Atal Pension Yojna and Swavlamban Scheme From NPS and PM Modi

I come to know about this excellent pension scheme just now after listening respected Prime minister Narendra Modi Ji's independence day speech.  Since many Indians works in private sector where there is no pension and Indian provides no social security to its citizen like European nations, it's very important for individuals to take care of their retirement and pension need. In order to encourage and help people, Narendra Modi government has launched Atal Pension Yojna on 1st June 2015. It's like Swablamban Scheme already running with NPS (New Pension System).

How much Indian Rupees (INR) Indians can carry from India to Dubai?

If you are going for holidays or work to Dubai, Singapore, or the USA from India and wondering how much Indian rupees you can carry to overseas then you need to know the Indian customs official limit about the export of Indian currency. As per Indian customs rules, Export of Indian Currency is strictly prohibited. However Indian residents, when they go abroad, can take Rs. 25,000/ or INR twenty-five thousand with them. This rule is same for going to any country in the world e.g. you can take 25K INR if you are going to Dubai, Singapore or India.

NRI Aadhaar and PAN card FAQ - Frequently asked questions

In this article, I'll answered some of the frequently asked questions about Aadhaar card and PAN card and their linking for NRIs and Indians living abroad. Though, the most important thing to remember is that NRIs are not eligible for Aadhaar card and they are also exempted from quoting Aadhaar number in their income tax return in India. Since they are not legally eligible for Aadhaar, they are also don't need Aadhaar number if they want to apply for PAN card from 1st July 2017.

Is NRIs, PIOs, and OCI holders are eligible for Aadhaar Card?

One of the common doubt among NRI community is whether they are eligible for Aadhaar Card or not. The doubt has created more worry with the recent announcement of the Indian government that Aadhaar will be mandatory for filing income tax in India and every tax payer has to link their PAN card to Aadhaar card before 30th June, failing to do may result in cancellation of PAN card. While, I am not aware of any official communication about the cancellation of PAN card if not linked to Aadhaar, but that's what I see on the Internet.

Does it Right time to Invest in Indian Stock Market?

I was thinking is it right time to invest in Indian Stock Market? As no one can predict equity or time the market, for long term investor, every time is the right time. Looking at what happening at the moment in India, as it just got a stable government with everyone from common people to the corporate world is hoping no non-sense governance, things really look very attractive. Indian stock market is in a roll from March, stocks like SBI has gained almost 100% or doubled within three months.

Opening an NRE Fixed Deposit? Compare Interest Rates among Banks

NRE Fixed deposits are one of the best options for NRIs. It's safe, offer fixed and good returns and most importantly interest earned on NRE fixed deposit are not taxable in India. On top of that, you can also repatriate (send money to overseas from India) both principle and interest. Still, there are a couple of things every NRI should know about NRE fixed deposit before booking. Most important of them is that minimum tenor for earning the interest on NRE Fixed Deposits is 1 year. If you withdraw or break your NRE FD before 1 year then no interest will be paid.

How to Renew Indian Passport at Overseas? Does Passport Number changes Upon Renewal?

If your passport has been expired or about to expire and you are living outside India then you can submit your passport renewal application at Overseas itself. Indian High Commission and their affiliate agent accept passport renewal application. Btw, when you submit an application for renewal of your passport then your passport number will change. The new passport will have a new number and you need to update this number to everywhere e.g. bank accounts and other places where you have submitted your passport details.

How to convert existing Resident Saving account to NRO Account in India?

When a Resident Indian becomes an NRI he needs to convert his Resident saving account to NRO account as per Indian banking and income tax laws e.g. FEMA. The NRO account provides the simplest way to access and operate the money and investments already made in India. These accounts can receive foreign remittances, can have a joint account holder who is a resident India e.g. your mother or father, and RBI also permits repatriations from NRO account to abroad limited by a maximum annual amount.

Can NRIs Invest in Stock Market and Mutual funds in India?

Yes, NRI can invest in the stock market as well as in mutual funds in India, provided they have an NRE saving account in India. Investing in a Mutual fund is easier than directly investing in Stocks because you don't need a Demat account to invest in the Mutual fund and also there are a lot of restriction applicable to NRI directly investing in Stocks. So if you don't want to go through the hassle of opening a Demat account and a Portfolio Investment account, required by RBI to keep track of NRI investment on the stock market, it's better to invest in Mutual funds and exchange traded funds.

How to Send Money Abroad/Overseas from NRE or Resident Bank Account - [Online Outward Repatriation]

You can send money abroad on your overseas savings account from an NRE account in India. You can do this both online from the comfort of your office or home and offline from any branch of your bank. This is also known as repatriation or outward remittance. Almost all banks in India, both private sectors e.g. HDFC bank, ICICI, Kotak, YESBANK, Citibank, and public sector banks like SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, and others provide an online facility in their net banking website to transfer money to your overseas account.

