Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Step 1: Determine your residential status in India
- Step 2: Reconciliation of income and taxes with Form 26AS
- Step 3: Ascertaining your taxable income and determining your tax liability
- Step 4: Claiming double taxation treaty relief
- Step 5: Disclosure of bank account details
- conclusion
Introduction
If you are an NRI (Non-Resident Indian), you may be wondering if you need to file income tax returns in India. The answer is yes, you do need to file income tax returns in India if your gross total income received in India exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh for any given financial year.
This article will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to file income tax returns as an NRI. We will cover the following topics:
- Determining your residential status in India
- Reconciliation of income and taxes with Form 26AS
- Ascertaining your taxable income and determining your tax liability
- Claiming double taxation treaty relief
- Disclosure of bank account details
Step 1: Determine your residential status in India
The first step is to determine your residential status in India. This will determine which income tax return form you need to file. There are three categories of residential status for NRIs:
- Resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR)
- Non-resident but ordinarily resident (NROR)
- Non-resident (NR)
If you have been staying in India for less than 182 days in the financial year, you will be considered a RNOR. If you have been staying in India for more than 182 days in the financial year, you will be considered a NRO or NR, depending on whether you have stayed in India for more than 729 days in the previous four financial years.
Step 2: Reconciliation of income and taxes with Form 26AS
Form 26AS is a statement that shows all the taxes that have been deducted from your income during the financial year. You can download Form 26AS from the Income Tax Department website.
Once you have downloaded Form 26AS, you need to reconcile it with your income and taxes. This means that you need to make sure that all the income that has been shown in Form 26AS is also shown in your income tax return. You also need to make sure that the taxes that have been deducted from your income are correct.
Step 3: Ascertaining your taxable income and determining your tax liability
Once you have reconciled your income and taxes, you need to ascertain your taxable income and determine your tax liability. Your taxable income is the total income that you have earned during the financial year, minus any deductions that you are eligible for.
Your tax liability is the amount of tax that you owe to the government. The tax liability is calculated on the basis of your taxable income.
Step 4: Claiming double taxation treaty relief
If you have earned income in a country other than India, you may be able to claim double taxation treaty relief. This means that you will not have to pay tax on that income in India, as long as you have already paid tax on it in the other country.
Step 5: Disclosure of bank account details
If you have a bank account in India, you need to disclose the details of that account in your income tax return. This is required for the purpose of tracking black money.
conclusion
This article has provided you with a step-by-step guide on how to file income tax returns as an NRI. If you have any questions, you can consult with a tax advisor.