India Tax for NRIs in Singapore: ITR, DTAA, RSU/ESOP and RNOR Planning

Do NRIs living in Singapore pay tax in India?

Yes, but only on income earned or received in India, such as rent from a Chennai flat, NRO interest, gains on Indian shares or property and Indian business income. Singapore salary is not taxed in India while you remain a non-resident, though equity pay and a planned return to India need an Indian-side review.

Which Indian tax services do Singapore NRIs need?

How does a Singapore NRI file an Indian tax return with us?

1. 1

   Send your travel dates

   Share the dates you entered and left India during the financial year from passport stamps or immigration records, so the residential status tests can be applied.

2. 2

   Share bank and investment papers

   Send NRO, NRE and FCNR statements, rent receipts, tenant TDS certificates, broker and mutual fund statements and any property papers.

3. 3

   Obtain the Certificate of Residence if a treaty claim helps

   Apply to IRAS for the Certificate of Residence. We then prepare Form 10F for the Indian e-filing portal.

4. 4

   Review the computation on a call

   We share the draft computation and walk through it on a video call booked at a time that suits you in Singapore.

5. 5

   Approve, file and e-verify

   After your approval we file the return and you e-verify it through Aadhaar OTP, net banking or a digital signature.

6. 6

   Track refunds and notices

   We follow up on refunds of excess TDS and answer any intimation or notice after filing.

Who taxes what: India or Singapore?

India taxes Indian-source income of a non-resident, and Singapore taxes under its own rules, so the table below shows the Indian view and leaves the Singapore column to your Singapore adviser.

We advise only on Indian law. Singapore tax, including its filing season, goes to your Singapore adviser, and we work from the figures that adviser gives us where the two interact.

What does the India–Singapore DTAA do for an NRI?

The India–Singapore double taxation avoidance agreement decides which country may tax particular income and how the other gives relief, so that the same income is not fully taxed twice.

In practice, for most NRIs the treaty matters in a few places: interest, dividends, capital gains on shares and income from services. It does not exempt Indian rent from Indian tax, because immovable property is generally taxed where it stands. Treaty relief is also not automatic. In India you claim it in your return and support it with a Certificate of Residence and Form 10F, and a banker, tenant or company paying you may ask for the same papers before applying a treaty rate at source.

The capital gains rules for shares in the treaty have changed over time, and the right answer for you depends on what you hold and when you bought it. We read the treaty text against your facts instead of applying a general rule, and we tell you when a claim is not worth the paperwork. The Indian domestic rate is sometimes lower than the treaty rate, and you are entitled to the more favourable of the two.

How do I get the IRAS Certificate of Residence and file Form 10F?

You apply to IRAS for the Certificate of Residence, and then Form 10F is filed electronically on the Indian e-filing portal using the details on that certificate.

The certificate is issued for a specific period, and the Indian return you file should match it. Apply early if a tenant, bank or company has asked for it, as eligibility and processing are decided by IRAS. Form 10F also asks for a foreign tax identification number where one exists, which for most individuals in Singapore is their tax reference number. Send us the certificate and we prepare the form; for years under the Income-tax Act, 2025 the form carries an equivalent provision.

What if India and Singapore both treat me as a resident?

When both countries treat you as a resident, the treaty's tie-breaker decides which one is your country of residence for treaty purposes.

The test works down a list. First, where do you have a permanent home available to you? If you keep a Chennai flat for your family and rent a home in Singapore, both may count, and the next question applies: where are your personal and economic relations closer, meaning family, work, investments and the place you manage your affairs from? If that is still unclear, it looks at where you habitually live, then your nationality, and finally the two tax authorities discuss the case. People often assume that a Singapore work pass settles the question, but the facts decide it.

A short visit pattern, a rented home, a spouse working in Singapore and a child in school there point towards Singapore. A long stay in Chennai for an elderly parent can point the other way. We map your facts before you file, because the answer affects both the treaty claim and your Indian status.

How are RSUs and ESOPs from a global employer seen in India?

Equity pay is generally taxed as salary when it vests or is exercised, and India is interested only in the part that relates to work done in India, until you become a resident.

Tech and finance professionals in Singapore often hold RSUs from a US or European parent. While you are a non-resident and work wholly in Singapore, the Indian tax on vesting is usually limited. The picture changes in the year you return and start working in India, because grants that vested in part over the years abroad may be taxed in part in India depending on where the services were rendered. A shift of months in the arrival date can change the result.

Once you are a resident and ordinarily resident, foreign shares and accounts are disclosed in the Indian return in the schedule for foreign assets, and a sale of the shares is taxed in India as capital gains, with the conversion into rupees at the rates the law specifies. Our blog guide on foreign RSU tax and Schedule FA covers this in more depth. For the Singapore view of your equity pay, speak to your Singapore adviser; we work on the Indian side only.

What happens to CPF and SRS when I return to Chennai?

The Indian tax view depends on your residential status in the year of withdrawal and the nature of the payment, so there is no single answer, and we advise case by case.

