NRI Mutual Fund Taxation in India: Capital Gains, TDS and DTAA Explained

This guide breaks down how much tax you owe as an NRI when selling mutual funds in India, how TDS applies, and how you can claim tax refunds or credits in your home country.

NRI Mutual Fund Taxation in India: Capital Gains, TDS and DTAA Explained


Posted on 04 Apr 2025
Author: Sayan Sircar
15 mins read
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This guide breaks down how much tax you owe as an NRI when selling mutual funds in India, how TDS applies, and how you can claim tax refunds or credits in your home country.

NRI Mutual Fund Taxation in India: Capital Gains, TDS and DTAA Explained

📚 Table of Contents

What is the tax to be paid by NRIs for mutual funds in India?

India taxes mutual funds when you sell them. This tax is called capital gains tax since mutual funds, like shares and property, are capital assets.

There is no tax on mutual funds when their prices increase unlike the PFIC taxation rules in the US which taxes notional gains on foreign assets like mutual funds and ETFs.

NRIs can invest in mutual funds in India from their NRO or NRE accounts. NRIs cannot hold resident bank accounts in India as per FEMA guidelines.

To comply with the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules, an NRI cannot have regular savings accounts in India. Therefore, you must convert existing accounts to NRO accounts and excess accounts must be closed. This step is important once your status changes from resident Indian to NRI and can be done either online, for selected banks, or during your next visit to India.

Note: Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) are for NRIs who have returned to India and used to store foreign currency, say in USD, GBP and EUR. These amounts are repatriable and can receive funds from abroad or other NRE / FCNR accounts.

Feature NRO Account NRE Account FCNR(B) Account
Income Source Indian income
(including capital gains)
Primarily foreign income,
some taxable Indian income
Foreign currency deposits
Repatriation Allowed with Forms 15CA/15CB,
up to $1 million/year
Fully repatriable
(for foreign income and taxable Indian income)
Fully repatriable
Limits Unlimited when deposited;
$1 million/year on repatriation
No limits on deposits/withdrawals No limits on deposits/withdrawals
Capital Gains Can receive proceeds from sale of assets Cannot receive proceeds from sale of assets directly.
Proceeds must go to NRO
Cannot receive proceeds from sale of assets.
Taxation TDS applies to Indian income Generally no tax on foreign income,
tax applies to specific Indian income
Interest earned is tax-free in India
Currency INR and Foreign currency Foreign currency Foreign currency

Non-Resident External (NRE) Account

An NRE account can be opened only once you are an NRI as a fresh account. Old accounts, which existed when you were a resident Indian, must be converted into NRO accounts, not NRE accounts. You can check your NRI status here: Who is an NRI and who is not? Understanding FEMA and NRE/NRO bank accounts.

This account is used to send money to India. The features and uses are:

  • This is a fresh account that can only be opened by an NRI. Existing resident Indian or NRO accounts cannot be converted to NRE
  • Money deposited in this account must originate outside India.
  • Interest earned is tax-free in India but may be taxable in the country where the NRI is residing.
  • You can send both interest and principal out of India without limits.
  • Deposits can only be made in foreign currency, and withdrawals are in INR.
  • Joint accounts are allowed only with another NRI.
  • You can transfer funds to other NRE or NRO accounts.
  • It may be used for stock investing but is not recommended.
  • It is the best option for Mutual Fund investing due to easy repatriation.
  • It cannot be used for investing in RBI/Gilt bonds.

Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account

This account is used for any income and investments in India. The features and uses are:

  • Existing savings accounts are converted to NRO accounts (and not NRE) once you leave the country and status changes to NRI from resident Indian as per tax residency rules
  • Interest earned is taxable in India at current slab rates. The benefit of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is available with most countries so that you can offset tax paid in India as an input tax credit in your home country.
  • You can send both interest and principal out of India, but the principal must be within $1 million. A CA must certify that you have paid taxes on this income.
  • You can make deposits in both foreign currency and INR, and withdrawals are in INR.
  • Joint accounts are allowed with another NRI or a resident.
  • Incoming transfer into NRO from Indian resident accounts do not attract TCS under the LRS rules
  • Funds can be transferred only to another NRO account or to even resident accounts.
  • Transfer from NRO to an NRE account i.e. for repatriation is capped at $1 million per financial year and requires CA input on the required forms to be filled
  • This account is used to receive income from interest, FD, rent, stock and MF dividends, and the proceeds from selling real estate, stocks, and mutual funds.
  • It can be used for both stock and MF investing.
  • Only NRO accounts can be used for investing in and for receiving interest from RBI/Gilt bonds from the RBI Retail Direct Portal.

Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) Account

Note: FCNR(A) accounts were discontinued in 1993 and used to have exchange rate guarantee from the RBI. Now only FCNR(B) accounts, without exchange rate guarantees, exist.

  • NRIs or PIO card holders can open FCNR(B) accounts either singly or jointly with other NRIs
  • FCNR(B) accounts are term deposit (FD-type) accounts held in foreign currency (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, SGD, CAD, CHF, HKD are typical)
  • Interest is paid every 180 days and the account matures in one to five years
  • Interest earned is tax-free in India
  • Both principal and interest are fully repatriable
  • Pre-mature withdrawal is possible with interest rate penalties
  • They eliminate currency conversion risk since they are held in foreign currency
  • Can be used for payments in India, making investments and transfers to other NRE or FCNR accounts

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) applies whenever an NRI sells mutual funds in India. This TDS is offset against the capital gain tax that is due on the sale and can be claimed as a part of total income tax while filing tax returns in India.

