Repatriation of Property Sale Proceeds 2026: NRI Step-by-Step Process, Form 145/146 (Old 15CA/CB) & USD 1M Limit

TL;DR — repatriation of property sale proceeds for NRI in 2026. An NRI can repatriate up to USD 1 million per financial year from NRO-account balances, sale proceeds and inherited assets, subject to applicable tax. Your bank will ask for the tax paperwork it needs: usually Form 145 (old Form 15CA), plus a CA's Form 146 (old Form 15CB) or an Assessing Officer certificate where the remittance is chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh in the tax year. The process is paperwork-heavy but deterministic: deposit (NRO for rupee-funded property) → settle TDS / file ITR if needed → CA issues any Form 146 → you file Form 145 on the IT portal → bank converts NRO INR to foreign currency and wires to your overseas account. End-to-end timeline is gated by the buyer's TDS certificate: from 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer owes you Form 132 (old Form 16B) within 15 days of the Form 141 (old Form 26QB) due date, while any other buyer issues Form 131 (old Form 16A) on the quarterly Form 144 (old Form 27Q) cycle: at the latest, about 6-11 weeks after a sale at the end of a quarter and about 4.5-5.5 months after a sale at the start of one.

Tax rates, sections, forms and FEMA limits checked on 2 November 2026 against the Income-tax Act, 2025, Finance Act, 2026, G.S.R. 830(E) and RBI's remittance directions. Bank and processing times are estimates. General information, not tax advice: confirm your case with a CA.

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The Direct Answer

NRIs and PIOs can repatriate (move out of India) up to USD 1 million per financial year (April to March) from their NRO account balances under RBI's remittance-of-assets rules. This includes proceeds from the sale of property. Remittances are subject to applicable tax, so the capital gains tax has to be dealt with first. The key documents are usually Form 145 (Remitter's Undertaking) and, where the remittance is chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh in the tax year, Form 146 (Chartered Accountant's Certificate), which show the bank the tax position before it executes the outward remittance.

Repatriation Process — Step-by-Step Reference Table

The full repatriation pipeline has five distinct steps, each owned by a different authority with its own typical timeline. Use this table as a project plan when the buyer is about to register the sale deed.

Step	Form / Document	Authority	Typical Timeline
1. Deposit sale proceeds	Buyer's cheque/wire credited to your account (NRO for rupee-funded property); buyer deducts TDS under Section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (old Section 195). From 1 October 2026 a resident individual or HUF buyer needs no TAN; any other buyer does	Buyer + your NRO bank	T+0 (registration day)
2. Settle / verify TDS	Resident individual or HUF buyer: Form 141 and Form 132 to you. Any other buyer: quarterly Form 144 and Form 131 to you. ITR if refund due	Income Tax Dept	Form 141 is due within 30 days from the end of the month of deduction and Form 132 within 15 days of that due date. Form 131 is due at the latest about 6-11 weeks after a sale at the end of a quarter, about 4.5-5.5 months after a sale at the start of one (or 6-15 months for refund cycle)
3. CA certificate	Form 146 (CA-signed UDIN-tagged), usually where the remittance is chargeable to tax and above ₹5L in the tax year	Chartered Accountant	2-5 working days
4. Self-declaration	Usually Form 145; your CA and bank will decide which Part fits	Income Tax e-portal	Same day
5. Outward remittance	A2 form + Form 145/146 acknowledgement	Your NRO/NRE bank	3-10 working days

End-to-end timing is dominated by when the buyer's TDS certificate arrives. Form 131 is due by 15 August, 15 November, 15 February or 15 June for the quarters ending June, September, December and March, and a buyer who files Form 144 early can issue it sooner. At the latest, that is about 6-11 weeks after a sale at the end of a quarter, and about 4.5-5.5 months after a sale at the start of one. A resident individual or HUF buyer deducting from 1 October 2026 is on the Form 141 and Form 132 deadlines in the table instead. If you held a Section 395 (old Section 197) Lower TDS Certificate the front-end of this pipeline is materially faster because there is no over-deducted TDS sitting trapped in the system waiting for refund.

Step-by-Step Process for Repatriating Funds From Property Sale

Step 1: Deposit Sale Proceeds

Sale proceeds of property bought with rupee funds go to your NRO Account. If you bought with foreign exchange or NRE/FCNR(B) funds, ask your bank whether the proceeds can be credited to NRE; the rules allow this for sale proceeds of a permissible investment but do not name property.

