General information, not tax advice. Your numbers depend on your residence status, income and dates. Get advice before you sign.
This applies whether you are an Indian citizen in the UK, an OCI cardholder or a British citizen owning property in India.
Can an NRI in the UK sell property in India without travelling?
Yes. Registration at the sub-registrar is the only step that needs someone present in India, and your Power of Attorney (PoA) holder can do it. Check first:
- Who can buy from you. Residents, NRIs and OCIs can buy residential or commercial property from you. Agricultural land, plantations and farmhouses can only be sold to a resident Indian citizen.
- Clean title. Keep the sale deed, mutation records, tax receipts and society NOC ready; inherited flats need mutation into your name first. Our documents list for NRI sellers covers the full set.
- NRO account to receive the proceeds.
Step-by-step: selling Indian property while living in the UK
›1. Execute a specific Power of Attorney in the UK
Draft a specific PoA naming the property and the powers to sell, sign, register and receive funds into your NRO account. Then:
- Sign it before a UK notary public.
- Get it apostilled by the FCDO Legalisation Office. The UK is a Hague Convention country, so no consulate attestation is needed.
- Courier the original to India. Your PoA holder must get it adjudicated and stamped within 3 months of its arrival in India.
Our Power of Attorney guide for NRIs explains the wording that sub-registrars accept.
›2. Apply for a lower TDS certificate (Form 128)
The buyer must deduct TDS on the full sale price, not your gain: about 13%–14.95% on a long-term sale, and around 30% plus surcharge and cess on a short-term one. A lower or nil deduction certificate on Form 128 (earlier Form 13) limits TDS to the tax actually due. Use the Form 128 estimator to see what it could save you.
›3. Buyer gets a TAN and deducts TDS
The buyer needs a TAN. Form 26QB, the simple route used when the seller is resident, is not available when the seller is an NRI. The buyer deposits the TDS and files a TDS return so the credit shows against your PAN. Our TAN and TDS guide walks through it, and the TDS calculator shows the deduction.
›4. Register the sale deed
Your PoA holder signs and registers the deed at the sub-registrar. The buyer usually pays stamp duty and registration charges. See stamp duty and registration charges for 2026.
›5. Receive proceeds in your NRO account
The sale proceeds must go to your NRO account. They can go to an NRE account only up to the amount you originally paid in foreign currency.
›6. File your Indian return
Filing your Indian return is the only way to recover excess TDS, and refunds typically take months.
›7. Repatriate to your UK bank
From the NRO account you can remit up to USD 1 million per financial year with Forms 145/146 (earlier 15CA/15CB), which include a CA certificate. If you bought the property with foreign inward remittances or NRE funds, the proceeds are repatriable up to the amount originally paid in foreign exchange, for up to two residential properties. Check your numbers with the repatriation calculator or read the full repatriation guide.
How much tax will I pay in India?
Under the India–UK DTAA, India taxes gains on Indian property and the UK gives credit for that tax.
- Long-term (held more than 24 months): 12.5% without indexation for transfers on or after 23 July 2024. The option of 20% with indexation for property bought before 23 July 2024 applies only to resident individuals and HUFs, not to NRIs.
- Short-term: slab rates, up to 30%.
- Surcharge and cess: 10% surcharge above ₹50 lakh, 15% above ₹1 crore, plus 4% cess.
- Exemptions: Section 54 (reinvest in one residential house in India, capped at ₹10 crore), Section 54EC (up to ₹50 lakh in REC, PFC or IRFC bonds within 6 months, 5-year lock-in) and Section 54F for non-house assets such as land. Section numbers are the familiar ones from the 1961 Act; the 2025 Act renumbers them but the relief is the same.
Do I pay tax in the UK when I sell property in India?
Yes, if you are UK tax resident in the year of sale, because UK residents pay CGT on worldwide gains.
- Rates: 18% on gains that fall within your unused basic-rate band, 24% above it.
- Annual exempt amount: £3,000.
- Currency: the gain is worked out in pounds. Cost is converted at the exchange rate on the purchase date and proceeds at the rate on the sale date.
- Double tax: you claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief for the Indian tax, capped at the UK tax on the same gain.
›India side vs UK side at a glance
| India | UK | |
|---|---|---|
| Who taxes the gain | India, because the property is there | UK, if you are UK resident in the year of sale |
| Currency | INR | GBP (cost and proceeds at their own dates' rates) |
| Holding period | Over 24 months = long-term | No long/short distinction |
| Rate | 12.5% LTCG (no indexation for NRIs) + surcharge + cess; STCG at slab rates | 18% basic / 24% higher and additional |
| Allowance | Section 54 / 54EC / 54F reinvestment | £3,000 annual exempt amount |
| Collection | Buyer deducts TDS on the full price (or Form 128 rate) | Paid through Self Assessment |
| Double tax relief | Not applicable (source country) | Foreign Tax Credit Relief, capped at UK tax on that gain |
| Tax year | April–March | 6 April–5 April |
Try the DTAA calculator for both sides at once. For the full UK-side detail, read UK tax on selling property in India.
Worked example: a UK resident selling a flat in Pune
Illustrative only. Exchange rates are assumptions, not actual historical rates.
Priya is a UK higher-rate taxpayer. She bought a flat in Pune in 2014 for ₹60 lakh and sells it in 2026 for ₹1.5 crore. She has no other Indian income or UK gains. Purchase and selling costs are ignored for simplicity.
Assumed rates: £1 = ₹100 at purchase; £1 = ₹115 at sale (also used to convert the Indian tax).
