittances, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Deemed disposition on death Its own page: deemed disposition on death — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.

Who we help

Team-sport athletes — your filing calendar Its own page: team-sport athletes your filing calendar — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Professors & lecturers — your filing calendar Everything on professors & lecturers your filing calendar, at the same depth as this page.
Cross-border real estate investors cross-border tax Cross-border real estate investors cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for adult-platform creators The full guide to adult-platform creators tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Construction & contracting cross-border tax Its own page: construction & contracting cross border tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Management consultants — relief you're probably missing Everything on management consultants relief you're probably missing, at the same depth as this page.
Cross-border truck drivers — what you owe in each country Cross-border truck drivers what you owe in each country — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax for international school staff The full guide to international school staff 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.

The corridors we work every week

Kazakhstan tax for expats — country guide Its own page: kazakhstan tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Brazil tax for expats — country guide Everything on Brazil tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
Egypt tax for expats — country guide Egypt tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Argentina tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Argentina tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
India–Singapore tax corridor Its own page: India Singapore tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Slovakia tax for expats — country guide Everything on slovakia tax for expats, at the same depth as this page.
US–Spain tax corridor US Spain tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Armenia tax for expats — country guide The full guide to armenia tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Portugal tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Portugal tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.

The people on your file

Named practitioners, each with the countries and the part of a cross-border file they carry, across India, the USA, Canada and the UAE. Every page on this site says who reviewed it, and the reviewer is one of these people rather than an unnamed team.

Udit Gupta, International tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing: USA, Canada, India and UAE, Legal Quotient Consultants
Udit Gupta
Director, International tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing: USA, Canada, India and UAE

CA (India), CA (Malaysia)

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

Udit Gupta on LinkedIn

Abhinav Gupta, India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing, Legal Quotient Consultants
Abhinav Gupta
Director, India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing

CA (India)

Indian cross-border files: residents with income abroad, non-residents with income in India, and the treaty relief that ties the Indian return to the one filed in the other country.

Abhinav Gupta on LinkedIn

Raghav Gupta, UAE and India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing, Legal Quotient Consultants
Raghav Gupta
Director, UAE and India international tax, cross-border tax and transfer pricing

FCA (India)

Files that run between the UAE and India: residence, the treaty position, and the benchmarking and documentation behind intercompany pricing.

Raghav Gupta on LinkedIn

Meet the whole team

Cross-border tax case studies

Case study 1

Resident account never redesignated after the move abroad

A client had emigrated years earlier and left an ordinary resident savings account running, with Indian income still flowing into it. The bank's records said one thing about his status and his filings said another. We established when the status had actually changed, arranged the redesignation with the bank, and set out the consequences for the interest already credited under the old designation. The engagement produced correctly designated accounts, a documented position for the intervening years, and an Indian filing consistent with the residency the client actually held.

Case study 2

Deducted interest matched to a foreign tax credit claim

Tax had been deducted on Indian deposit interest for several years while the client reported the same interest in the country where he lived, without claiming relief for the Indian tax. We collected the deduction records against his Indian identifier, aligned each amount with the year it belonged to, and prepared the returns on both sides so the credit was claimed where it was available. The work produced a filed Indian return with the deduction credited and a supported foreign tax credit position in the country of residence.

Case study 3

Currency deposit maturing into a reporting question at home

A foreign-currency deposit in India came up for maturity and the holder assumed nothing needed reporting because the deposit had never been in rupees. Currency choice removes exchange exposure; it does not remove a disclosure obligation. We reviewed how the deposit was treated in India, how the same deposit was reportable in the country of residence, and what the maturity proceeds would be treated as on both sides. The engagement produced a documented reporting position and a plan for the proceeds before the deposit matured.

Case study 4

Accounts converted on return and interest split across the change

A client returned to India partway through a year, which left the interest on his deposits sitting on both sides of a change in status. We fixed the effective date, worked with the bank on the redesignations that followed from it, and split the year's interest between the periods before and after. The result was a converted set of accounts, a year's interest allocated on a stated basis rather than assumed, and an Indian return that described the year the way it had actually run.

