Our discussion was largely centred on US life insurance for NRIs and returning NRIs. Sharing my learnings below for US folks who are seeking an estate planning solution - Why should I even care about US life insurance if I'm moving back to India, and what does it actually solve for? Because of estate tax. The day you become a non-resident alien (NRA) to the US, your estate tax exemption on US-situs assets collapses from around $15M (2026) to $60k. Anything above this limit f

For easy readability, we’ve compiled a list of questions in an FAQ format with my responses below - Does India tax the growth inside the 529 account? While you're an NRI or in RNOR, the growth inside the 529 is invisible to India. It's foreign income, and both these statuses only care about India-sourced income. Once you cross into ROR, it's not one blanket answer, there are two separate things happening inside that account. The account balance going up (NAV appreciation) is

If you’re a software engineer at a US company, an early employee at a startup (HR, ops, marketing, anyone with a grant), a senior person sitting on a big pile of options, or someone who just got their first RSU email and is quietly confused. Same handful of things trip everyone up, so let’s try to understand it simply - There are two popular types of equity compensation: ESOPs: You get the option to buy company shares at a fixed price later (most common at unlisted startups)

Once you become ROR (Resident Ordinarily Resident), India taxes the yearly growth in your 401(k), IRA, or RRSP even if you never make any withdrawals. Keep in mind that countries like the US, Canada, and a few others tax only withdrawals. This mismatch creates an issue as you can end up paying tax twice with no credit to offset it. Form 10-EE under Section 89A is the fix for this. File this form for that account, and India will hold off taxing its growth until you actually wi

[Refer to image in comments for context] If you're sitting on: ~300 shares of Nvidia ~220 shares of Amazon ~130 shares of Microsoft ~465 shares of Oracle ~270 shares of IBM You've already crossed a number most people have never heard of.$60,000 is the US estate tax exemption for non-residents. If you're not a US citizen or green card holder (an NRA in tax terms), everything you hold in US situated stock above that line is exposed, whether you're an Indian resident in Bangalor

I’ve had multiple conversations with folks who’ve moved back or are in the process of returning to India and often mix up FEMA regulations and Income Tax laws, as this is not something they do in and out every day. With the Indian tax filing deadline approaching this week, I thought of compiling some commonly asked questions and scenarios. "After return, my bank still lets me keep my NRE account open. Doesn't that mean I'm still an NRI for tax purposes?" No, and this is the

Global layoffs are on the rise this year, and the Indian workforce seems to be taking the brunt of it with many of my friends and family living with the quiet stress of a potential income loss right now. It is a vulnerable spot to be in, especially with dependents at home. So I wanted to share a few things that I’ve been recommending to friends and family as well, in case you ever see a layoff heading your way - 1. Know your actual expenses for each month - Capture the actual

1. How will India tax my HSA once I am a resident (ROR)? Once you become ROR, India treats the HSA as a regular investment account. All internal growth is taxed at slab rates every year (even without a withdrawal). Withdrawals themselves are taxed as regular income, including medical ones. And unlike 401ks and IRAs, HSAs do not qualify for Section 89A relief, and DTAA doesn’t provide any relief, as the US does not tax internal growth in an HSA, so no foreign tax credits (FTC)

With FCNR deposits suddenly everywhere in NRI communities, we wanted to clear up the common questions first, and then get to the one that actually matters: whether you should be doing this at all. The quick answers Are they like FDs? Yes, it's a fixed deposit, just held in dollars instead of rupees. You lock a sum for a fixed term at a fixed rate. Where do you open one? With any major Indian bank. As an NRI, funded by remitting foreign currency from abroad or moving it from a

The #1 barrier for NRIs while investing in India isn’t returns but compliances (like PFIC rules for US NRIs) & access (limited choices). Investing in Indian equities is complicated for NRIs, no matter which country you're in. Just like NRI banking has two accounts - NRE (money from abroad) and NRO (money earned in India) - your demat account has variants too. PIS and non-PIS, explained PIS (Portfolio Investment Scheme) route is an older mechanism that needed special RBI appro

