Form 15CA / Form 15CB for NRI Property Sale

Overview

When money is sent out of India to a non-resident, banks need proof that the tax on it has been taken care of. This applies to NRIs selling property in India and wanting to move the proceeds abroad. The documents banks ask for are Form 15CA, a declaration filed online by the person remitting the money, and in most cases Form 15CB, a certificate from a chartered accountant. Under the 2026 rules these are numbered Form 145 and Form 146, though the older names are still what most people use.

The CA works out the tax on the sale, including the capital gain and whether TDS has already been deducted by the buyer, and certifies the figures. That certificate is then used to fill the declaration on the income tax portal, which the bank checks before it authorises the transfer. NRIs can generally repatriate up to one million US dollars per financial year from the sale of assets, subject to RBI rules and payment of the applicable tax. The CA usually needs the sale deed, purchase deed, PAN, bank details, the TDS certificate and, for older properties, records of the cost of acquisition.

Banks differ in how strictly they apply the process, and a small mismatch between the CA certificate and the sale documents is enough to hold up a transfer. We coordinate with a chartered accountant, prepare both forms and give you the set the bank is likely to accept. If the buyer deducted TDS at a higher rate than your actual tax, we can also look at whether a refund claim in your return makes sense.