A US-based NRI can buy or sell property in India through a specific power of attorney signed before a US notary and apostilled by the state Secretary of State. Your attorney holder signs the deed and appears before the sub-registrar. The buyer deducts tax at source on a sale, and proceeds can go to your NRO account and be repatriated up to USD 1 million per financial year, or more freely if the property was bought with remitted funds.
- Document route
- US notary, then apostille from the state Secretary of State
- Time difference
- IST is 9h30 (US Eastern, summer) to 13h30 (US Pacific, winter) ahead
- Rules
- FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules 2019
- Not allowed to buy
- Agricultural land, plantation, farmhouse
Buying & Selling Property from the USA: how it works
We first review the title and approvals and agree a price structure with you by video. We then draft a specific power of attorney naming the property and the exact acts permitted, whether to sign the sale deed, receive payment or take possession. You sign it before a notary in your state and get the apostille from that state's Secretary of State, then courier the original to India. Some sub-registrars, especially in Punjab and Haryana, ask the attorney holder to produce the original and its stamping receipt, so we have it adjudicated promptly. Biometric registration in India usually requires the attorney holder's presence rather than yours.
In India we verify encumbrances, draft or check the agreement and sale deed, and attend registration. On a sale, the buyer deducts tax at source at the rate applicable to non-residents, which is often higher than your actual liability; a lower deduction certificate from the Indian tax department can reduce this if applied for early. Sale money should be paid into your NRE or NRO account, not to a relative. Remember to report the gain on your US return as well, since the IRS taxes worldwide capital gains, and the India-US treaty credit is claimed there.
What clients in the USA should know
- The US taxes you on the sale even though India also does; Indian tax paid is usually creditable, but timing differences between the Indian financial year and the US calendar year need care.
- A US citizen holding an OCI card can buy residential and commercial property, but not agricultural land, plantations or farmhouses.
- Inherited Indian property that you later sell may trigger US reporting on the inheritance itself if it exceeded the Form 3520 threshold.
Step by step from the USA
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits the USA, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in the USA
US notary, then apostille from the state Secretary of State
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in the USA where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in the USA. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Buying & Selling Property, or see all services for clients in the USA and the NRI Property Law practice area.
Questions from clients in the USA
Can I sign the sale deed at an Indian consulate in the US?
Some clients do, but the deed still has to be presented for registration in India within the time allowed. A power of attorney is usually simpler and lets the attorney holder handle the registration day.
How long does a sale take when I am in the US?
With clear title and a ready buyer, roughly six to ten weeks, most of it spent on the power of attorney travelling and being stamped, and on the tax certificate.
Can the sale proceeds be sent to my US bank account?
Yes, from your NRO account after tax, with Forms 15CA and 15CB, within the USD 1 million annual limit. Funds traceable to remittances may be repatriable through the NRE route.