What are the taxes on NRE deposit?
NRE Deposit is tax-free in India as NRE Accounts are meant to maintain the income earned outside India. If you withdraw the funds from your NRE Fixed Deposit Account before 1 year (premature withdrawal) no interest will be paid on the NRE deposit.
The NRE account can be opened for the purpose of maintaining the income earned outside India with tax free interest (upto 7.60%*) on Fixed Deposits. Both the principal amount and interest earned are completely repatriable from India. Although, domestic credits aren’t allowed.
Also Read: Is this the right time to book NRE Deposits in India?
Comparison between NRE Deposit, NRO & FCNR Fixed Deposits:
Factors to consider | Non Resident External (NRE) Account | Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account | Foreign Currency Non Resident (FCNR) Account | |
Purpose | For income earned outside India | For income earned from India (pension, rent etc.) | Foreign Currency Investment in India | |
Currency | INR | INR | USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CAD, AUD, SGD, HKD and CHF | |
Tenure of Deposits | 1 year to 10 years | 7 days to 10 years | 1 year to 5 years | |
Interest | Up to 6.80%* | Up to 7.30%* | Up to 4.05%* | |
Repatriation (transfer of money from Indian bank account to foreign bank account) | Both Principal (money invested initially) and Interest completely repatriable | Up to a maximum of 1 million USD per financial year | Both Principal and Interest completely repatriable | |
Tax Deductions | No tax | Tax on Interest earned (not on principal amount): 30% tax + surcharge + education cess will be deducted at the source of interest earned in India | No tax |