Of all the moving parts in a return to India, US property is often the one that keeps people up at night. We say a version of this in most of our posts, but it holds here more than anywhere: whether to keep or sell your US property comes down to your financial goals, your long-term priorities, and how much management hassle you are realistically willing to take on from 8,000 miles away. Here are both paths, and what we usually see work best. Should you sell? If your priority

If you’re an NRI who owns property in the US and is thinking of selling after moving back, FIRPTA is an important concept that you must understand and keep in mind while planning the sale. 1. What is FIRPTA? FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) applies when a foreign person (including NRIs) sells their US real estate, and the buyer is required to withhold a certain amount of money to send to the IRS. Think of it as similar to when NRIs sell Indian property; th

A client who recently moved back to India after years in the US on an H-1B asked us something deceptively simple while we were going through his estate plan: "Can I just gift my US assets to my son?" It is a reasonable instinct, and it sent us down the rabbit hole of how US gift tax actually works in practice. What stands out is how little gift tax gets discussed compared to estate tax, even though it can have a real impact on US returnees, both NRIs and OCIs. So here is the

Many NRIs and OCIs moving back to India from the US usually have a sizable portion of RSUs and ESOPs within their portfolios that need to be planned strategically when coming back. RSUs and ESOPs are taxed differently depending on when the vesting/exercising or selling happens and on your Indian residential status, which is why it’s important to keep a few things in mind when planning your return. RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) The biggest disadvantage and risk you have with R

One of the most common questions we get from returning NRIs is: "Can I keep my brokerage account after I move back?" The short answer is yes, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Can you keep the account? You can usually keep and trade accounts with Schwab, Fidelity, IBKR (rules may differ for each brokerage). You cannot continue with brokers like Robinhood after returning to India, as you need to be a legal resident of the US. Products and services provided by US brok

We have spoken with quite a few people moving back to India after a decade or more abroad who choose to trial it first, usually for one to three years, before fully committing. It is a smart way to find out whether the transition actually works for your life. But a trial carries a lot of emotional bandwidth, and in the middle of that, the financial side often gets overlooked. Which is a problem, because that is exactly where the costly, hard-to-reverse decisions tend to hide.

Account Holds Currency Repatriable? Interest taxed? On return NRO Indian income INR Up to $1M/FY Yes (30% TDS) Convert to resident account NRE Foreign Income INR Fully Tax-free (as NRI) Convert to resident account FCNR Foreign income Foreign Fully Tax-free (NRI/RNOR) Continue till maturity, then convert RFC Foreign income Foreign Fully Tax-free (RNOR only) Open only after return NRI bank accounts may seem like a shuffle of acronyms with varying rules for taxes, repatriation a

With H-1B lottery rejections, layoffs, and general uncertainty, many are returning to India earlier than expected. A large number of folks may be returning after spending 3-5 years in the US and won’t qualify for RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) status. So, how should one think about their 401k when the RNOR window is not on the table? Three questions I hear most often from people in this situation, maybe at least one is already on your mind: Should I withdraw now

With nearly 40 lakh couples tying the knot this wedding season, it’s a beautiful and auspicious time for Indian couples and families. But from watching many friends get married recently, I’ve realised that money conversations don’t start after marriage; they start before the wedding itself. In a way, it is the first mirror of how a couple approaches money together. From what we see, money stress isn’t sudden for couples. It builds across phases - Before Marriage We’re no lo

Most NRIs assume that selling Indian mutual funds automatically attracts Indian capital gains tax. That’s not always true. Under several of India’s DTAAs, capital gains from Indian mutual funds can be taxable only in your country of residence, not in India. If you’re an NRI in Singapore or the UAE, capital gains aren’t taxed there. Thanks to DTAA rules, redeeming Indian mutual funds can end up being tax-free (completely legally). How does this work? Most Indian tax treaties s