NRI Indian return — do you need to declare foreign assets? And what part of it actually needs a professional?
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: filing is how deducted tax is reconciled to actual liability and refunded, and how treaty relief is claimed.
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 declare my Canadian assets on my Indian return?
As a non-resident of India you are filing on Indian-source income only, and the schedule asking for foreign assets is an obligation attaching to residents. So in the ordinary case the answer is no. What makes this worth checking rather than assuming is that residency for Indian purposes is decided by your presence and your connections, not by the passport you hold or the status your bank has recorded. If your circumstances in a year put you on the resident side of that line, the disclosure obligation comes with it.
Is it worth filing in India if tax was already deducted?
Usually yes, because the deduction and the liability are different figures. Tax deducted at source is collected at a rate set for a class of payment, without reference to your costs, your exemptions or any relief a treaty gives you. The return is where those are applied and where the difference is claimed back. Non-residents who assume the deduction has settled matters frequently leave money with the department for years. Filing is also what creates a record you can point to if the department later asks about the income.
How does India's April to March year fit my Canadian return?
They do not line up, and the mismatch has to be handled rather than ignored. India's tax year runs from April to March; Canada's is the calendar year. Income earned and tax deducted in India therefore falls across two Canadian reporting years, and a credit claimed in Canada has to be tied to the income reported there. The practical work is a reconciliation: allocating Indian income and Indian tax to the correct Canadian year, and keeping the working papers so the two returns can be read against each other.
My bank deducted tax on my deposit interest — can I claim it back?
Whether any of it comes back depends on how the deducted rate compares with the tax actually due on that interest, once your total Indian income and any treaty relief are taken into account. Often the deduction runs ahead of the liability; sometimes it does not. The claim is made by filing an Indian return for the year, which brings all your Indian-source income together, applies the relief available and computes a single figure. Where that figure is lower than what was deducted, the difference is refunded.
Do NRIs have to pay advance tax in India?
The advance-tax rhythm applies to Indian tax liability not already covered by deduction at source, so it depends on the shape of your Indian income. Rent, capital gains and business income commonly create liability that deduction does not fully meet; deposit interest often does not. Because the Indian year runs April to March, the instalment points fall at times that will not feel intuitive from a Canadian or US calendar. Working out the position early in the Indian year is what avoids interest for paying late.
Does my Indian rental income go on my Canadian return too?
If you are resident in Canada your return reports income from all sources, Indian rent included, and the tax India has already taken is dealt with through relief for foreign tax rather than by leaving the income off. The two returns therefore have to be prepared as one exercise. The figures also have to be converted and allocated to the right Canadian year, because the Indian year ends in March. Preparing the Indian return first and the Canadian return from it is usually the cleaner order.
Does an NRI have to declare foreign assets in India?
Generally no — the schedule requiring foreign assets and foreign income to be declared applies to individuals who are resident in India, not to non-residents. That is one of the practical advantages of getting the residential status right, and one of the reasons the status is established from day counts and evidence before the return is prepared. Where status changes mid-year, or where a returning resident becomes resident again, the obligation to declare can begin in a year the taxpayer did not expect it to.
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.