How to send money from USA or Canada to India instantly online in 1 hour? - ICICI Money2India Express Transfer

I recently come to know about ICICI bank's powerful service called express e-transfer which allows ICICI bank Money2India users to send money instantly to India from the USA and Canada to India. ICICI bank claims that they will credit the money in just 1 hour compared to 5 days in case of regular electronic transfer if the recipient account in India is another ICICI bank account and 2 hours if it's a non-ICICI bank account e.g. HDFC or Axis Bank. This is simply great and as fast as transferring money from one account to another in India itself.

3 Ways to send money from Hong Kong to India, HKD to INR - Money2India vs Remit2India vs TransferWise

Apart from international wire transfers, western union, and MoneyGram, there are three major online services you can use to send money from Hong Kong to India. Apparently, Hong Kong has fewer options as compared to Singapore for sending money to India. Unlike DBS, the local bank in Hong Kong - HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, and Bank of China doesn't provide direct remit to India. BTW, you don't need to be concerned because these three online services e.g. Money2India, Remit2India, and AxisRemit are backed by reputed private sector banks in India like Money2India is backed by ICICI bank, Remit2India is backed by TimesOfMoney group and AxisRemit is backed by Axis Bank.

How to Send money to Indian when Receiver doesn't have a bank Account? [Solved]

You can use Western Union's money transfer facility If you are sending money to your parents or relatives in India, who are not used to modern banking and don't have any internet banking or simply a bank account. The Western Union has a tie-up with a Federal bank which allows a Hassle-free method of money transfer where the receiver need not have an account. How does it work? Well, an  NRI sends money and informs the receiver about a PIN number, who can then collect money from any Federal bank branch by producing PIN and their ID proof e.g. Aadhar card, Voter Id card, Rashan card, PAN card, or any other acceptable document as ID proof by banks. This facility is offered in association with Weizmann Forex Ltd.

Why Non Resident Indians (NRI) Need to Open NRE or NRO Account?

Many of my NRI readers ask me frequently, should I open an NRI saving account in India? Is it must for an NRI to open NRE or NRO account? Can I continue my existing Saving account in India? etc. Well, If you are going abroad for short term let's say less than 6 months then you don't need to open an NRE or NRO savings account and you can continue to maintain your existing Resident Saving account in India, but you are going overseas for long term e.g. more than 6 months you must inform your bank about your NRI status and subsequently then will convert your Resident Saving account to an NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) account.

What NRI (Non Resident Indians) should know about NRE Saving Account and Fixed Deposit

The NRE account stands for the Non-Resident External account and I strongly believe, every NRI who has any interest in India must open this account. It has some excellent features which are not available to other types of account e.g. interest earned on NRE account is tax-free in India and not only that, both principal and interest are fully repatriable to overseas. You don't need to ask for permission or worry about paperwork, if you need money in overseas, you can always transfer from your NRE bank account.

What happens to bank account, Fixed Deposit, and Insurance Policy When you become NRI?

One of the most common doubt among new NRIs are about their bank accounts e.g. what happens to their bank account, Fixed deposit, Demat accounts like ICICI Direct, brokerage accounts, and insurance policies when they become non-resident Indian? Well, once your residential status changed from resident Indian to non-resident there are certainly few changes in your financial accounts. For example, your resident account needs to be converted into NRO account. You also become eligible to open NRE (Non-resident external) account. Similarly, once you become NRI you need to inform your bank about your fixed deposits, brokerage accounts, and insurance policies.

How to deposit Indian Rupees to NRE Account? Can you transfer from Saving, NRO or another NRE Account?

If you know about NRI banking facilities and different accounts they can open in India i.e. NRE, NRO, FCNR, and RFC then you know that there are different rules to deposit money on these accounts, but it's not clear to many Non-resident Indians. Most of the doubt comes from the fact that NRE account is a Rupee saving account but you cannot deposit Indian Rupees into It. There are some strict rules to deposit funds into NRE saving accounts. Some of the common questions many NRI friends ask me is that is it possible to transfer money to NRE account from India? or how to transfer money from savings account to NRE account, or can you deposit Indian rupees to NRE account etc. The short answer to this question is No, you cannot deposit Indian rupees into NRE account, nor can you transfer funds from your saving accounts to NRE account.

Can You Open a Joint NRE or NRO account (savings and fixed deposit)?