Step 2: Pay / Verify the Taxes (TDS)

The buyer will have deducted TDS under Section 393(2) (typically 13.00%-14.95% of the amount paid for LTCG, post-Budget-2024). What happens next depends on the buyer and the date of deduction:

• From 1 October 2026, resident individual or HUF buyer: no TAN. The buyer pays and files PAN-based Form 141 with Schedule E within 30 days from the end of the month of deduction, then gives you Form 132 within 15 days of the Form 141 due date.
• From 1 October 2026, company, firm, LLP, trust or non-resident buyer: TAN still needed, with quarterly Form 144 and Form 131 as the TDS certificate.
• Before 1 October 2026: every buyer needed a TAN. From 1 April to 30 September 2026 that meant Form 144 and Form 131; on or before 31 March 2026, Form 27Q and Form 16A under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

If your actual liability is lower (because of exemptions under Section 82, old Section 54, or Section 85, old Section 54EC), you file a tax return to claim the refund. You don't have to wait for that refund before remitting the post-TDS balance, but the remittance stays subject to applicable tax: your CA and bank must be satisfied the tax on the sale is dealt with.

Step 3: Get Form 146

If your remittances are chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh in the tax year, you will usually need a Chartered Accountant to issue Form 146 with a UDIN tag, unless an Assessing Officer certificate covers the remittance. They certify whether, and how far, the remittance is chargeable to tax in India, including any treaty position.

Step 4: Submit Form 145

Your bank will ask for the tax paperwork it needs, and for sale proceeds that is usually Form 145, filed electronically on the Income Tax e-portal. Under Rule 220, Parts A to C cover sums chargeable to tax: Part A up to ₹5L in the tax year, and above that Part C with the CA's Form 146 acknowledgement or Part B with an Assessing Officer certificate. Part D covers sums not chargeable to tax. Your CA and bank will decide which Part fits your remittance. Print the system-generated acknowledgement.

Step 5: Submit to Bank for Outward Remittance

Take Form 145 + Form 146 (if needed) + the Bank's Form A2 + sale deed + tax payment proofs to your NRO bank. They'll convert the NRO INR balance to USD (or GBP / AED / SGD per your destination), wire it via SWIFT to your overseas account, and issue a remittance advice for your records.

USD / INR Limits & Restrictions Summary

A consolidated summary of the FEMA limits that govern this entire flow:

Restriction	Limit / Rule	Source authority
Annual repatriation cap (NRO)	USD 1,000,000 per FY for each NRI or PIO remitter, covering NRO balances, sale proceeds and inherited assets; above that needs RBI approval	RBI Master Direction (FEMA)
Rent and other current income	Rent is current income. After tax, it can be sent abroad through your bank, and it does not count against the USD 1 million limit	RBI Master Direction (FEMA)
Couples and joint owners	The USD 1 million limit is framed for each NRI or PIO remitter, and nothing in RBI's text gives couples a combined allowance. If you own a property jointly, ask your bank how it will treat each owner's share	Our reading; confirm with your bank
FX-acquired residential property cap	Covers property bought in foreign exchange through banking channels or from NRE/FCNR(B) funds, including home-loan repayments from abroad or those accounts, and excludes agricultural land, farmhouse and plantation. For residential property, not more than 2 properties. NRO-funded purchases aren't on this route. Ask your bank how much is repatriable and how this route sits with the USD 1M limit	RBI Master Direction (Acquisition or Transfer of Immovable Property)
Inherited property	Use the USD 1M facility for inherited assets, with documents; it should not use up the 2-property count	RBI Master Direction (FEMA) for the facility; the 2-property point is our reading
Source nature	"Bonafide" — no cash deals, no unaccounted income	Bank-level KYC / FEMA
Form 145 part	Part A if the remittance is chargeable to tax and up to ₹5L in the tax year; above that, Part C with the CA's Form 146 or Part B with an Assessing Officer certificate; Part D if it is not chargeable to tax. Your CA and bank will decide which Part fits	Rule 220, Income-tax Rules, 2026

Why Do NRI Fund Repatriations Take So Long?

The most common search-bar question on this topic is some variant of "why does my repatriation take so long". The honest answer breaks into three failure modes:

1. TDS not yet reconciled. If the buyer's Form 141 or quarterly Form 144 filing is lagging or there's a mismatch between the TDS certificate (Form 132 or Form 131) and your AIS, the CA can't issue Form 146 cleanly. Fix: chase the buyer for the certificate before you start the Form 146 conversation.
2. Bank-internal compliance review. Most NRO banks now route any property-sale outward remittance > USD 100K through a centralised compliance desk for source-of-funds verification. This adds 3-7 working days. Fix: pre-share the sale deed + tax proofs with the relationship manager 1-2 weeks before submission.
3. The 2-residential-property restriction. If the bank flags this as a 3rd property under FX-acquired stock, it falls off that route. RBI's text doesn't address this by name. The natural route is the USD 1 million facility, so confirm with your bank. Fix: declare the property's acquisition origin (FX inward remittance vs. INR savings vs. inheritance) up front.

