NRI tax · Filing

Filing an Income Tax Return in India as an NRI With Rental Income

Your tenant deducted about 31.2% of every rent payment. That money is a deposit against your tax, not the final bill. Filing a return is how you settle the real amount and claim back the difference. This guide covers who files, which form, what you can deduct, and how the 2026 change of law affects the year you are filing.

Which law applies to your return

Tax year 2025-26 and earlier (returns filed in 2026 and before): the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Tax year 2026-27 onward (returns filed from 2027): the Income-tax Act, 2025. The Act replaces "previous year" and "assessment year" with a single "tax year".

The deductions are conceptually unchanged. Under the new Act, Section 22 allows 30% of the annual value as determined under Section 21, and interest on borrowed capital, when computing income from house property. Read the section numbers in older guides as their 1961 equivalents (Section 24(a) and 24(b)) for earlier years.

Do you have to file?

An NRI whose Indian income is only rent is still taxed on that rent, and filing is the only way to claim a refund of excess TDS. If your income is above the basic exemption you must file. NRIs cannot claim the resident-only rebate (Section 87A under the 1961 Act) that makes income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free for residents, so tax starts above the basic exemption. If TDS already covers your liability, filing is still worth it for the refund and for the record you will need for remittances and home-country credit claims.

Which ITR form

NRIs cannot use ITR-1. With income from house property and no business income, the usual choice is ITR-2, with Schedule HP for the property. Add schedules for other Indian income such as NRO interest. Your CA will confirm the form for your facts.

What goes into Schedule HP

Item	How it is treated
Annual value (rent)	The higher of the rent the property could reasonably fetch and the actual rent received or receivable for the year (Section 21). Rent you could not realise has separate rules; ask your CA
Municipal taxes	Deductible from rent only if you paid them yourself during the year; keep every receipt (property tax from abroad)
Standard deduction	30% of the annual value after municipal taxes; no receipts needed
Home loan interest	Deductible on a let-out property; set-off limits apply to losses, so ask your CA
TDS credit	Claimed from the TDS certificates and the tax credit statement; the amounts must match

Steps

Collect the rent record for the year: dates and amounts, by month.
Collect TDS certificates from every tenant who deducted; compare them with the tax credit statement on the portal.
Estimate your taxable income and any tax due after TDS.
File the return on the e-filing portal, normally by 31 July after the year ends for non-audit cases (extensions are sometimes announced).
Verify the return electronically. Guides list Aadhaar OTP and net banking among the options; the choice depends on what you have set up as an NRI.
Give an Indian bank account for the refund (an NRO account works), and keep the acknowledgement.

The documents your CA will ask for

PAN and passport; proof of NRI status (travel record or residence permit).
Rent agreement, rent receipts or a rent ledger.
TDS certificates and the tenant's TAN.
Property tax receipts and any home loan interest certificate.
NRO account statements (interest is taxable).

A single printable list is in the annual tax checklist. For the home-country side see the DTAA guide, and for the TDS rule see TDS on rent paid to an NRI.

Where Rent Connect fits

Most of this is admin that someone has to remember every month. Rent Connect is a property management tool for owners who rent out property in India, currently in early access. It sends WhatsApp rent reminders, records each payment as pending, overdue or paid, and generates a rent receipt when a payment is marked paid. Tenant details, the agreement and maintenance issues (with photos) sit on one tenancy record, and a Deposit Ledger records the agreed deposit and any move-out deductions. The ledger is a shared record only: Rent Connect does not hold the money.

It does not file police intimations, compute or deposit TDS, or file tax returns for you. Those stay with you, your tenant and your CA. To follow the launch, join the waitlist.

How this page was checked

Figures here were compiled on 16 October 2026 from the sources below. Where we could not open an official page, the note at the end says so. Government portals and rates change, so confirm the live number or form with the office before you pay or file.

What we could not verify: We did not open the ITR forms or the Income-tax Rules 2026. The ITR-2 choice, the 31 July date and the e-verification options are standard practice described by CA guides, not read from the forms.

Frequently asked questions

Does an NRI have to file an Indian tax return for rent?

If your Indian income is above the basic exemption, yes. Even if not, filing is how you claim a refund of excess TDS and keeps your records clean for remittances.

Which ITR form does an NRI use for rental income?

ITR-1 is not available to NRIs. ITR-2 is the usual form where there is house property and no business income. Confirm with a CA.

Which deductions can I claim on rent?

Municipal taxes you paid, 30% of the annual value (Section 22 of the Income-tax Act 2025, Section 24(a) earlier) and interest on borrowed capital.

When is the due date?

Normally 31 July after the year ends for individuals who are not subject to audit; extensions are announced from time to time.

How do I get my refund?

It is credited to an Indian bank account you pre-validate on the portal, which can be your NRO account.

General information, not tax advice. Forms, due dates and rules change; a chartered accountant should confirm them for your return.

Manage your Indian property from anywhere

WhatsApp rent reminders, a receipt for every paid month, tenant details and the agreement on one record, and a Deposit Ledger that records the deposit without holding it. Someone local still handles keys and repairs.

Join the waitlist