Yes, you can open a joint NRE or NRO savings, current or fixed deposit and FCNR fixed deposit account, but who you can use as joining partner depends on upon what type of account you are opening and citizenship of other account holders. For example, if you are opening an NRO (Non Resident Ordinary) savings, fixed deposit or current account then you can open it jointly with any resident Indian or NRI. It means you can open NRO account jointly with your parents, spouse or your siblings, of course, if they are staying in India or any NRI e.g. your wife and children which are staying abroad with you.

Can an NRI open Multiple NRE or NRO Account in India? and Why?

Can NRI open more than one NRE, NRO or FCNR account with different banks?
Yes, an NRI can more open more than one NRE, NRO or FCNR accounts with different banks in India. I am not exactly sure if you can open two accounts with a different branch of the same bank, but multiple accounts can definitely be held with different banks. For example, many of my friends have NRE accounts with HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra and YES bank. They even have multiple accounts with same bank but account type is different. For example, you can open one NRE, one NRO and multiple FCNR deposits with HDFC bank.

Does NRIs need to link their PAN Card with Aadhaar Card? How to Link Aadhaar with PAN Online? [Steps]

If you are an NRI, which has both PAN card and Aadhaar card then it is must for you to link your PAN card with the Aadhaar card. Failing to do so, will result in their PAN card cancellation. Though I have not seen any official news on that this is what many newspapers in India quote. On other hands, it's not legal for NRIs to get the Aadhaar card because it is only for the residents of India i.e. anyone currently living in India, irrespective of their citizenship. This means, both foreigners and Indias with foreign passports e.g. OCI and PIO holder can apply and get Aadhaar card if they are currently living in India.

10 Income Tax Deductions and Exemptions NRIs should know

It's that time of the year again when every NRI starts to worry about their income tax filing in India. Thankfully, due to technological advancements, now NRIs can file income tax online with their comfort of office and home. Nevertheless, filing Income tax returns is not an easy job and there are some key things which every NRI should remember about income tax, filing returns, tax saving, deductions, and exceptions, etc. In this article, I'll share 10 of such things, which is useful for every Indian living abroad, particularly for those who have recently migrated to overseas from India, like a young software engineer from Infosys or TCS.

How to File Income tax Returns on India Online as NRI form Overseas

It's that time of the year again when every India taxpayer (including those who lives abroad) start to worry about filling your income tax in India. Like previous year, 31st July is the last date to file your income tax return in India. Everyone who earns an income in India is subject to income tax, including Indians living abroad or NRIs. Your income could be salary, pension or could be from a savings account that’s quietly accumulating a 4% interest. NRIs, who doesn't have any salary income in India may have to pay income tax if they are earning rental income from their house, flat, or any commercial property.

Is NRI's Overseas Income Taxable in India? Which Source of Incomes are Taxable?

Whether the global income of NRI is taxable or not depends on NRI's residential status in India for that financial year e.g. from 1st April to 31st March. If NRI's tax status is "resident" in the financial year than your global income is taxable in India, which includes income earned abroad + income earned in India. But, if your residential status is non-resident for a financial year than income earned on overseas is not taxable in India but any income earned or accrued in India is taxable in India like interest earned on NRO fixed deposit.

Does interest earned on NRO saving account and FD are Taxable in India?

Hello guys, if you are wondering whether interested earned on NRO saving account or NRO fixed deposit is taxable in India or not then you are at the right place. Yes, unlike interest earned on both NRE saving account and NRE fixed deposits which are totally tax-free in India, interest earned on both  NRO saving account or NRO fixed deposit are taxable in India. In fact, as per the current regulation, tax is deducted at source @normal rate of 30.9%, which is calculated by @30% + surcharge + cess 2%, surcharge can be up to @10% if taxable income is more than 10 lakhs INR. Which means, funds lying in NRO account can be taxed at the rate of almost 40.9% in India. 

Sending Money to India? Compare Rates on HDFC Quick Remit vs ICICI Money2India vs Remit2India vs SBI vs Axis bank

If you are sending money to India from any abroad location e.g. United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, or Australia, it's worth checking rates offered by different remitting services like DBS India Remit, CurrencyFair, HDFC Quick Remit,  ICICI money2India, Times money Remit2India, Axis bank remittance services and SBI bank itself. Given current volatility in exchange rates, you may end up losing a good sum of money up to 1000 to 5000 Rupees, given your choice of remitting services. Since all of the above provide good services and connectivity in terms of sending money to different cities in India or even sending money to a different branch of a different bank. 

Difference between Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Fixed Deposit (FD) for Long term

In this article, we will understand the difference between two of the best investment option of conservative investors, PPF or Public Provident Fund and Fixed Deposit, known as FD. Both PPF and FD provides the capital guarantee and considered the safest investment. PPF is even backed by the government while FD is backed by banks and RBI, but which one is better for long term investment. Where should one put his hard earned money for long-term growth with a guarantee, we will find it for this post?  