For NRIs whose property is being sold under a registered Power of Attorney, the POA format and safety guidelines matter here too — the bank will check the POA scope before accepting the A2 form, and a POA that doesn't explicitly cover repatriation will get rejected at Step 5.

NRO-to-NRE Conversion (Inside the USD 1M Limit)

Some NRIs prefer to keep funds in the rupee ecosystem (NRE) for flexibility rather than wire them out immediately. Money can move from NRO to NRE or SNRR, and your bank will ask for the tax paperwork it needs, often including a CA certificate. The bank simply credits the converted INR back to your NRE account (which is then freely repatriable on demand) instead of wiring foreign currency overseas. Annual cap is the same USD 1M.

For NRIs who are also reinvesting part of the sale proceeds in another property in India, run the buy-side title diligence with the same rigour as the sale-side tax — see the property title verification checklist for India before you sign a fresh agreement-to-sell.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process for repatriating funds from the sale of a property in India for an NRI?

The five-step process: (1) sale proceeds of rupee-funded property credited to your NRO account, (2) buyer's TDS under Section 393(2) reconciled via Form 141 and Form 132 (resident individual or HUF buyer, from 1 October 2026) or quarterly Form 144 and Form 131 (any other buyer), (3) where the remittance is chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh in the tax year, CA usually issues Form 146 on the tax position, (4) you usually file Form 145 on the Income Tax e-portal, in the Part your CA and bank settle on, (5) submit Form 145 + any Form 146 + Form A2 to your bank for the outward SWIFT remittance to USD/GBP/AED/SGD. End-to-end timeline is gated by the buyer's TDS certificate — on the quarterly Form 144 cycle, at the latest about 6-11 weeks after a sale at the end of a quarter and about 4.5-5.5 months after a sale at the start of one. The bank-only portion (steps 4-5) is ~2 weeks once the certificate and any Form 146 are in hand.

What is the maximum amount an NRI can repatriate from India in a year?

USD 1 million per financial year (April–March) from NRO balances, sale proceeds and inherited assets under the RBI/FEMA framework. The USD 1 million limit is framed for each NRI or PIO remitter, and nothing in RBI's text gives couples a combined allowance. If you own a property jointly, ask your bank how it will treat each owner's share. Above USD 1 million needs RBI approval. If you bought with foreign exchange or NRE/FCNR(B) funds, a separate route may apply. Ask your bank how it sits with this limit. Inherited property uses the USD 1 million facility, with documents, and should not use up the "2 residential properties" count that applies to FX-acquired stock. Rent is current income: after tax, it can be sent abroad through your bank, and it does not count against the USD 1 million limit.

Why do NRI fund repatriations take so long to process?

Three common bottlenecks: (1) buyer's TDS filing (Form 141 or quarterly Form 144) lagging, which blocks the CA from issuing a clean Form 146; (2) bank-internal source-of-funds compliance review for amounts > USD 100K, which adds 3-7 working days; (3) FEMA "2-residential-property" cap flag if the bank reads this as a third property. Pre-share the sale deed and tax proofs with your relationship manager and confirm the property's acquisition origin (FX vs. INR vs. inheritance) upfront to avoid Step 5 rejections.

Can an NRI sell property in India and bring the money to the USA?

Yes, this is the most common repatriation flow. After settling TDS under Section 393(2), the NRI usually files Form 145 (with Form 146 or an Assessing Officer certificate where the remittance is chargeable to tax and above ₹5 lakh in the tax year) and the NRO bank wires the post-tax INR converted to USD via SWIFT to the NRI's US account. Cap is USD 1M per FY per NRI or PIO remitter; if you bought with foreign exchange or NRE/FCNR(B) funds, ask your bank how that route sits with this limit. Documentation kept by the bank doubles as the audit trail you'll cite if your US tax-year deposit is queried under FBAR / Form 8938 reporting.

Can sale proceeds go directly into an NRE account instead of NRO?

It depends on how you bought the property. Sale proceeds of property bought with rupee funds go to your NRO account, and inherited or gifted property generally goes there the same way. If you bought with foreign exchange or NRE/FCNR(B) funds, ask your bank whether the proceeds can be credited to NRE; the rules allow this for sale proceeds of a permissible investment but do not name property. Once in NRO, funds can move to NRE within the USD 1M limit (NRE is then freely repatriable on demand without further paperwork each time) or go directly overseas. The annual USD 1M cap is the same in either case.