Cost-effective TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195)

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Buying a flat from an NRI makes you a withholding agent under Indian tax law — and the deduction is computed on the whole price, not the seller's gain, with your own liability if you get it wrong. Cost-effective TDS when buying property from an NRI 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.

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  • 15+Years of cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served
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  • 4Global offices — India, USA, Canada & UAE
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Secure a fixed quote

Whatever documents you hold are enough to begin: we read them and put a fixed price in writing first.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • 15+ years of cross-border experience
  • Fixed fee agreed before work starts
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
The short answer

Buying a flat from an NRI makes you a withholding agent under Indian tax law — and the deduction is computed on the whole price, not the seller's gain, with your own liability if you get it wrong. The buyer must deduct at the applicable rate and deposit against the seller's identifier, using the correct deduction account.

Does this bind you?

  • You have received a notice from the Indian department
  • Your Indian accounts still carry your old residency status
  • You are an NRI with Indian property, deposits or investments
  • Tax was deducted at source in India before the money reached you
  • You are returning to India after years abroad

Any two of those together and TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195) is almost certainly your situation. If nothing on the list applies, the helpline call still costs nothing and we will redirect you.

The firm’s founder at his desk in the Delhi office

Fixed fees for TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195), agreed up front

On a property purchase from an NRI seller, the fee follows whether you already hold a deduction account number or one has to be obtained, and how many sellers and instalments the deduction has to be split across. Joint owners and staged payments each multiply the deposits and the quarterly statements.

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

From $349

fixed, 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

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

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Returns for people whose tax position did not stay in one country, including the years residence itself is in question.
See the fee schedule

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

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

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Foreign holdings mapped once — accounts, real property, shareholdings — then reported to each authority in the form it requires.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Payroll set up for a workforce split across countries, including the relief that stops the same salary being withheld on twice.
See the fee schedule

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Corporate compliance for a group that trades or holds assets in more than one country, prepared on both sides together.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

Cross-border estates and trusts, from the reporting on the assets to the returns the beneficiaries then have to file.
See the fee schedule

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

What the rule does, step by step

Buying a flat from an NRI makes you a withholding agent under Indian tax law — and the deduction is computed on the whole price, not the seller's gain, with your own liability if you get it wrong.

The buyer must deduct at the applicable rate and deposit against the seller's identifier, using the correct deduction account. The seller can obtain a certificate authorising a lower deduction; without it the buyer has no discretion to reduce it.

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 India ↔ United Kingdom — DTAA and tax residency certificate (trc) — inbound (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 arithmetic, worked through

Numbers make this concrete, so here is the same rule applied to a set of figures.

Deduction on the price against tax on the gain

An NRI sells Indian property for ₹21,300,000 with an indexed cost of ₹14,484,000. Assume the buyer must deduct at 16% of the consideration, and assume tax on the gain at 19%.

ItemAmount
Sale consideration₹21,300,000
Cost taken into account₹14,484,000
Gain actually arising₹6,816,000
Deduction on the consideration (assumed 16%)₹3,408,000
Tax on the gain (assumed 19%)₹1,295,040
Cash held back beyond the real tax₹2,112,960

₹2,112,960 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.

These amounts illustrate the mechanism only. The rates and thresholds are assumptions of the example, not your numbers: each is checked against the issuing authority for your specific tax year before any return is filed.

From first call to filed

  1. 1A call to our 24-hour helpline to establish the facts and the dates that matter
  2. 2A written scope and a fixed fee before any work starts
  3. 3Preparation, then a named reviewer's sign-off before anything is filed
  4. 4Filing, then payment — after you have seen and approved the result

What you pay, and when

What it costs is settled at the start. We establish the scope on a short call, quote a fixed fee against it in writing, and that is the number on the invoice. Comparable engagements and their fixed fees are set out on the pricing pages.

  • Documents move through one secure portal, and you can meet us in person at any of our offices.
  • Your existing accountant keeps the domestic file; we take the cross-border piece, with the boundary in writing.
  • Fixed fees agreed before any work starts, so the number in the quote is the number on the invoice.

Your next step

We will tell you if you do not need us. That happens more often than you would expect. 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.

Checked and signed off for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. General information, not advice for your circumstances — call our 24-hour helpline to discuss your own position.

Where do NRI have to declare foreign assets comes into this file

People reach this page searching for do NRI have to declare foreign assets. It is covered here as it applies to TDS when buying property from an NRI — who it applies to, what has to be filed, and what it costs, at a fixed fee agreed before the work starts.