Case study 5

Repatriation held up until the bank had its certificates

Funds needed abroad for a purchase were sitting in an Indian-source account, and the branch would not release them without evidence that the underlying Indian tax had been dealt with. We identified what the funds were, established the tax position on the income that produced them, and assembled the certification the bank required in the order it reads it. The engagement produced a supported repatriation file and a released transfer, and left the client with a template for the balance that was to follow later.

Case study 6

Joint deposit where one holder became resident and the other did not

A deposit was held jointly by two family members whose residency status diverged when one of them moved back to India. The account type suited one holder and no longer suited the other. We established whose funds the deposit actually represented, set out the consequences of the status change for the account and for the interest, and agreed the restructuring with the bank. The work produced an account arrangement that matched both holders' actual status and a documented basis for how the interest is reported.

Case study 7

A US Citizen Settled in India, Filing on Both Sides

Residence in India and citizenship in the United States produce two annual returns for one income. The order decides the credit, and the Indian financial year and the US calendar year have to be reconciled before either is prepared.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Second Opinion on a Return Already Filed

A cross-border return prepared on one side only is usually right in isolation and wrong in combination. The review checks residence, source and relief in that order, and says plainly whether an amendment is worth making.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

How and where the work is delivered

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

Where the work is delivered
More coverage detail

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

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

Treaty residency & tie-breaker
FATCA reporting (Form 8938)
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116)
Multi-country filing calendar
Real estate holding structures
International tax planning
Pre-immigration tax planning
Family office structures
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
Form 1040 from abroad
US state non-resident returns
FBAR (FinCEN 114) filing
Form 5472 — foreign-owned US corp
FIRPTA withholding (Form 8288)
US estate tax exposure
IRS streamlined foreign offshore
PFIC reporting (Form 8621)
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
Departure tax leaving Canada
T1161 properties on emigration
Residency planning
Step-up in cost base on arrival
Split-year residency
Employment income under a treaty
Social security totalization
Returning to Canada after years abroad
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
Section 216 rental return
NR4 & NR6 withholding
Section 217 pension return
Section 116 clearance certificate
Regulation 105 waiver
Non-resident employment income
Taxable Canadian property
Part XIII withholding review
Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.
Transfer Pricing & BEPS
s.247 contemporaneous documentation
Functional & risk analysis
Benchmarking study
Intercompany agreements
Country-by-country report
BEPS & Pillar Two
Permanent establishment risk
TP audit defence file
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
Cross-border wills
US estate tax for non-resident aliens
Terminal return & clearance certificate
Non-resident trusts (s.94)
T1141 & T1142 trust reporting
Inheriting property abroad
Graduated rate estates
Post-mortem planning & pipeline
Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.
Cross-Border Corporate Tax
Entity selection across borders
Business profits & PE
Intercompany loans & thin cap
Paying dividends to a foreign parent
Global mobility & day tracking
Debt vs equity funding
Branch or subsidiary
Cross-border M&A due diligence
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
NRI residency day tests
NRE, NRO & FCNR accounts
TDS on property (s.195)
Lower or nil TDS certificate
Repatriating sale proceeds
Capital gains on Indian shares
India–Canada DTAA
ITR-2 for NRIs
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
T1135 foreign property
T1134 foreign affiliates
Departure tax
Newcomer's first return
Returning to Canada
Split-year residency
US citizens in Canada
Canada–US corridor
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
Expat tax in the UAE
Moving to the UAE
Moving back from the UAE
UAE property purchases
Retiring in the UAE
Canada–UAE corridor
India–UAE DTAA
US–UAE corridor
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
  • 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

Performance income is taxed where earned — Regulation 105 in Canada, withholding agreements in the U.S. — with special treaty articles overriding the usual rules.

Performance income is taxed where the performance happens, and the deduction is usually taken at source on the gross fee before expenses. Recovering the difference is a filing exercise in the other country, and it only works if the tour, the residency and the withholding certificates were documented while the work was being done.

  • 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

NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed — questions we are asked

NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed: is this a do-it-yourself job?

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: interest treatment and repatriability differ by account type, and deposits are subject to deduction at source where the interest is taxable.

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.

Is the interest on my NRE account taxable in India?

Interest treatment is one of the things that actually separates the three account types, rather than being a branding difference between them. An NRE account is designed for funds brought in from abroad and its interest is treated differently in India from interest on an NRO account, which holds Indian-source money. The second point matters more than most people expect: whatever India does with that interest, the country you are resident in generally taxes your worldwide income, so interest that is untaxed in India is not automatically untaxed overall. Check both sides before treating the interest as tax-free.

