Return Planning & RNOROCI status, PAN/Aadhaar, NRE-NRO routing and FEMA compliance for everyday moves.
Returning NRIs get a Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) window of two to three financial years after landing. Foreign-source income stays outside Indian tax during RNOR. We time the return date, redesignate NRE/NRO/FCNR within 30 days, sequence RSU vesting, 401(k)/SIPP draws, and map the first-year Schedule FA.
Last reviewed: June 2026 · Updated for AY 2026-27
Regi Tom Antony, FCA — a practicing Chartered Accountant who advises NRIs, OCIs and returning founders on the same questions every week. Every page here is drawn from the book and live engagements, not stock copy.
Background reading Pair this engagement with the educational hub:
Return to India hub→Every deliverable, in writing.
Engagements end with a single document: your blueprint. It maps each action, the form it needs, the deadline, and who owns it.
- 01Pre-return wealth review and asset positioning
- 02Optimal year of return — day-count strategy
- 03Foreign retirement account handling (401k, IRA, ISA)
- 04ESOP and RSU vesting across the move
- 05Post-return compliance kit and Schedule FA roadmap
- 06Family / education / housing sequencing
How we plan a return to India
Return planning works best 12 to 18 months before the move. The first decision is the landing date, because it decides whether the year of arrival is a resident year and how long the RNOR window lasts. We model day counts across two or three financial years and show the effect of arriving before or after each threshold.
Then we inventory everything held overseas — retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, employer equity, property and bank balances — and decide, asset by asset, what to sell, keep or draw down while foreign income is still outside the Indian net. For retirement accounts in the US, UK and Canada we check whether Section 89A relief, claimed through Form 10EE, is worth using.
Banking and FEMA on arrival
Once you return to India for employment, business or to settle, you become a person resident in India under FEMA. NRE savings must be redesignated as resident accounts; foreign-currency balances can be moved into a Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) account, and FCNR deposits can run to maturity before conversion. Interest on RFC deposits is exempt while you are non-resident or RNOR. Demat accounts and mutual fund folios need KYC updates so dividend TDS follows your new status.
The first ordinarily resident years
Once you become ordinarily resident, global income is taxable in India, foreign tax credits are claimed via Form 67 and foreign assets are disclosed in Schedule FA. We hand you a year-by-year calendar so your final return in the country you left and your first Indian resident years are filed on a consistent basis, with the same asset values and exchange rates.
Keep exploring.
Step-by-step ITR filing: forms, residential status, Schedule FA and refunds.
Slabs, capital-gains rates and the TDS that applies to NRI income.
Browse every NRI tax, FEMA and return guide.
Use the transition window before full Indian residency.
Tell us the situation. We'll send back the next step.
Two sentences is plenty for the first reply. Direct, written, by Regi.
Answered, candidly.
- When exactly should I return to maximise RNOR?
- Short answer: depends on residency, corridor and timing. Long answer is in the engagement — book a call to walk it through.
- Do I have to pay Indian tax on my 401(k) withdrawals?
- Short answer: depends on residency, corridor and timing. Long answer is in the engagement — book a call to walk it through.
- How do unvested RSUs get taxed after I move?
- Short answer: depends on residency, corridor and timing. Long answer is in the engagement — book a call to walk it through.
- Should I sell my US house before or after I land?
- Short answer: depends on residency, corridor and timing. Long answer is in the engagement — book a call to walk it through.
Next: NRI Founders & Startups
Entity setup, FDI route, GIFT City, transfer pricing and Virtual CFO support.
NRI Taxation
Residency, ITR filing, TDS, DTAA, Schedule FA — for NRIs and OCIs based overseas.
Open →OCI / FEMA & Repatriation
RNOR window, the 182-day test, asset migration and timing from your actual move date.
Open →Property & Inheritance
Property sale, lower-TDS certificate, capital gains and repatriation under FEMA.
Open →Planning your return to India? Start with a free first conversation.
A 30-minute NRI Come Back Plan conversation with Regi: your return date, RNOR years, pensions and assets abroad, FEMA accounts and family. No fees, no obligation.
The NRI Blueprint briefing.
One email a fortnight. Corridor updates, deadline alerts, and one written framework worth your inbox.