This guide provides country-specific rules for NRIs transferring money to India regarding tax in their home country and reporting.

📚 Table of Contents

☰

• What Are The Basic Concepts That Apply When NRIs Transfer Money to India?
• What Are The Rules at the India Side for Incoming Remittances?
  • Non-Resident External (NRE) Account
  • Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account
  • Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) Account
  • Resident Foreign Currency (RFC)
• What Are The Reporting Requirements In the Foreign Country Side?
• How Does the US Tax Outgoing Remittances?
  • How much exemption can NRIs in the US get when they gift money to their parents in India in 2025?
• How Do Non-US Countries Handle NRI Transfers?

What Are The Basic Concepts That Apply When NRIs Transfer Money to India?

• There is no tax on amounts that are already tax-paid. You are basically transferring money from your own account which has post tax income
• Your home country would be interested (under FATCA/CRS) if you are sending large sums abroad and so a disclosure will likely be necessary. In some cases, e.g. in the US, gift tax rules apply
• India as the receiver of foreign exchange does not charge tax on incoming remittances as long as FEMA and income tax guidelines are met

We will break down these points in detail in the rest of the article and cover some common cases for countries where NRIs are most likely to reside.

What Are The Rules at the India Side for Incoming Remittances?

The rules that India follows are independent of where the remittance is coming from and therefore we will cover only once. The basic rules are:

• NRIs can transfer money to their own NRE or NRO accounts. As an NRI, it is a FEMA violation to hold resident Indian accounts in your own name. Therefore before transferring, either convert your old resident Indian account to NRO or open new NRE (recommended for incoming remittances) or NRO (lower flexibility on repatriation)
• NRIs can also transfer money to resident Indian accounts that are not in their own name like parents, family members like spouses, siblings etc. These are considered gifts from an income tax perspective (both in abroad and India) and there is no gift tax between close family members in India. The exact implications of tax-free gifts to family members and others in the India side is covered here: Gift tax exemption rules: who can receive gifts from relatives that are tax-free?.
• NRIs must obtain and maintain proper documentation to create an audit trail regarding the transfer from their bank or transfer agent to be compliant with FEMA and income tax rules. We have covered these concepts in detail here: How can NRIs transfer large amounts to India legally and safely?

Note: In general, your home country income tax authorities will receive reports about your Indian holdings under FATCA (US) and CRS (Common Reporting Standard, non-US) reporting covering items like account balances and interest/dividends earned. Incoming remittances increase your Indian account balance, may cross reporting thresholds in your country of residence.

For example: A remittance from the US to India moves assets out of the US and into India. Over time, such remittances will increase the amount of assets the US tax-paying NRI holds outside the US and will trigger FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) reporting above $10,000 if the aggregate balance in foreign accounts (including NRE, NRO, mutual funds, etc.) exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Additionally, FATCA reporting (e.g. Form 8938) is triggered at a higher threshold.

NRE accounts being tax-free (for interest) and easiest repatriability is best for receiving incoming remittances in India.

Find out more about NRO and NRE accounts here:

What Are The Reporting Requirements In the Foreign Country Side?

Your sending bank will automatically report large amounts remitted to India to the income tax authorities in your respective countries. For example,

• in the USA, any remittance above USD10,000 will be reported to the IRS
• in Canada, any remittance above CAD10,000 will be reported both to the CRA and FINTRAC
• in the UK, any remittance above GBP10,000 will be reported to the HMRC etc

Here is a table summarising these reporting requirements:

