NRI Property Worth-It Calculator — Keep or Sell Your India Flat?

Your flat

Where do you live now?

What it would sell for today

Type amounts any way you like: 12000000, 1.2 Cr or 45 L.

Monthly rent

You paid (incl. stamp duty and registration)

Year bought

Month bought

Home loan still owed (0 if none)

₹ per $ today

₹ per $ when bought

Check today’s exchange rate before relying on the result.

What you expect

Flat’s price growth

How fast you expect the flat’s value to rise each year, in rupees. This moves the result more than anything else — the “What would flip the answer” box shows the number that changes it.

Rent growth

Rupee vs $

The rupee has historically lost about 3–4% a year against the dollar. If it keeps doing that, every rupee of rent and sale money buys fewer dollars later. Slide left of zero if you expect it to strengthen.

Return if you sell and invest

What the sale money would earn each year where you live, after your local tax — for example a balanced index-fund portfolio.

Months empty, as a share of the year

Compare over

Fine-tune optional

Running costs

Maintenance and society (₹/yr)

Property tax (₹/yr)

Repairs and insurance (₹/yr)

Manager fee (% of rent)

Costs rise (%/yr)

Selling

Brokerage and legal fees (% of price)

Improvements you paid for (₹, total)

Renovations and additions, not repairs. They reduce your taxable gain.

I’ll get a lower-TDS certificate before selling

Without it, the buyer withholds 13–15% of the whole sale price, even though your tax is only on the gain. A certificate (Form 13, now Form 128) makes withholding match your real tax, so you don’t wait for a refund.

India tax

TDS on rent (%)

Long-term gains (%)

Other India income (₹/yr, e.g. NRO interest)

Basic exemption (₹)

Refunds arrive after (yrs)

My tenant deducts TDS from the rent

The law requires it, but many tenants don’t. If yours doesn’t, you pay your actual tax yourself (advance tax) instead of waiting for a refund — and the tenant is exposed to penalties. Untick to model that.

I have a lower-TDS certificate for the rent

A lower or nil deduction certificate (Sec 197 under the old Act; check the current section with your CA) lets the tenant withhold only your expected tax instead of 31.2%, so far less of your rent is tied up in refunds.

NRIs get the basic exemption but not the Sec 87A rebate, so the resident “no tax up to ₹12 L” doesn’t apply. Loan interest is deducted from rent; under the new regime a resulting loss can’t reduce other income. TDS on rent above ₹50 L a year includes surcharge.

US tax

First rented out (year)

Building share (% of cost)

Your US tax bracket (%)

US long-term gains (%)

State income tax (%)

Foreign tax credit usable (%)

State tax: e.g. 3.07 for Pennsylvania, 0 for Texas or Florida. Most states don’t credit Indian tax. Foreign tax credit: 100% assumes all Indian tax on this flat can offset your US federal tax on it (Form 1116). Lower it if your adviser expects a limitation, or use 0 to see the worst case.

Count the tax saving when held rental losses are released at sale

If the flat runs a loss for US tax (common with a loan plus depreciation), the loss is held until you sell, then becomes deductible against your other income. The saving is real only if you have enough other US income that year. Untick to leave it out.

US rental losses already carried from earlier years ($)

From your past Form 8582 / Schedule E, if any. These losses always offset future rental profit for US tax. The box above only controls whether the tool counts the extra saving when whatever is left is released at sale.

Add 3.8% NIIT (only above about $200k single / $250k joint income)

US figures are estimates. Depreciation reduces your basis whether or not you claimed it. Rental losses for US tax are held until you sell, then released.

What the rent really earns

How the rupee changes your return (illustration)

Cash you can use each month

What would flip the answer

Your first year, reconciled

How the rent turns into cash, what the taxes really are, and why the yield and the monthly cash differ.

If you keep it and sell later

Keep, then sell that yearSell today and invest

Stress test

The same comparison with tougher and kinder assumptions for keeping.

If you sold today

Money in hand on the day, what comes back later, and what you finally keep.

Questions to take to your CA

Built from your numbers. Print or save them before the meeting.

The numbers aren’t the whole decision

Tick what applies. These don’t change the math, but they deserve the same weight.

I may move back to India Family uses or lives in the flat It’s my only foothold in India Managing it from abroad is wearing me out

The link contains the numbers you entered, so anyone you send it to can see them.

Common questions

How much TDS does a tenant deduct when the landlord is an NRI?

30% plus 4% cess — 31.2% — on the gross rent, from the first rupee. Your final tax is usually lower, and you reclaim the difference by filing an Indian return (ITR-2), so part of your rent arrives late.

What tax does an NRI pay on selling a flat in India?

If held over 24 months, 12.5% long-term capital gains tax plus surcharge and cess, with no indexation. The buyer withholds TDS on the full sale price, not just the gain, unless you get a lower-deduction certificate. Shorter holdings are taxed at slab rates.

Does my buyer need a TAN to buy from an NRI?

Not if they are a resident individual or HUF. From 1 October 2026 they can deduct and deposit the TDS with their PAN using Schedule E of Form 141, then give you Form 132 as your certificate. Other buyers, such as companies, still use a TAN and quarterly returns.