3 Best Bank to Open NRI Savings Account India - HDFC vs Kotak vs ICICI Bank

Recently I was doing some research to open an NRI Savings account in India, and given there are so many banks, both public and private sector are providing NRI services, I thought to do some quick checks on the best NRI savings account I can get this moment. One of my friends suggested I open your NRI Savings account in HDFC bank, the other suggested that he has an account in Kotak Mahindra and is very happy with their services, especially rather offered on their remittance service click2Remit.

What happens to NRE, FCNR, NRO Bank accounts when NRIs return back India?

One of the most common doubt among Non Resident Indians related to NRI accounts are, what will happen to their NRE, FCNR, and NRO account when they return back to India? Even though you are not coming back in near future its good to know what happens to NRI account when you are no longer Non Resident Indian. When an NRI returns to India for permanent stay his various NRI accounts are converted into equivalent resident accounts. NRO saving account is converted back to resident saving account while NRE and FCNR account is converted into RFC (Resident Foreign currency) account.

Pros and Cons of Public Provident Fund (PPF) Account for Tax Saving on India

If you are an Indian, I am sure you must have heard about Public Provident Fund or PPF, one of the most popular long-term saving scheme backed by the government of India. If not about PPF, then definitely about EPF, Employee Provident Fund, it's big brother. Since EPF is sort of mandatory and your employer deduct some portion of your salary apart from his contribution, it's not something you worry about. By the way, if you want to check your EPF account balance, you can see it here. PPF investment is a similar product for any citizen of India through NRI can not open PPF account in India, it's only for residents of India. 

Migration to Australia, NewZeland, USA, UK, and Singapore More Difficult for Indian IT Professional Now

This month, particularly this week, starting from 18th April was pretty bleak for Indian IT professional looking for migration and an onsite opportunity to Australia, NewZeland, and the USA. Things were not easy from quite some time where many firms all over the world chopping and moving workforces from high-cost location to low-cost location and thus reducing the onsite opportunity for a large number of ambitious Indian IT guys working in service-based companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and CTS. Things have started getting even worse due to a series of VISA reforms done by these nations to employ more stricter policies on immigrants has made the onsite dream of Indian IT professional even more difficult.

How to appoint a Mandate Holder in NRE or NRO account?

Mandate Holder is a unique facility many private sector banks like ICICI and HDFC bank provides to NRI customers. According to this faculty, NRE/NRO account holder can appoint a resident Indian (a family member only) to manage your account on your behalf. Since, being an NRI, you cannot physically be present in India to handle your financial matters for most of the year, having a mandate holder really helps.

What is FCNR Fixed or Term deposits? Should NRI Invest?

Should you Invest in FCNR fixed or term deposit?
FCNR (Foreign Currency Non Resident) deposit is another way NRI can invest money in fixed deposit, this is the third option for Indians staying abroad along with more popular NRE and NRO Fixed deposit. Since deregulation of the interest rate on FCNR deposit earlier this year, In an attempt to arrest Rupee slide against USD and attract more dollars from NRI customers, FCNR deposit has become an attractive alternative for NRI.

Can you add Nominee in your NRE or NRO account? Saving and Fixed deposit

Yes, you can add any family member or close relatives as a nominee in your NRE account. Almost all the banks, both public sector like SBI, Bank of Baroda and private sector banks e.g. ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank provides nomination facility. This is one thing many NRI customers either avoid doing it or they just don't know about it, but I strongly suggest you have a nomination in all of your bank accounts, not just the NRE, NRO or FCNR account. Nomination allows hassle-free transfer of funds in case of any unfortunate things because the last thing you want your family members or dependent on spending month and year to claim your hard earned money from banks. 

NRE or NRO Savings Account – Which one NRI should open? Differences

NRE or NRO savings account, which should I open is first doubt comes in mind of any Non Resident Indian (NRI), who wants to open saving accounts in India on Indian banks like ICICI bank, SBI bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and several other public sector banks which offer this facility like Bank of Baroda. NRE and NRO are two kinds of accounts any NRI can open in India, NRE stands for Non Resident External while NRO stands for Non Resident Ordinary account, though both can be held by Indians there are many differences between them and based upon your need you need to choose to open either NRE or NRO account in India. Almost all major banks both public sector and private sector like SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra allow NRI Indian to open both NRE and NRO account.

