What do NRIs need for gifting property?

I am based in India and working for a US-based company. I am getting salary transferred to my Indian bank account. Will this income be taxable in India?

—Deepesh

Since you are based in India, it is likely that you are resident and ordinarily resident in India for tax purposes. In such a case, your entire global income earned or received anywhere in the world shall be taxable in India.

In case such income has been subject to tax at source, you are allowed to take benefit of the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries to prevent the same income from getting taxed twice.

I am originally from India but live in the United Kingdom and am a British passport holder.

I have non-residential External (NRE) accounts with saving of more than ₹50 lakh, on which I get interest. Do I have to pay tax in the United Kingdom or India?

—Name withheld on request

NRE or Non Resident External accounts in India are allowed to be held by non-residents and they come with certain benefits. Interest earned from deposits held in these accounts is not taxable as per the Indian Income Tax Act. Local laws of the country you live in may require you to include such interest income in your tax return filed in the UK. It is advisable that you seek assistance from an expert on whether such income earned from India shall be taxable in the United Kingdom and whether you will be able to claim any benefits available under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement between the two countries.

I am a person of Indian origin (PIO) now a citizen in the US. I want to gift a residential property in India to my sibling. What all documents do I need to prepare (here in the US and in India) to execute this transfer?

—Name withheld on request

Gifts made between siblings are exempt from tax in India. Therefore, you can go ahead and gift the specified residential property to your sibling. Usually, this requires you to prepare a gift deed, which must be registered with the sub-registrar and you may also have to deposit stamp duty based on applicable circle rates.

Archit Gupta is founder and chief executive officer, Clear.in.