A NRI is required to file India tax returns if he complies with any of the above situations
1. Taxable income in India during that particular financial year was above the basic exemption limit eg: for FY 2015-16, the limit is Rs lakh
2. You have earned short-term or long-term capital gains from sale of any investments or assets, even if the gains are less than the basic exemption limit.
3. You need to claim a refund of TDS deducted which is more than your actual tax liability.
4. You have a capital loss that can be set-off against capital gains. Tax may have been deducted at source on the capital gains, but you can set-off (or carry forward) capital loss against the gain and lower your actual tax liability. In such cases, you would need to file a tax return
5. You have a loss under the head “Income from House Property” and you need to adjust this loss against other income carry forward.
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Other important points for NRIs:
– If you are a NRI, you do not have special exemption limits available to senior citizens or women for resident Indians. The same exemption limit applies to all NRIs.
– Secondly, for NRIs, certain short term or long term capital gains from sale of investments or assets are taxed even if the total income is below the basic exemption limit. These include short term capital gains on equity shares and equity mutual funds where tax rate is 15% and long term capital gains on securities and assets where tax rate is either 20% or 10% without indexation
When does a NRI not have to file tax returns in India?
A NRI need not file tax returns in India if TDS has already been deducted on his interest income, capital gains and there is no tax liability. However, if TDS has been deducted in excess or lower than the actual tax liability, then you should file a tax return for payment of additional tax dues or to claim a refund.
Also, if you have long term capital gains from sale of equity shares or mutual funds which are non taxable, you do not have to file your return.
What is the last date for filing India tax returns?
The last date to file returns for the financial year 2015-2016 is July 31st 2016. However, remember the following:
– If you do not have any tax payable (that is all your tax has been deducted at source), you can still file your tax return by 31st March 2018 without any penalties
– If you do have tax payable, you can still file your returns by 31st March 2018 but you will be charged an interest of 1% per month for every month of delay starting from 31st July 2016 till the time you file your tax returns
If you do not file your tax returns even by the 31st of March 2018, you may be charged a penalty of Rs 5,000 for every year of delay.
What NRIs don’t get: Keep in mind that NRIs do not get the same kind of deductions or exemptions like the residents. “NRIs cannot adjust the taxable capital gains against the basic exemption limit. So as an NRI if you earns Rs 2 lakh capital gains, you will have to pay tax at applicable rates for the full amount even if you have no other income. As NRIs you don’t get deduction under a number of sections such as residents. A few sections are 80 CCG (Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme), 80 DD (disability tax benefit), and 80 DDB (medical treatment tax benefit) to name a few.
So make sure that you are aware of all the deductions and benefits available to you before you go ahead and file your return.