CPF is a Singapore statutory fund and SRS is a Singapore retirement savings scheme, and neither has a counterpart in India. A returning NRI who is RNOR generally has foreign income that does not arise from an Indian business outside Indian tax. After the RNOR years, a resident and ordinarily resident individual is taxed in India on global income, and the question of what a withdrawal is and how it is characterised has to be looked at with the facts. We therefore recommend that you decide the timing of any withdrawal or transfer with both advisers, and that you tell us before you act.

What you can do now is keep clear records: statements of balances, the dates of contributions, and the tax paid in Singapore if any. These support the Indian position whichever way it falls, and they are easy to lose over a decade in another country.

How does RNOR planning work for a return from Singapore?

You plan the arrival month, the account conversions and any large receipts so that your RNOR years cover the income you most want to keep outside Indian tax.

A returning NRI is generally Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident if non-resident in nine of the ten preceding years, or if present in India for 729 days or fewer in the preceding seven. While RNOR, foreign income that does not arise from an Indian business generally stays outside Indian tax, but Indian income remains taxable. The status is tested year by year and reverts when the conditions are no longer met.

Our planning sheet covers the likely arrival month and its effect on the first year, the redesignation of NRE accounts to resident accounts, the treatment of FCNR deposits, the timing of sales of Indian and foreign assets, and the foreign asset disclosure that starts once you cease to be RNOR. Singapore professionals often have deals such as a bonus, a share vesting or a sale of a Singapore property around the move, and the order of these matters. The blog guide on RNOR status for returning NRIs sets out the tests in plain terms, and our main page on NRI tax services in Chennai lists the rest of what we do for NRIs.

How does a Chennai property sale work with TDS and Form 15CA and 15CB?

The buyer deducts tax under section 195 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the 2025 Act carries an equivalent provision), and a lower-deduction certificate can reduce it, after which Form 15CA and 15CB support the remittance to Singapore.

Without a certificate, the buyer deducts at the rate stated in law, generally on the whole sale consideration, and that can be much higher than your tax on the gain. You apply to the income tax department with the sale agreement, cost records and a gains computation, and the certificate sets the rate the buyer applies. The buyer then deposits the tax and issues a TDS certificate, which you claim in your return. Our page on NRI property sale TDS in Chennai explains the application.

To send the proceeds to Singapore from an NRO account, the bank needs Form 15CA and, where required, a chartered accountant's Form 15CB, and the remittance is subject to the annual limit under the foreign exchange rules. See also our page on Form 15CA and 15CB in Chennai. We coordinate with your family in Chennai and the buyer so these steps do not hold up registration.

Does it help if my Singapore company also has an Indian subsidiary?

It can, because founders and directors often have both personal Indian tax questions and company questions, and the two should be planned together.

If you run or own a Singapore company that sells in India or hires here, our page on setting up an Indian subsidiary for a Singapore company covers incorporation and compliance. For your own return as an NRI, the director's remuneration, any dividend from the Indian company and the question of whether you create a residence or business connection in India are looked at with the company's papers. Foreign company law and Singapore tax stay with your Singapore advisers.

When can we speak, given Singapore time?

You can reach us in the Singapore afternoon and evening, because Singapore is two hours thirty minutes ahead of India.

Our office hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM IST, which is noon to 9:00 PM in Singapore. That allows a lunch-hour or after-work video call on the same day you send your documents, and WhatsApp covers the exchange of statements between calls. All clients are served online; our only office is in Anna Nagar, Chennai.

Who is this service for?

Most clients for this work fall into one of these groups. Pick yours to start a WhatsApp conversation with the details already typed.

What is not included?

Knowing the limits up front avoids surprises later. These are outside our scope for this service:

• Advice on Singapore tax, CPF, SRS or the Singapore treatment of your equity pay. Your Singapore adviser handles those, and we coordinate on the Indian figures.
• Applying for the IRAS Certificate of Residence on your behalf.
• Investment, banking or immigration advice, including Employment Pass or Permanent Resident applications.
• Representing you before the Singapore tax authority.

What do clients ask before engaging us?

Is this expensive?

Fees depend on the entities, filings and reporting you need, so we agree them in a written engagement letter after a scoping call. Government fees and third-party costs are shown separately, at actual. We do not publish price lists, in line with the rules for chartered accountants.

Can we do it ourselves?

For a single filing, often yes. Recurring work across company law, FEMA, tax, GST and payroll has many dates and linked forms. We explain the full calendar first, and you decide what to keep in-house and what to hand over.

Why not a cheaper adviser?

Compare the scope, not only the amount: who files, who reviews, who answers when a deadline or notice arrives, and whether the adviser is a chartered accountant bound by ICAI's code of ethics. Ask any adviser, including us, for a written scope and their registration details.

What if our case is complicated?

Complex cases start with a short review of the documents. We tell you plainly what we can handle, what needs a specialist elsewhere and what your home adviser must decide. We do not promise outcomes.

The steps from first call to engagement letter are set out on how we work with clients.

Which related services might you need?

What else do people ask?

• How do I get a lower TDS certificate when selling my Chennai flat?
• What does the full NRI tax service cover?
• How do Form 15CA and 15CB work?