Do US residents pay US tax when they sell Indian property?

Yes. The gain is worked out in dollars — sale price at today’s rate minus purchase price at the rate when you bought — and taxed at US capital gains rates, with a foreign tax credit for Indian tax paid. Because the rupee usually weakened, the dollar gain is often far smaller than the rupee gain.

Can I move the sale money abroad?

Yes — up to USD 1 million per financial year from an NRO account, with Form 15CA and a CA’s Form 15CB. Larger amounts are spread across years.

How we calculate this

A worked example using the default flat: worth ₹1.2 Cr, rented at ₹35,000 a month, bought for ₹45 L in June 2012 at ₹53 per $, owner in the US (24% bracket, no state tax), calculated as of October 2026. Every number below is what the tool shows for these inputs.

1. One year of rent

Rent collected	₹35,000 × 12 × (1 − 8% empty) = ₹3,86,400
Running costs	Manager 8% (₹30,912) + maintenance ₹60,000 + repairs ₹20,000 + property tax ₹15,000 = ₹1,25,912
India tax on rent	(₹3,86,400 − ₹15,000) × 70% = ₹2,59,980 taxable. That’s under the ₹4 L basic exemption, so tax = ₹0
TDS withheld	₹3,86,400 × 31.2% = ₹1,20,557 — all of it refunded about a year later, after you file ITR-2
Cash in hand	₹3,86,400 − ₹1,20,557 − ₹1,25,912 = ₹1,39,931

2. Selling today, in India

Gain	₹1.2 Cr − 2% selling costs − ₹45 L cost = ₹72.6 L (held 14 years, so long-term)
Tax	₹72.6 L × 12.5% × 1.10 surcharge × 1.04 cess = ₹10,38,180
TDS at closing	₹1.2 Cr × 14.95% = ₹17,94,000, so ₹7,55,820 comes back after you file

3. Selling today, US tax

Dollar cost	₹45 L ÷ 53 = $84,906, less 14 years of depreciation (70% building, 40-year schedule) of $20,802 = $64,104
Dollar gain	₹1.176 Cr ÷ 88 = $133,636 − $64,104 = $69,533
US tax	$20,802 recapture × 24% + $48,731 × 15% = $12,302, less a $11,798 credit for the India tax = about $505 (shown rounded as $500)

4. The comparison

For each year of keeping, the tool takes the cash in hand, converts it at that year’s exchange rate (the rupee moving at your chosen rate), subtracts US tax, and invests it at your return. Tax refunds arrive in a later year and are converted at that year’s rate. At the end it sells the flat with the same tax rules as above. Selling today invests the sale money at your return from day one. The verdict is the difference between the two totals at the end of the period. The break-even, stress test and “what drives your answer” lines rerun this same calculation with one assumption changed.

Official references

The limitations are listed at the bottom of the page. Testing (17 Oct 2026): 10 full scenarios run in a browser and checked against a separately written model (170 checks), 22 hand-calculated tax cases, and 47 interface, validation, regression and edge-case checks. Not yet reviewed by a CA or US tax professional.

Tax assumptions, based on October 2026 rules

TDS on rent to an NRI	30% + 4% cess = 31.2% on rent actually paid, no threshold; plus surcharge when rent passes ₹50 L a year. Sec 195 (new Act: 393(2)). Excess comes back only through your Indian return. With a lower-deduction certificate the tenant withholds your expected tax instead.
Tax on rent	New-regime slabs, held constant for future years; 30% standard deduction on net annual value; ₹4 L basic exemption; no 87A rebate for NRIs.
Long-term gain (24+ months)	12.5% + surcharge (max 15%) + 4% cess; no indexation for NRIs.
TDS when you sell	Long-term: about 13% (price up to ₹50 L), 14.3% (up to ₹1 Cr), 14.95% (above) of the full price. Short-term: 30% plus surcharge and cess. Withheld on the full price even at a loss, unless you have a lower-deduction certificate (Form 13, new: 128). Holding period counted in months from the purchase month.
Buyer’s paperwork	From 1 Oct 2026, resident individual and HUF buyers use Schedule E of Form 141 with their PAN — no TAN — and issue Form 132. Other buyers use a TAN and Form 144 (old 27Q).
US depreciation	Foreign residential rental: 30 years if first rented after 2017, 40 years if before, straight line. Recapture taxed up to 25%.
US rental income	Rent less costs, loan interest and depreciation, at your bracket plus state tax and optional NIIT. Indian tax on the rent is credited up to the US federal tax on it, scaled by the credit % you set. Losses are held and released when you sell.
US gain	Dollar sale price minus dollar cost at the purchase-date rate, less depreciation; 0/15/20% plus optional 3.8% NIIT plus state tax; foreign tax credit for India tax, scaled by the credit % you set.
Moving money abroad	USD 1 M per financial year from NRO, with Form 15CA/15CB.

India’s Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect 1 April 2026 and renumbered sections and forms. Confirm current rules with your CA.