Buying a flat from an NRI makes you a withholding agent under Indian tax law — and the deduction is computed on the whole price, not the seller's gain, with your own liability if you get it wrong.

The four phases of the work

  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.

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

Key terms behind this page, defined

Annual information statement
India's compiled record of what banks, registrars and brokers reported about a taxpayer. A return that contradicts it draws an enquiry.
Wrapped asset
A token representing another asset. Whether the wrapping is itself a disposal is an unsettled question that should be documented rather than assumed.
Exempt supply
A supply outside the tax with no input tax recovery on its inputs, which is why the exempt-versus-zero-rated distinction is worth money.
Notice of objection
The formal Canadian dispute of an assessment. The deadline is the whole ball game: inside it the assessment is disputed, outside it the routes narrow sharply.
TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195): The practitioner's note

The buyer must deduct at the applicable rate and deposit against the seller's identifier, using the correct deduction account.

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.

TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195) — what the published fees look like

The other variable is the lower-deduction certificate: applying for one is an engagement of its own, built on the seller's cost and gain computation, while a buyer who proceeds without it withholds on the full price and the seller waits for a refund. We quote each route separately, in writing.

NRI Indian return (ITR-2)

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: 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.

What makes it bigger: Property and capital gains together. Rent with deduction at source is routine; a property sale in the same year brings computation, indexation and often a certificate application.

See this fee page

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

$349fixed, before work starts

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

What makes it bigger: How much reconstruction the cost base needs. An inherited or long-held property usually needs documents assembled before any computation can be made.

See this fee page

Section 216 rental return

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: The elective Canadian rental return on net income, with the deductions the gross withholding ignored, plus the pre-year undertaking where the timing still allows it.

What makes it bigger: The number of properties and whether the records separate repairs from improvements. One property with an agent's statement is quick; four properties with mixed receipts is not.

See this fee page

What working with us on TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195) looks like

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 quote comes from your documents

Nothing is priced from a phone call. We read what you have first, then the fee is set — so the scope and the number are agreed on the same evidence.

Every figure on a page is traceable

Where a rate or a threshold appears in our writing it names the tax year it belongs to. Where it could not be confirmed, the page describes the mechanism and quotes no number.

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.

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

How the engagement runs, phase by phase

Step 1

Establishing the facts

A short call to work out what actually applies to you and what does not

Step 2

Agreeing the fee

A written quote against a defined scope, with nothing billed by the hour

Step 3

Drafting and review

We prepare, a named reviewer checks it, and you see it before it goes

Step 4

Filing and follow-up

You approve, we file, and only then do you pay

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

The engagement, start to finish

  • 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

More of the same work, from other angles

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

The work we do for clients like this

Paying a non-resident for work done in Canada Paying non-resident for work done in Canada — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Tax residency certificate (TRC) — inbound (India) The full guide to tax residency certificate (trc) India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Pre-immigration tax planning Its own page: pre-immigration tax planning — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Form 926 — transfers to a foreign corporation Everything on form 926 transfer foreign corporation, at the same depth as this page.
Form T2036 — provincial foreign tax credit T2036 provincial foreign tax credit — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
AIS & TIS — annual information statement (India) The full guide to ais & tis India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Inheriting property abroad Its own page: inheriting property abroad — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Treaty shopping & beneficial ownership Everything on treaty shopping beneficial ownership, at the same depth as this page.
Form T1142 — distributions from a non-resident trust T1142 distributions non-resident trust — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

Who we bring this work to

Shopify & DTC brands cross-border tax Shopify & dtc brands cross border tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Day traders — what we charge The full guide to day traders what we charge, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for aid & ngo workers Its own page: aid & ngo workers tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Seafarers & mariners — your filing calendar Everything on seafarers & mariners your filing calendar, at the same depth as this page.
Civil & structural engineers — what we charge Civil & structural engineers what we charge — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Twitch & live streamers — your filing calendar The full guide to twitch & live streamers your filing calendar, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Team-sport athletes — what we charge Its own page: team-sport athletes what we charge — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Tax for actors & film crew Everything on actors & film crew tax, at the same depth as this page.
Influencers & content creators — relief you're probably missing Influencers & content creators relief you're probably missing — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.

The corridors we work every week

Armenia tax for expats — country guide Armenia tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Ghana tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Ghana tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Singapore tax for expats — country guide Its own page: Singapore 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.
Germany tax for expats — country guide Germany tax for expats — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Jamaica tax for expats — country guide The full guide to Jamaica tax for expats, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
South Africa tax for expats — country guide Its own page: South Africa tax for expats — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Seychelles tax for expats — country guide Everything on seychelles 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.

