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.

Yes, Transfer Money form NRO to NRE Saving Account, FCNR is Allowed

Not many NRIs (Non-resident Indians) knows that, from May 2012, NRI can transfer fund from the NRO account to NRE account in India. Earlier this was not the case though you can transfer funds from NRE to an NRO account, the reverse was not allowed. The only way to fund your NRE saving account was through your offshore income earned in foreign currency. Things have changed, The Reserve Bank now allows non-resident Indians (NRIs) to transfer funds from non-resident ordinary (NRO) account to Non-Resident External (NRE) account subject to a ceiling of $1 million in a financial year. This move is encouraging as now NRI can make maximum use of their funds and can transfer to overseas, when they needed or when they feel it's a better investment opportunity.

Can you deposit Indian Rupees or Foreign Currency into NRE Saving Account via Cheque or Remittance?

One of the common questions among new NRIs or Indians who just went abroad is whether they can deposit rupees in an NRO account or not? The short answer to this question is YES, you can deposit INR or Indian rupees into an NRO account. In fact, that's the sole purpose of opening an NRO account because you cannot deposit rupees into an NRE account.  If you are new to NRI banking facilities available to Non-resident Indians then let me tell you there are two main types of saving accounts NRIs can open in India, NRE (Non-Resident External) and NRO (Non-resident Ordinary).

Top 5 Tax Saving Instruments and Investment for Salaried Employees In India

Tax Saving Schemes for salaried employees India
As the financial year proceeds to end, many of my colleagues and friends started thinking about tax saving though I have always suggested them to do it in a planned way from the start of the year it never happened. Since we all know that we can save up to 1 lac under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act there are lots of tax saving schemes available.

3 Best websites and banks to transfer money from Singapore to India

There are many options to send money from Singapore to India, but an online money transfer is the best. You can transfer money at your convenience without the hassle of visiting a bank or remittance center, but given there are a lot of banks and websites providing online money transfers from Singapore to India, which one is the best? Which will give you the best exchange rates and charge the lowest transfer fees? Do you need to create another account or you can use your existing DBS, OCBC, or UOB account to wire money from Singapore to India? Which bank is quickest in sending money to India.

Can I Repatriate (transfer) Money from NRO Account to Overseas? [Answered]

Yes, you can repatriate money from an NRO account unless it doesn't exceed USD 1 million per calendar year. Normally, fund lying in NRO saving account or NRO fixed deposit is not subject to repatriation abroad and that's why I suggest you open an NRE account, which allows you to freely repatriate the money.

13 Things about Public Provident Fund PPF Investment in India You Should Know

PPF is a short form of Public Provident Fund and it's one of the best long-term investment for Indian citizens, sorry NRI cannot invest in PPF if they don't have an account already. Since many Indians are not aware of PPF and doesn't know much about it, I have jotted down some important points of Public Provident Fund scheme.

Can you send money from abroad to a normal Indian savings account, will it be taxable?

One of the frequently asked questions by people going abroad is that, whether they can send money to a resident saving account in India or not? Will that be taxable? The answer to this question depends upon whose resident saving account? For example, if you send money from abroad to a normal saving account of your parent, spouse, or children then it will be considered as a gift from an Income tax perspective, and gift to a parent, spouse, and children are not considered as income in India, hence they will not be taxable.   But, if you send them to somebody else’s normal savings account then it will be considered as their income and they are liable to pay income tax on that.