Capital gains tax paid in India is eligible for foreign tax credit under DTAA when filing tax returns in your home country.

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How much tax is due when you sell mutual funds in FY2025-26?

Union Budget 2024 and 2025 made considerable changes to mutual fund taxation rules, making the taxation unreasonably complicated.

This table summarises the tax due on the various types of mutual funds for this financial year based on the purchase date and holding period.

Tax Treatment for selling mutual funds during FY2025-26

Fund category Purchase date STCG Rate LTCG After LTCG Rate
Debt Funds Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
Debt Funds Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
Equity Funds Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
Hybrid Funds Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
Dynamic Hybrid Funds
(Equity Taxation)
Bought Anytime Slab 2Y 12.5%
Dynamic Hybrid Funds
(Debt Taxation)
Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
Dynamic Hybrid Funds
(Debt Taxation)
Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
Dynamic Hybrid Funds
(Specified Taxation)
Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab
Multi Asset Hybrid Funds
(Equity Taxation)
Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
Multi Asset Hybrid Funds
(Debt Taxation)
Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
Multi Asset Hybrid Funds
(Debt Taxation)
Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
Multi Asset Hybrid Funds
(Specified Taxation)
Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
Multi Asset Hybrid Funds
(Specified Taxation)
Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
FoF with
90%+ in domestic stocks
Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
FoF in Equity Funds Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
FoF in Debt ETFs Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
FoF in Debt ETFs Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
Gold Funds Bought Anytime Slab 2Y 12.5%
FoFs
(Specified Taxation)
Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab
FoF
other than above
Bought Anytime Slab 2Y 12.5%
Gold ETFs Bought Anytime Slab 1Y 12.5%
Index Funds
Domestic Equity
Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
Index Funds
Domestic Debt
Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab
Index Funds
Other
Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab
ETFs with Equity Taxation Bought Anytime 20% 1Y 12.5% (above 1.25L)
w Jan18 exemption
Silver ETFs Bought Anytime Slab 1Y 12.5%
ETFs investing in
Foreign Stocks
Bought Anytime Slab 1Y 12.5%
ETFs investing in
domestic bonds
Bought Before
1 Apr 2023
Slab 2Y 12.5%
ETFs investing in
domestic bonds
Bought After
31 Mar 2023
Slab NA Slab
ETFs
(Specified Taxation)
Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab
Solution Funds Bought Anytime Slab NA Slab

Important considerations for using this table:

  • These tax rules are the same for every type of investor in terms of tax-residency: Resident Indian, NRI, RNOR, and ROR
  • Specified Taxation applies to funds holding no more than 35% in domestic shares (or arbitrage positions). This category includes all mutual funds which do not hold equity (e.g. all debt funds and funds that hold some amount of equity up to 35%)
  • While every care has been made while collating this information, please check with your tax advisor for calculating the impact of taxes.

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What is the tax to be paid in India when you sell mutual funds?

Objection: I already pay tax in my home country. Why should I pay tax in India too?
Response: India follows source-based taxation. However, you can offset this using Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) under DTAA.

In India, you need to pay income tax on the sale. Since TDS will be deducted, you will need to pay whatever income tax is due (from this and other sources of income) minus this TDS.

Myth: NRIs are taxed twice on mutual funds in India.
Fact: With DTAA, you can offset taxes paid in India against your home country's tax liability.

Under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and your home country, the tax paid in India can be offset as a foreign tax credit (FTC).

📕 What is Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)?

India has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with most of the countries/regions where an NRI is expected to reside including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Eurozon and the Middle East. DTAA provides mechanisms to prevent double taxation with credits available in one country (say India) against the tax paid in the other (NRI's home country) to avoid paying double tax on the same income.

DTAA offers two methods to offset tax: Exemption method when the income is exempt from tax in one of the countries or the Credit Method where tax paid in one country is allowed as a credit against the tax liability in the other country.

So, under DTAA, tax paid in India can be used as a credit against US tax liability (for example) and vice-versa.

DTAA does not prevent TDS or tax withholding since income tax is to be paid over and above any tax withheld. If the withholding tax is higher than the income tax, then a tax refund will be due.

Putting it all together: Capital gains tax, TDS and DTAA

Here, we take a simplified example that explains tax paid in India, TDS and income tax in your home country with FTC benefits.

Particulars Amount (₹ lakhs) Remarks
Total Sale Value 50L Proceeds from selling mutual funds
Capital Gains 20L Profits from the sale
Capital Gains Tax in India 2.5L 12.5% of ₹20L
TDS Deducted in India 6L 30% of ₹20L
Assumption: No other income
in India
 
Refund Claimable in India 3.5L Tax refund = TDS - Actual Tax due
since here TDS is more than CG Tax
Tax in Home Country 6L
30% of ₹20L
Assumption: Tax at 30%
in foreign country
All numbers in ₹ for convenience
Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) 2.5L With DTAA the capital gains tax paid in India (₹2.5L)
can be deducted from the tax liability in the home country
Net Tax Payable in Home Country 3.5L ₹6L - ₹2.5L (FTC)

If you do not sell, there is no tax in India.

Hope this article is helpful in clarifying taxation on Indian mutual funds.

To get started with mutual fund investing in India:

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This post titled NRI Mutual Fund Taxation in India: Capital Gains, TDS and DTAA Explained first appeared on 04 Apr 2025 at https://arthgyaan.com


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