Difference between NEFT and RTGS or IMPS Interbank Fund transfer India

NEFT and RTGS are two main ways of electronically transferring money between two banks in India using net banking accounts. Suppose you have a resident, NRI or NRO account from ICICI bank and want to transfer money to your family member or third party, which has account in HDFC bank, then you can either use NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) or RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) depending upon, how much money you want to transfer. A third way, rather new way of money transfer between banks is IMPS (Interbank Mobile Payment Service or Immediate Payment Service) was introduce in 2010 by the National Payments Corporation of India to empower customers to transfer money instantly.

Good time to invest in NRE Fixed Deposit in India

Why Invest in NRE Fixed Deposit in India?
NRE Fixed Deposit is very hot at this moment with soaring interest rate and very lucrative Exchange rates from USD to INR, SGD to INR and from other foreign currencies. For all those Indian who are living abroad or working abroad mostly my fellow IT Professionals, it’s good to invest in NRE Fixed deposit in India. As we know the successful key of Savings and Investment is diversification and Fixed Income forms a big part of it and always say that at least have your 50% money in Fixed deposits because of liquidity, security and ease of investment as an option it provides. 

Recurring deposit for NRI – latest offering from Indian banks

Recurring deposit for NRI customers
NRI recurring deposit is a new investment option offered by many Indian banks like HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI and Kotak Mahindra, after their successful run with NRI fixed deposit. With almost 25-30% rise in exchange rates of USD to INR during the span of one year has made remitting money to India and investing in recurring and fixed deposit a lucrative option. Recurring deposit for NRI is available on HDFC bank and it may also available through other banks like Kotak Mahindra which I yet to check.

NRI can use Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to save tax

NRIs are always in doubt with taxation and many times they end up by paying double tax on same income, both in the foreign country they are currently working and staying and on India. In order to avoid this double taxation of income, the home and the source country mutually enter into tax treaty generally known as DTAA. India has signed DTAA treaty with more than 80+ countries, which includes the USA, UK, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Germany, Australia etc.

Why open RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) Savings Account or Fixed Deposit

An RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) Savings Account is a savings account maintained in foreign currencies e..g USD, CAD, EURO or GBP for NRIs who have returned to India for good but has some foreign currency fund to park. One of the main reason of opening RFC account is that you can also open the RFC account as term deposit to park your foreign currency, which you can later transfer into NRE or FCNR accounts when you gain your NRI status back like when you moved to abroad again.

Difference between Re-issue and Renewal of Indian Passport

If you are an NRI, currently outside India and your passport's expiry is near then you might be thinking about re-issue of passport, but if you are confused between renewal and re-issue of an Indian passport then you have come to right place. There is a difference between Re-issue and Renewal of a passport. Passports are Re-issued after the expiry of their 10-year validity period.

Can NRI take Personal Loans in India? Which is the best bank to take NRI Person loan?

Yes, NRIs can take personal loans in India, nothing stops them except the bank which are giving Personal loans. Unfortunately, even though, all the public sector banks e.g. SBI, Bank of Baroda, Punjab national bank, private sector e.g. ICICI, HDFC, Axis bank, YESBank, Standard chartered, Federal bank, and even non-banking financial institution like Tata Capital, LIC finance are offering home loans to NRI but no one is providing personal loans to NRIs.

Why and How NRI Should open NPS (National Pension Scheme) Account

In my last post, can NRI invest in National Pension Scheme, I told you that NRIs are now allowed to open NPS accounts, it's time to share more information about NPS like why an NRI should invest in National Pension Scheme. One of the main reason NRI should open NPS account is to build their retirement or pension corpus in India. Since many NRI working abroad don't have any kind of social security, especially those who are working in middle east and gulf country. For all Non-resident Indians, this is now a golden chance to plan for their old age income.

How to find if returning NRI is a Resident but not Ordinarily resident (RNOR) and Tax benefit? Example

Let me answer the second question first to convince you why a returning NRI would like to find out whether he is a resident or a non-ordinarily reside (RNOR)? Well, there is big tax benefit of filing income tax return in India as RNOR i.e.  Resident But Not Ordinarily Resident, unlike ROR (Resident and Ordinarily Resident) whose global incomes in taxed in India e.g. interest earned on foreign currency fixed deposit kept abroad or in FCNR account or in RFC account in India, RNOR is asked to pay tax only on income earned in India.

How to check if you are an NRI, a RNOR, or an Ordinary Indian Resident for Income Tax?

One of the important question among Indians going abroad or NRIs returning from overseas to India for a good is to check their residential status to see whether they qualify as an NRI, an RNOR or an Ordinary Indian Resident in the current and future financial years. Why it is important to know the residential status? Well, it's quite important from income tax perspective because if you are an NRI or RNOR (Resident but not Ordinarily Resident) then you don't need to pay tax on your global income, which include interest earned on NRE fixed deposits and FCNR fixed deposit. Instead, you only have to pay tax on income earned in India.

