NRI Tax Status: What You Need to Know About Taxes for Non-Resident Indians

When you live abroad but still have money coming in from India, your NRI tax status, the legal classification that determines how much tax you owe India on your global income. Also known as Non-Resident Indian, it’s not about where you were born—it’s about where you live, how long you’ve been gone, and what money you’re bringing in. If you’re an NRI, India doesn’t tax your overseas salary, but it does tax rent from your Mumbai apartment, interest from your NRO account, or capital gains from selling a Delhi flat. The rules are simple once you know them—but messy if you guess.

Your tax status depends on how many days you spent in India last year. If you were here for less than 182 days, and didn’t live here for 365 days in the past four years, you’re an NRI. That means your foreign income stays out of India’s reach. But if you earned ₹15 lakh from a business in Bangalore, or sold a property you inherited in Chennai, that’s taxable. And if you’re a U.S. citizen with an NRE account? You still need to report it to the IRS—India and the U.S. don’t share tax data, but they both want their cut. Don’t assume your NRE account is tax-free everywhere—it’s only tax-free in India.

Many NRIs get tripped up by the TDS (Tax Deducted at Source), the automatic tax that banks and tenants withhold from payments made to NRIs. Also known as withholding tax, it’s often overcharged—like when a tenant withholds 30% on rent, even though your actual tax rate might be 10% or 0%. You can claim it back with Form 15CA/CB, but most don’t bother. Then there’s the double taxation avoidance agreement, a treaty between India and over 90 countries to stop you from paying tax twice on the same income. Also known as DTAA, it lets you claim credits on your foreign tax return for taxes paid in India. Without it, you could end up paying 40% on rental income to both countries.

And don’t forget the basics: filing an ITR isn’t optional if you have Indian income above ₹2.5 lakh—even if you’re not living here. You need a PAN card, a bank account, and access to the income tax portal. Some NRIs think they can ignore it. Then they get a notice. Or worse, their property sale gets blocked because they didn’t file Form 15CB. The system doesn’t care if you’re in Toronto, Dubai, or London. If you have Indian money, India wants to know about it.

Below, you’ll find real guides on how to handle NRI taxes—whether you’re earning from rentals, selling property, managing investments, or trying to figure out if your foreign salary counts as Indian income. No theory. No jargon. Just what works for people like you.