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

Files that look like this one

Case study 1

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 2

Three Account Types, Three Tax Answers

Interest on each is treated differently and the deduction at source follows the account rather than the person. Holding the wrong one for the purpose is a recurring and avoidable cost.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

Indian Rent Collected While Resident Somewhere Else

Rent from Indian property is taxed in India and again where you live, with relief on one side only. The file gets the Indian deduction right first, then claims the credit on the home return against what was actually paid.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

The Year of Leaving India

The departure year carries a transition status with its own treatment of foreign income, and the position for the following years follows from how it is set. Getting the first year right saves arguing about the rest.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

Whether the Year Made Someone an NRI

Indian residence is decided by presence tests applied to the financial year, and a single trip can change the answer for the whole of it. The status is established before any return or exemption is considered.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

Fifteen Per Cent Held Back From a Fee for Services in Canada

A payer must withhold from fees paid to a non-resident for services rendered in Canada, whether or not any tax is ultimately owed. A waiver applied for before the work is invoiced avoids the withholding; after it, the money comes back through a return.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Unreported Foreign Income Disclosed Before the CRA Asked

A voluntary disclosure has to be genuinely voluntary — once a letter arrives, the route usually closes. The engagement establishes whether the programme is still available, prepares the years, and puts the relief request in with the filing rather than after it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

A Distribution From a Trust Set Up Abroad

A distribution can be capital in the trust's country and income here, and the reporting attaches to the beneficiary rather than the trustee. The work is characterising the payment before it is received where possible.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

Delivery, coverage and how we work

Each of these carries its own guide, pricing pointers and FAQ.

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

Cross-Border Real Estate

Foreign property income and sales are taxed in both countries by default; Section 216, FIRPTA and treaty credits are the standing toolkit.

Property is taxed where it sits, which is the one rule no treaty overrides. What the treaty does decide is the credit, the rate on the rent and what happens on the sale — and the clearance certificate on a disposition is applied for before closing, not after the buyer has already held the money back.

  • Section 216 rental returns
  • FIRPTA withholding recovery
  • Section 116 clearance
  • Treaty credit optimization
Explore Real Estate

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

TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195) — questions we are asked

TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195) — 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: the buyer must deduct at the applicable rate and deposit against the seller's identifier, using the correct deduction account.

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.

Can I set up a trust that works in two countries?

You can, but the two systems classify and tax trusts differently enough that a structure which is efficient in one is often a reporting problem in the other — a Canadian family trust with a US beneficiary, or a US revocable trust holding Canadian property, are the classic pairs. Canada's twenty-one-year deemed disposition, the US grantor rules and each country's reporting have to be read together, before drafting rather than after. See cross-border wills and trusts.

How do I report the sale of a foreign property?

On your residence-country return, as a disposition, with proceeds and cost base converted at the rates for their own dates. Separately, the country where the property sits may require its own return and may hold back tax at closing until a clearance or certificate is issued — Canada does this for a non-resident vendor, and the United States withholds on a foreign seller of US real property. Those steps have their own deadlines, often before closing. See clearance certificates on a property sale.

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.

Do you use software I need to learn?

No. You send documents through the portal and receive the finished filings back; everything else happens on our side.

How do you handle my documents?

Through an access-controlled portal rather than email attachments, with retention limits. Tax records are the most sensitive papers most people own and they are treated that way.

Tax terms explained

Personal services businessMutual agreement procedureSecondmentStaking rewardPermanent establishmentPortabilityCloser connectionPFICJoint partner trustApportionmentDEMPECost plus methodForm 15CBWash sale Browse the full A–Z glossary

Related pages

More in this section

All India deskIndian pension received abroadSchedule FA — reporting foreign assets in an Indian returnDTAA relief — India and the United StatesAdvance tax and self-assessment for NRIsFEMA compliance for NRIsNRE, NRO and FCNR accounts — how each is taxed

Adjacent services

India ↔ Canada — DTAA article by articleForm ITR-3 — business or professional income (India)Form 3CEAB — master file intimation (India)SEZ, GIFT City and tax holidaysLiaison office reporting and closureIndia ↔ United Kingdom — DTAA

Answered questions

TDS when buying property from an NRI — what does India require?
Fixed fee agreed before we start

Ready to deal with TDS when buying property from an NRI (s.195)?

One call to the 24-hour helpline is enough to tell you what has to be filed, what it costs, and whether you need us at all.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
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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.

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