Can NRIs send Indian currency to India through Fedex or DTDC Courier?

One of the most frequently asked question among NRI community post the historic announcement of demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in India is whether NRIs can send the Indian currency to India using FedEx, DTDC or DHL express or not. The answer is No, NRIs cannot send money e.g. bank notes, currency notes, coins and traveler's cheques via international shipment e.g. DHL Express, DTDC, FedEx or any other means to India.

NRI Minimum Account Balance and Penalty charges - ICICI vs HDFC vs SBI vs Kotak

One of the important detail many NRIs ignore while opening NRE or NRO saving account is the minimum account balance required to be maintained on the monthly or quarterly basis. Sometimes this is also known as average monthly balance. On average you need to maintain at least 10,000 Indian Rupees as minimum monthly balance but it varies hugely from bank to bank and on different account type. Banks also charges the penalty if you don't maintain the required minimum balance in your NRE account, which not only completely offset any interest gain you have made but also put a dent on your principle amount. I have friends which have lost thousands of rupees as minimum balance penalty because of ignorance and not paying enough attention.

How to Open NRE or NRO account Online From Outside India? ICICI, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Nowadays, opening an NRE or NRO account from overseas has become quite easy with an online application form and free pickup services offered by many Indian public sectors and private sector banks. Almost all major banks including public sector banks likes SBI, Bank of Baroda, Union bank of India, Federal Bank and private sector banks like ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and foreign banks operating in India like DBS, Standard Chartered, and Deutsche bank all allows you to fill the account opening form online and many of  them have free pickup service or local PO box services to collect the completed application form and necessary documents.

7 Points to Remember while Buying Health Insurance for Parents or Elderly People?

In the last couple of articles, I have told you why health insurance is important for parents and what are the tax benefits you get by buying health insurance for your family and parents (see here), but I have not shared any tips about buying the right health insurance. In this article, I am going to fill that gap. If you are buying health insurance policy for your parents e.g. your month or father, you should consider following 7 points before finalizing any health insurance policy.

5 Tax Saving Schemes not available to NRIs

If you have been filing your income tax returns in India then you know that there are a lot of tax saving options you can use to claim tax deductions and exemptions under a various section of income tax law of India. For example, section 80C allows both resident and non-resident taxpayer of a deduction up to 1.5 lacs from their gross taxable income. This can substantially reduce your tax liability by bringing down your total taxable income into lower income tax slab rates. Unfortunately, not all tax saving schemes available to the resident taxpayer are available to NRI like there are almost 13 ways to save tax under section 80C, which I know, there are more but many of them are not available to NRI taxpayers. In this article, I'll let you know the difference in tax deductions and exemptions applicable to NRI and resident taxpayer.

How to reduce TDS on NRO Fixed Deposit using DTAA?

In last article, I told you that you can use the DTAA (Double Tax avoidance Agreement) to prevent double taxation of same income in two countries. Since most of the NRI pay their taxes in their country of employment or resident, they can also take advantage of DTAA to reduce TDS on NRO fixed deposits held in India, both private and public sector banks. Since banks are suppose to withhold tax of 30% plus applicable surcharge and cess in terms of the provisions of section 195 of the Income-tax Act, you end up paying very high TDS up-to 30.9% on NRO fixed deposit, which is enough to wipe out 1/3rd of your interest.

Section 80TTA Tax Benefits - NRI can claim 10,000 INR On interest of Saving Account

Do you know that Non-resident Indians can claim a deduction on income from interest on saving bank accounts up to a maximum of 10,000 INR like resident Indians? Well, I didn't. I just come to know about this relatively new tax deduction method. This benefit is provided under Section 80TTA, which is available from the financial year 2012-13. Since an NRI can only have either NRE or NRO saving account, and given interest earned on NRE account is exempted from tax (see here), this will only applicable to interest earned on an NRO saving account.

US NRIs and H1B holder must submit FATCA Compliance Certificates to Indian Banks

Recently one of my friend, working for an IT company in the USA on H1B visa received notification from Indian banks and Mutual funds that he needs to submit FATCA compliant certificates. He wasn't sure about what is FATCA and why he needs to submit FATCA certificate to Indian banks. This inspired me to write this short post explaining what is FATCA and who needs to submit FATCA certificates in India.

