NRI Tax Filing in India — CA Services | Savlana Init

NRI Taxation · Overview

NRI Tax Filing in India — Assessed. Filed. Repatriated.

Residential status, return filing, TDS recovery, DTAA relief and repatriation for non-residents — handled end to end by chartered accountants who work on cross-border files every day.

Indian income tax for a non-resident works on a narrower base but a heavier deduction mechanism. A non-resident is taxed in India only on income that is received in India, or that accrues or arises in India — global income stays outside the Indian net. In practice, however, almost every rupee paid to a non-resident is first subjected to tax deduction at source under Section 195, frequently at rates far higher than the tax actually payable. The result is a familiar pattern: correct liability of a few thousand rupees, tax already deducted of several lakhs, and a refund that can only be recovered by filing a return.

The second complication is residential status. Section 6 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 decides status year by year on a day-count basis, and the answer changes the entire scope of taxation. Since Assessment Year 2021-22 the rules also carry a 120-day trigger for visiting Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin with substantial Indian income, and a deemed-residency provision for high-income Indian citizens who are not liable to tax anywhere else. Many people who consider themselves settled abroad discover that a long visit home has changed their status for the year.

We handle the whole file — determining status, mapping which income streams are actually taxable in India, reconciling Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement against what was really earned, claiming treaty relief under the applicable Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, filing the return, recovering excess TDS, and certifying outward remittance. Whether you are a salaried professional in the Gulf, a founder in the United States with Indian shareholdings, or a family selling ancestral property, the work is the same in principle and specific in detail.

Our NRI Tax Services

Residential Status Determination

Day-count analysis under Section 6 across the relevant financial years, including the 120-day and deemed-resident tests, with a written status opinion you can rely on.

Income Tax Return Filing

Preparation and e-filing of ITR-2 or ITR-3 for non-residents, including capital gains schedules, Schedule FA where applicable, and verification.

TDS and Form 26AS Reconciliation

Reconciliation of Form 26AS, AIS and TIS against actual receipts to identify excess deduction, mismatched credits and unclaimed TDS.

DTAA and Treaty Relief

Claiming reduced treaty rates and foreign tax credit, with Tax Residency Certificate support, Form 10F filing and no-permanent-establishment declarations.

Capital Gains on Indian Property

Computation of long-term and short-term gains on sale of Indian immovable property, exemption planning under Sections 54, 54EC and 54F, and buyer-side TDS coordination.

Lower or Nil TDS Certificate

Application under Section 197 so that tax is deducted on the actual gain rather than the gross sale consideration — filed before the transaction, not after.

Repatriation Certification

Form 15CA and Form 15CB certification for outward remittance of sale proceeds, rental income, dividends and NRO balances.

Notices and Assessment Support

Response to intimations under Section 143(1), scrutiny notices, high-value transaction queries and reassessment proceedings involving non-residents.

Our Process

Status and Income Mapping

We establish your residential status for each relevant year and map every Indian income stream — salary, rent, interest, dividends, capital gains — against its correct head and rate.

Document Collection

Passport travel record, bank statements, Form 16A and TDS certificates, sale and purchase deeds, broker statements and treaty documents are collected in a single structured request.

Computation and Optimisation

Income is computed under both domestic law and the applicable treaty, exemptions and set-offs are applied, and the lower legitimate outcome is adopted with reasons recorded.

Return Filing and Verification

The return is filed on the e-filing portal and verified. Refund bank details are validated so that credit reaches a pre-validated NRO or Indian account without rejection.

Post-Filing Support

We track processing, respond to any intimation or adjustment, follow up on refund release, and set a compliance calendar for the following year.

Why It Matters

✓Correct residential status — the single decision that drives everything else

✓Excess TDS under Section 195 recovered instead of written off

✓Treaty rates claimed with proper TRC and Form 10F support

✓Section 197 certificates obtained before property sales, not after

✓Form 15CA and 15CB certification for clean outward remittance

✓Foreign asset and Schedule FA reporting handled where status requires it

✓Notices and mismatches answered by the same team that filed the return

✓One point of contact across time zones for the entire family’s filings

Frequently Asked Questions

An NRI must file a return if total income taxable in India exceeds the basic exemption limit before claiming Chapter VI-A deductions and certain exemptions. Filing is also necessary — even below the limit — to recover excess TDS as a refund, to carry forward capital losses, and to support repatriation. Section 115G provides a narrow exemption where the only income is investment income or long-term capital gains from specified foreign exchange assets and tax has already been deducted at source.

No, provided you are a non-resident for the year. A non-resident is taxed only on income received in India or accruing or arising in India. Salary earned for services rendered outside India and credited to a foreign account is outside the Indian tax net. The position changes if you become resident, or resident but not ordinarily resident with income received in India, so status determination must come first.

Under Section 195 the buyer must deduct tax on the sale consideration paid to a non-resident, not merely on the gain, at the rate applicable to the nature of the gain plus surcharge and cess. This routinely blocks a very large sum. The remedy is to apply for a lower or nil deduction certificate under Section 197 before the transaction so that deduction is limited to the actual computed gain.

You need a Tax Residency Certificate from the tax authority of your country of residence, an electronically filed Form 10F, and — where relevant — a declaration that you have no permanent establishment in India. These are furnished to the deductor before payment, or relied on in the return. The treaty rate applies only if it is more beneficial than the domestic rate.

ITR-2 covers most non-residents with salary, house property, capital gains and other sources. ITR-3 is required where there is income from a business or profession in India. ITR-1 is not available to non-residents. The correct form depends on income composition, and filing in the wrong form can render the return defective under Section 139(9).

Refunds are ordinarily credited to a pre-validated Indian bank account, and an NRO account works for this purpose. The Act does permit refund credit to certain foreign accounts where no Indian account exists, but the practical route — and the one that avoids rejection — is to maintain and pre-validate an NRO account linked to your PAN.

Need your Indian tax return filed as a non-resident?

Send us your travel record and TDS details. We will confirm your residential status, tell you what is actually taxable, and file the return that recovers what has been over-deducted.