🇺🇸 Valuing your Indian property from United States
No, US citizenship does not force you to sell your Indian property. Here is what actually triggers the paperwork.
Where United States rules reach your Indian property
Step up in basis at death
US law gives you a fresh cost basis equal to the market value on the date the previous owner died. India does not. The same house often needs a date of death valuation for your US return and a 1 April 2001 valuation for your Indian one.
FBAR and Form 8938
Property you own directly is generally not reportable on either form. The accounts your rent flows through can be. Your CPA decides. We give them defensible property numbers.
Form 3520
A gift or inheritance from a non resident relative above the reporting threshold has to be declared, with the market value stated.
No estate tax treaty
India and the US have no estate tax treaty, so a US domiciled person holding Indian property has real exposure. Worth planning early.
The two valuations most American families end up needing
United States law generally gives you a fresh cost basis equal to market value at the date of the previous owner's death. India does not. Your Indian cost base stays the original purchase price, or the 1 April 2001 value where the purchase predates that.
The same house therefore carries two different cost figures, both correct. A date of death valuation for the American return, and a 1 April 2001 valuation for the Indian one. Commissioning them together costs less than discovering the second a year later.
OCI holders and agricultural land
You may inherit agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse. You may not buy more. Selling usually means selling to a person resident in India who is eligible to hold it, and several states add their own conditions on who may purchase farmland.
Estate exposure worth planning early
India and the United States have no estate tax treaty. A person domiciled in the United States holding Indian property has real exposure with no treaty relief to fall back on. Worth raising with your attorney well before it becomes urgent.
What is reportable and what is not
Directly held foreign real estate is generally not reportable on FBAR or Form 8938. The bank accounts your rent flows through often are. Form 3520 applies to a gift or inheritance from a non resident relative above the threshold, with a value stated. Your CPA decides, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a report you do not need.
Selling from the United States
Your buyer must deduct tax at source on the sale value, not on your gain, unless a lower deduction certificate says otherwise. That certificate must exist before completion. Start when you decide to sell.
Clients we look after in United States
WhatsApp is easiest for everyone, and it works from any country without a local number. Send the property details and you get the fee and the timeline back, usually within six hours.
The reports United States clients ask for most
Capital Gains and FMV 2001
The report that fixes your cost base before you sell, so you are taxed on the real gain and not on the whole sale price.
Read more → Saves the most moneyLower TDS Certificate, Form 13
Support pack for the Section 197 application, so the buyer deducts tax on your actual gain instead of the full sale value.
Read more →Inheritance and Partition
One neutral number that every heir can accept, whether you are selling, dividing or buying a sibling out.
Read more →Valuations for NRIs in other countries
Living in United States? Let us tell you which report you actually need.
Tell us the situation in your own words. Two minutes on WhatsApp usually settles which report it is, what date it has to be as at, and which papers to dig out first.