What is the difference between an NRE and an NRO account?

They do different jobs. An NRE account is for money you bring into India from abroad. An NRO account is for money that arises in India — rent, dividends, a pension, the proceeds of something you sold. From that difference flow the three things that matter: whether the interest is taxable in India, whether tax is deducted at source on it, and how freely the balance can be sent back out. Using the wrong one is not a filing error you can tidy up later; it puts Indian-source money into an account built for repatriation, and the bank will eventually ask.

Can I transfer money out of my NRO account?

Repatriability is the third of the three differences between the account types, and the NRO account is the one where it is most constrained. Money can leave, but the bank will want the transfer supported: what the funds are, that Indian tax on the underlying income has been dealt with, and the certification it requires before releasing them. That is why an NRO repatriation takes documents while a transfer from an NRE balance generally does not. Plan the paperwork before the money is needed abroad, rather than in the week the payment is due.

Do I have to change my accounts when I move back to India?

Yes, and redesignating an account on a change of residency status is a compliance step rather than an administrative courtesy. The account type you hold is tied to your status, and when the status changes the account has to follow it. Leaving accounts as they are means interest continues to be treated, deducted on and reported as though nothing has happened, while your filing position says otherwise. That mismatch usually surfaces at the worst moment, when the bank reconciles or a return is queried. Tell the bank when the status changes, and diarise the conversion.

Why did the bank deduct tax on my NRO interest?

Because deposits are subject to deduction at source where the interest is taxable in India, and an NRO account holds the category of income where that generally applies. The deduction is not a final tax. It sits against your Indian liability for the year, and if your liability is smaller, the difference comes back as a refund on the Indian return. Two practical steps follow. Make sure the deduction is landing against your correct Indian tax identifier, or crediting it becomes difficult. And check whether a lower deduction is available in advance rather than reclaiming afterwards.

Should my deposit be in rupees or in foreign currency?

That is a currency-risk question before it is a tax question, and the account types differ on exactly this point. A rupee deposit gives you a rupee return and leaves you carrying the movement between the rupee and the currency you actually spend in. An FCNR deposit keeps the deposit in foreign currency, which removes that exposure and changes what the deposit yields. Decide first which currency you will eventually need the money in, then look at how each option is taxed in India and in the country you live in.

What is TCS on foreign remittance?

Tax collected at source. When a resident individual remits money abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme — or buys an overseas tour package — the bank or seller collects an amount of tax on top and deposits it against your PAN. It is not a cost and it is not a final tax: it appears in your annual tax statement and is set off against the tax on your return, with the excess refunded. The rates and the purposes they attach to have been amended repeatedly, so we confirm them for the remittance year. See LRS limits and TCS.

Is my Indian provident fund or PPF still tax-free now that I live abroad?

The exemption is an Indian one, and it does not travel. Your new country of residence taxes worldwide income under its own rules, and several — the United States in particular — may treat the annual growth in a foreign retirement or savings plan as currently taxable and separately reportable, whether or not you withdrew anything. So an account that is genuinely tax-free in India can be a taxable, reportable asset where you now live. See Indian pensions received abroad.

Tax terms explained
Resale price methodFCNR accountNR4Joint partner trustNon-residentFinCEN 114Economic double taxationTCSProtective returnSecondmentMark-to-market electionDual-status alienGILTIFBAR Browse the full A–Z glossary

Related pages

Nearby pages

All India deskGIFT City and IFSC for NRIs and fundsIndian company paying a foreign consultantTax residency certificate and Form 10FFEMA compliance for NRIsAdvance tax and self-assessment for NRIsDTAA relief — India and the United States

Adjacent services

MAT and AMT for foreign-owned companiesForm 49AA — PAN (non-residents) (India)Claiming DTAA relief — TRC, Form 10F and Form 67 togetherIndia ↔ Singapore — DTAAForm 26Q — TDS on resident payments (India)Tax residency certificate (TRC) — inbound (India)

Common questions here

NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — what does India require?
Fixed fee agreed before we start

Ready to deal with NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed?

Tell us the situation and we quote in writing before any work starts. You approve the result before it is filed.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
  • Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars on Google
  • Re-quoted, never silently invoiced
  • 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068

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