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme Tax Benefits

Since the last date of the financial year 31st, March is approaching, many Mutual funds, brokerage house, and Insurance companies are aggressively promoting their products in a bid to attract income taxpayers who like to save tax. Particularly, Mutual funds and brokers like ICICI Direct are trying to improve their tax saving options, like ELSS, Infra bonds, etc. Recently I receive an email from ICICI direct regarding one of the lesser used tax saving option, Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme (RGESS),  which inspired me to write this post.

What happens to NRE Saving Accounts and Fixed Deposits after returning to India?

Many Indians who goes to work abroad for work opens NRE saving and NRE fixed deposit account to take benefit of higher interest rate and absolutely no tax on interest earned on those account, but do you know what happens to your NRE account after you return to India? If you are only coming to India for short term, you can still keep your NRE account but if you are coming India to take employment or for opening business you need to inform your bank about change in your NRI status and they will convert your NRE saving account into Resident account. In case of NRE fixed deposits, you will continue to earn interest at original rate until maturity or pre-closure, once tenure is over you will get the money. This will be tax free as there is no tax on NRE fixed deposits in India.

Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is not Tax free Anymore, 60% of EPF Withdrawals will be Taxed as Income

One of the most important and controversial points of the recently concluded Indian budget 2016 is the taxation on Employee Provident Fund withdrawals. Earlier, similar to PPF, EPF was also completely tax-free, i.e., whatever amount you invest in EPF, up to 1.5 lakh under section 80C, was deducted from your taxable income. There was no tax on gains made by EPF, and the maturity amount was also exempted from tax, but not anymore.

Can NRI deposit INR in NRE Account in India? [Answered]

The answer is both Yes and No, it depends on the source of funds. Technically, Yes, you can deposit INR or Indian rupees in NRE account in India with both private banks e.g. HDFC, ICICI, Kotak, YesBank, Federal Bank, and any public sector banks like SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, etc, provided the source of INR is another NRE or FCNR account. So, if your friends, relative, or wife has an NRE saving account and they can legally transfer Indian Rupees to you.

How much Indian Currency/Cash NRIs can Carry to/from Overseas/India?

After India's great demonetization drive, NRIs are worried about taking cash overseas. I often received queries regarding this and one of the common ones is, how much Indian currency an NRI can take to India from Overseas? The main reason for asking this question now is to make use of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes before they became worthless after December 30th, 2016, because the only way to deposit old Indian currency was to deposit them into NRI Account in India.

What is the limit and tax implication of Sending Money to India from the USA?

In theory, there is absolutely no limit to how much money you can send to India, provided you earned your money legally and paid your taxes but the USA is special. In practice, depending upon which channel you are using for sending money to India, you might have some limits. Similarly, you will also hit the daily limit of transactions you can do with your local bank e.g. paying bills up to 50,000 dollars daily for remittance purposes.

Indian Customs Limits for Carrying Cash to/from India - Indian Rupee vs Foreign currency

The Indian Customs limits on the amount of cash anyone can carry from abroad to India is different for Indian currency (INR) and foreign currency e.g. US Dollars, Pound or Yen. The cash limit for traveling in India is also different for how much you can take to India and how much you can bring from India, also known as import and export cash limits of India. In this article, we'll take a look at current limits by Indian Customs on the amount of cash both Indian citizen and foreigner can carry to and from India.

5 Things NRIs should know before Sending Money to India from Abroad

When a young software engineer gets his first onsite opportunity, whether it's short-term or long-term, he is full of excitement. Nothing beats the excitement and adventure of going abroad, especially in America or Europe. As they settle down there are receive their first month's salary, it can be a little difficult for them to send money back home. They are new and not aware of all the options they have for sending money to India. Many of them settled on what they are colleagues are using without doing any research about other options available and whether the option their colleagues are using gives the best value for their money or not.

5 ways to Send/Remit Large Amount of Money to India from Overseas

There are several ways to send money to India from Overseas, both online and offline. Some of the popular channel for remitting money includes the Western Union for the small amount of cash to online services like ICICI Money2India, Xoom, HDFC QuickRemit, Remit2India, Transferwise, CurrencyFair, and Axis bank Remittance allows you instantly transfer small to medium amount of money to India e.g. from 500 USD to 20,000 USD. Different websites and money transfer services have different limits and that too also varies depending on which country you are sending money to India.

Do You Need to Pay Tax When You Transfer Money to India from Overseas bank?

Do I need to Pay Taxes in India When I transfer money from an Overseas bank to India?
Many of my IT friends are working abroad and when you go abroad the first time, you have a lot of queries in your mind, related to NRI status, Taxation in the foreign country, remittance, and Taxation in India. One of the most common questions I see is "Do you need to pay taxes in India when you transfer funds from an Overseas bank to an Indian Saving account?", the short answer is No, provided you are an NRI, I mean you have stayed more than 182 days abroad in that financial year (31st March to 1st April).

