The NRI Desk · Guides
Repatriating Property Money out of India: The NRE, NRO and USD 1M Rules
The question behind every NRI purchase is rarely asked out loud: when I sell, can I take my money back out? In most cases yes — within limits, and with paperwork. The route depends on how you funded the purchase, which is why repatriation is planned before you buy, not discovered after you sell.
By Gaurav Jain · Founder, Truth Estate · General information, not legal or tax advice
The two routes out
If the purchase was funded from your NRE account or by inward remittance, sale proceeds up to the original foreign-currency investment are repatriable — for up to two residential properties, subject to conditions. The gain above that principal follows the NRO route.
Funds sitting in an NRO account — rental income, sale gains, inheritance — are repatriable up to USD 1 million per financial year, across all sources combined.
The paperwork: 15CA and 15CB
Remitting from an NRO account requires Form 15CA (your declaration) supported by Form 15CB (a chartered accountant's certificate that tax on the funds has been accounted for). Your bank executes the remittance against these forms.
Practically: keep the paper trail from day one — the purchase deed, the banking channel that funded it, TDS records on the sale — because the CA certifying 15CB will ask for exactly that file.
Plan it before you buy
Three decisions at purchase time decide how smooth the exit is: which account funds the purchase (NRE funding preserves the freely-repatriable principal), whose name goes on the title, and whether the paper trail is kept clean. None of them can be retrofitted at sale time.
We map the repatriation route as part of structuring every NRI purchase we assist — alongside the FEMA funding rules and the TDS mechanics — with vetted cross-border CAs handling the certification.
Frequently asked
Can NRIs repatriate property sale proceeds from India?
In most cases yes, within limits: sale proceeds of up to two residential properties funded from NRE/inward remittance are repatriable subject to conditions, and NRO-account funds are repatriable up to USD 1 million per financial year with Forms 15CA/15CB.
What is the USD 1 million scheme?
An NRI can remit up to USD 1 million per financial year out of balances in their NRO account — covering sale gains, rent and inheritance combined — supported by Form 15CA and a CA-certified Form 15CB.
What are Forms 15CA and 15CB?
15CA is your online declaration of the remittance; 15CB is the chartered accountant's certificate that applicable tax on those funds has been accounted for. Banks process NRO remittances against the pair.
Is rental income repatriable?
Yes — rent credits to your NRO account and moves out within the same USD 1 million per financial year window, with the same 15CA/15CB paperwork.
Does it matter which account I used to buy?
Materially. NRE/inward-remittance funding keeps the original investment freely repatriable on sale (up to two residential properties); NRO funding routes everything through the USD 1M annual window. This is why we map the funding route before purchase.
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General information current as of 2026, summarised in good faith from public rules that change. Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice; confirm your specific situation with a qualified cross-border chartered accountant before acting. Truth Estate assists with exactly that as part of its NRI Desk.