Country	Regulation(s)	Reporting Threshold	Forms/Declarations Required	Trigger Events
United States	FATCA, FBAR (FinCEN), PFIC	$10,000 (FBAR), $50,000+ (FATCA/Form 8938)	FBAR (FinCEN 114), Form 8938, Form 8621 (PFIC)	Holding foreign accounts/assets > threshold
United Kingdom	CRS	£50,000+ (varies)	Self-assessment with foreign income declaration	Interest/dividends from Indian accounts/investments
Canada	CRS	CAD 100,000+	T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement	Holding specified foreign property
Australia	CRS, ATO Foreign Income Reporting	AUD 50,000+ (aggregate)	Foreign income section in tax return	Bank accounts, property, or investments abroad
Germany	CRS	No official threshold; all offshore assets	Declaration during annual tax filing	Any foreign income or asset ownership
Singapore	CRS	All foreign income taxable unless specifically exempt	Must declare global income in tax returns	Transfer or interest from Indian accounts
UAE	CRS	No personal income tax; banks report under CRS	No self-reporting, but banks share with foreign governments	Passive income from India (e.g., interest/dividends)
France	CRS	No official threshold	Foreign bank account declaration in annual filing	Holding Indian accounts or property
Switzerland	CRS	Thresholds set by banks	Automatic bank reporting to tax authorities	Transfers to/from India through Swiss accounts
New Zealand	CRS	NZD 50,000+ (aggregate)	Declare foreign income in IR3 or IR3NR	Bank interest, shares or real estate abroad

Note: CRS countries automatically exchange information on financial accounts with each other. If you’re a tax resident in one CRS country and hold Indian bank/investment accounts, Indian institutions will report this to your home country’s tax authority.

We will now deal with some specific country-specific cases for providing more clarity to NRIs.

How Does the US Tax Outgoing Remittances?

The US does not tax outgoing remittances directly but there are three considerations:

• whether this amount is earned income with appropriate proof of sources of funds (e.g 1099/W2 etc) or investment income (e.g. capital gains or dividends) declared in tax returns
• information on who (self or someone else) is receiving the amount in India since this will be counted against the life-time gift tax exemption limit of the NRI sending the money
• whether the money being sent is captured in FBAR and FATCA reporting if the applicable thresholds being met once the amounts are in India

Aspect	Details
Taxability in US	No tax on transfer itself; funds must be post-tax
U.S. Reporting (FBAR) (FinCEN Form 114)	Required if foreign accounts (incl. NRE) exceed $10,000 at any time in the year
U.S. Reporting (FATCA) (Form 8938)	Required if specified foreign financial assets exceed threshold (Form 8938)
IRS Form for Transfer	None needed solely for transfer
Supporting Documentation	Maintain proof of income source, transfer receipt, and NRE bank statement

If you are gifting this amount to a family member (or anyone else in India), gift-tax rules apply as we explain below.

How much exemption can NRIs in the US get when they gift money to their parents in India in 2025?

USD 19,000 per person is the annual Gift Tax Exemption amount for 2025 as notified by the IRS.

This amount is offset against the lifetime Gift and Estate Tax Exemption limit. This limit is currently at $13.99 million in 2025 (up from $13.61 million in 2024). If you exceed the annual exemption amount, then you need to fill Form 709 while filing your tax returns.

Read more on this concept here: How much money can NRIs in the US gift to their parents in India without paying tax?

How Do Non-US Countries Handle NRI Transfers?

Non-US countries have similar rules regarding outgoing remittances which we have summarised below:

Country	Notes on Foreign Asset/Transfer Reporting
Canada	Required if total foreign assets (including NRE) exceed CAD 100,000 at any point (Form T1135)
Australia	None; NRE interest needs to be disclosed to the ATO under global income rules
UK	If claiming remittance basis (non-domiciled), transferring funds to India may affect UK tax obligations if sourced from unremitted income
UAE	None
Singapore	No specific reporting of transfer; income may need to be disclosed
Germany	Must declare foreign bank accounts in tax return NRE interest may be taxed under German worldwide income rules unless DTAA invoked
France	Must declare foreign accounts; NRE interest is subject to tax unless DTAA used. Wealth tax applies above thresholds
Netherlands	NRE accounts must be reported; (savings and investments) for annual wealth tax purposes
Italy	NRE accounts must be declared; Italy has high foreign asset reporting compliance—interest may be taxed unless exemption applied
Spain	Must report foreign assets > €50,000; NRE interest may be taxed in Spain
Sweden	Foreign accounts must be declared; Sweden taxes global income and NRE interest is potentially taxable unless exempted under treaty
Ireland	Foreign bank accounts and income must be disclosed; Ireland taxes on a worldwide basis

Notes: Reporting of foreign accounts (e.g. NRE account balances and interest income) is mandatory in most places due to taxation on global income.