Best Site for Online Instant Money Transfer to India from Australia - Remit2India

Remit2India, one of the popular remittance services among NRIs has recently launched an instant money transfer service from Australia to India. This means now you can remit money instantly, earlier it used to take 2 days. Along with Instant money transfer, Remit2India is also offering savings up to Rs. 3K+ as compared to local banks in Australia because of competitive exchange rates and lower fees (though subject to change given fluctuation in exchange rates).  So if you are sending money from Australia, it's worth looking at what exchange rate Remit2Inida is offering? You will usually get better exchange rates and believe me that matters, especially if you are transferring money in excess of 20000 AUD.

What is difference between NRI and NRE accounts in India?

This is one of the frequently asked questions from NRIs, main from those who have not yet opened any saving account in India. NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) can open different types of bank accounts in India e.g. NRE (Non Resident External), NRO (Non Resident Ordinary), FCNR (Foreign Currency Non-resident), or RFC (Resident Foreign currency). All of them are casually called NRI accounts because only NRIs can open them.

Can You Invest more than one lakh in PPF Account?

TL;DR: You can now invest more than 1 lakh rupees on your PPF account, thanks to the increased limit in the 2014 budget. Earlier this limit was only 1 lakh but now it is raised to 1.5 lakh and so without doing any extra trick, as shown in this article, you can now invest more than one lakh in your personal public provident fund account.

NRE vs NRO vs FCNR - Which Savings or Fixed Deposit Account NRI should Open?

Non Resident Indians, who want to invest money in India, must first open a savings bank account. This will not only help you to easily remit money to India but also to transfer Indian rupees to your friends, relatives, and parents. You can also pay bills on behalf of parents, recharge mobile phones, pay DTH charges, etc. If you have aged parents, then you can really help them to pay their bills online using your Indian Rupees NRE or NRO Saving accounts, I have opened NRO accounts for just that purpose. Anyway, there are mainly three basic types of bank accounts for non-resident Indians, NRE, NRO, and FCNR. NRE stands for Non-resident external, NRO stands for Non Resident ordinary and FCNR stands for Foreign currency Non-resident account.

How to determine NRI status of Individual for Income tax purpose?

If you had just gone last year, how do you check whether you are an NRI or not? Well, this guide will help you to determine your NRI status. In general, if a person stays more than 182 days outside of India in a given financial year, then he is considered as NRI (Non Resident Indian) for income tax purpose, but there are more to it. In this tutorial, I'll explain how to check NRI status in detail and why it is important to find out NRI status before filing an income tax return. 

8 Things NRI should Know about Mutual Fund Investment in India

If you are an NRI and investing in Mutual funds in India, here are a couple of things you should know.

1) NRIs are allowed to invest in mutual funds in India on a repatriable or non-repatriable basis. Based on which type of investment you choose, there are certain rules to follow.

2) The investments carry the right of repatriation of capital invested and capital appreciation only till the investor remains an NRI.

3 Reasons for Buying Health Insurance Family and Parents in India

Even though Health insurance is not a new concept for the world, I must admit that it's a relatively new thing in India and many people including those who are living in cities and earning well are not aware of the benefits of taking health insurance. Many people just focus on life insurance to buy a cover to help their family with money when they are not around, but they don't think about the medical emergency and cost of hospitalization for themselves and their family, especially during old age.

10 things NRI Should know about Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS)

Hello guys, if you are interested in buying shares or doing trading on Indian stock exchanges like Bombay Stock Exchange BSE and National Stock Exchange NSE then you may hear about Portfolio Investment Scheme. RBI has allowed NRIs to invest in the Indian stock market by buying shares/convertibles of listed Indian companies in recognized stock exchanges e.g. BSE and NSE, under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) with banks. Many NRI doesn't know much about Portfolio Investment Scheme, Even I didn't know about it some time back. Once I come to know about it I have collected some useful information and I wanted to share that with you guys.

Tax Benefit of Buying Health Insurance in India for NRI - Section 80D

There is no doubt that in today's expensive world you need a good health insurance policy for your family and parents. Hospitalization and Medical cost have risen significantly in India and expenditure ranging from 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs is nothing for a major critical illness like Cancer and Heart-related disease. It's simply not possible to arrange huge amounts, ranging from 5 to 50 lakhs for hospitalization and medicines at the time of need, it's both difficult and troublesome, that's why buying health insurance is a must for a family guy.  Indian government allows both residents and NRIs to claim tax rebates under section 80D for health care expenses for its spouse, children, and parents. Particularly for NRI, where parents are living in India, they should buy an adequate health insurance policy.