Do you have to sell your Indian property when you take US citizenship?
The short answer is no. Here is where the confusion comes from, and what actually does change.
Let us deal with the big one first, because it comes up in almost every call we get from the United States. Taking American citizenship does not force you to sell your property in India. There is no law, on either side, that says you must.
So where does the belief come from? Three separate things get bundled together in conversation until they sound like one rule.
The three things people are actually thinking of
One, the agricultural land restriction. An OCI cardholder cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse in India. That is a real restriction and it catches people out. But it applies to buying, not to holding. If you inherited agricultural land, you may keep it. You may also sell it, though only to a resident of India.
Two, the reporting load. Once you are a US person you are taxed on worldwide income and there are forms attached to foreign assets. Plenty of families look at that and decide to simplify. That is a choice, not a requirement.
Three, the estate exposure. India and the United States have no estate tax treaty. For someone who becomes US domiciled and dies holding Indian property, that can get expensive. Good planning usually beats a rushed sale.
What actually needs a valuation
If you inherited the property, American law gives you a step up in basis. Your US cost becomes the market value on the date the previous owner died. India does not do this. For your Indian return the cost stays with the previous owner, or becomes the 1 April 2001 value for older property.
So the same house can need a date of death valuation for your American filing and a 1 April 2001 valuation for your Indian one. Two dates, two numbers, both defensible, and they need to be consistent with each other. That is the job.
What we would tell you on the phone
Do not sell because of a rumour. Get the numbers first, take them to your CPA and to an Indian accountant, and then decide. If it turns out you do not need a valuation from us at all, we will tell you that.
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Checked by a government approved valuer. Last reviewed 12 Aug 2026.
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