India
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | ₹1,50,00,000 |
| Cost | ₹60,00,000 |
| Long-term capital gain | ₹90,00,000 |
| Tax at 12.5% | ₹11,25,000 |
| Surcharge 10% (income above ₹50 lakh) | ₹1,12,500 |
| Cess 4% | ₹49,500 |
| Indian tax due | ₹12,87,000 |
Without Form 128, the buyer deducts TDS on the full ₹1.5 crore at 14.95%, which is ₹22,42,500. That is ₹9,55,500 more than she owes, and she only gets it back after filing her Indian return.
UK
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Proceeds (₹1.5 crore ÷ 115) | £130,435 |
| Cost (₹60 lakh ÷ 100) | £60,000 |
| Gain in GBP | £70,435 |
| Less annual exempt amount | £3,000 |
| Taxable gain | £67,435 |
| UK CGT at 24% | £16,184 |
| Less FTCR (₹12,87,000 ÷ 115) | £11,191 |
| UK tax to pay | £4,993 |
The exchange-rate effect. In rupees the gain is ₹90 lakh, which is about £78,261 at today's rate. Because the rupee weakened between purchase and sale, the gain HMRC sees is only £70,435, about £7,826 lower. In total Priya pays roughly £16,184 across both countries, which is the UK tax bill: India takes its share first and the UK collects the difference.
The credit is for tax due, not TDS deducted. The extra ₹9,55,500 of TDS is a refund to chase in India, not a UK credit.
What do I report to HMRC?
- Self Assessment return for the UK tax year of sale (register if you do not normally file).
- SA108 (Capital gains summary): the disposal, with proceeds and cost in pounds.
- SA106 (Foreign): the Foreign Tax Credit Relief claim for Indian tax.
- Records: sale deed, purchase deed, exchange rates used, Indian tax computation, Indian ITR and TDS certificates.
- No 60-day return. The 60-day UK property CGT return does not apply to overseas property.
If you inherited the property, your UK base cost is its market value at the date of death; model the India side with the inherited LTCG calculator.
Non-doms: what changed in April 2025?
Before 6 April 2025, a non-domiciled UK resident could use the remittance basis and pay UK tax on a foreign gain only if the money was brought to the UK. That option was abolished from 6 April 2025.
It has been replaced by the 4-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime. If you become UK resident after 10 consecutive years of non-residence, you can claim relief on foreign gains in your first 4 tax years of UK residence. Everyone else is taxed on the gain whether or not the money leaves India. Parking proceeds in an NRO account no longer keeps them outside UK tax.
Common mistakes UK-based sellers make
- Skipping Form 128. TDS on the full price can lock up lakhs of rupees for months.
- Using a general PoA, or missing the 3-month adjudication window.
- Asking the buyer to use Form 26QB. NRI sales need a TAN.
- Assuming the remittance basis still works. It ended on 6 April 2025.
- Working out the UK gain in rupees. HMRC wants pounds, using the rate on each date.
- Claiming TDS as the foreign tax credit. Only the final Indian tax due counts.
- Assuming Indian exemptions save tax overall. Section 54EC bonds cut Indian tax but also cut the UK credit, so HMRC may collect the difference. Our reinvestment calculator helps with the India side.
What NRiSimplify handles for UK-based sellers
We handle the sale, tax, legal, banking and remittance work fully remotely, with one team and one person in charge:
- Legal: PoA drafting suited to UK notarisation and FCDO apostille, adjudication in India, and title and document checks.
- Tax: Indian capital gains computation, the Form 128 application, the Indian return and the TDS refund.
- Sale coordination: buyer TAN and TDS steps, and the registration through your PoA holder.
- Banking and remittance: NRO credit, Forms 145/146 and the transfer to your UK bank.
- UK paperwork: the India-side records you or your UK adviser need for SA108 and SA106.
See our property sale service. Selling from elsewhere? Read our guides to selling from the USA, Canada, the UAE and Australia.
Related guides
Keep reading: Documents list for NRI sellers; Reinvestment calculator.
Can a British citizen sell property in India?
Yes. A British citizen of Indian origin, usually an OCI cardholder, can sell residential or commercial property in India to a resident, an NRI or an OCI. Agricultural land, plantations and farmhouses can only be sold to a resident Indian citizen. The India-side process is the same: TDS on the sale, proceeds into an NRO account and repatriation through Forms 145/146.
Do I need to fly to India to sell my property?
No. Sign a specific Power of Attorney before a UK notary, get it apostilled by the FCDO Legalisation Office and send it to India. There it must be adjudicated and stamped within 3 months of arrival. Your PoA holder can then sign and register the sale deed for you.
How much TDS will the buyer deduct?
On a long-term sale the buyer deducts about 13% to 14.95% of the full sale price, made up of 12.5% plus surcharge and 4% cess. On a short-term sale it can be around 30% plus surcharge and cess. A Form 128 (earlier Form 13) certificate can reduce TDS to the tax actually due on your gain.
Will I be taxed twice, in India and the UK?
Not in full. India taxes the gain first because the property is there. The UK taxes it too if you are UK resident, but gives Foreign Tax Credit Relief for the Indian tax, claimed on SA106. The credit is capped at the UK tax on the same gain, so overall you usually pay the higher of the two countries' bills.
What UK CGT rate applies to Indian property?
Gains within your unused basic-rate band are taxed at 18%, and gains above it at 24%. You can deduct the £3,000 annual exempt amount if you have not used it on other gains. The gain is calculated in pounds, using exchange rates on the purchase and sale dates, not in rupees.
Do I have to file a 60-day CGT return?
No. The 60-day UK property return applies to UK residential property, not overseas property. You report the Indian sale on your normal Self Assessment return, using the capital gains pages (SA108) for the gain and the foreign pages (SA106) to claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief for the Indian tax.
How do I transfer the sale money to my UK bank account?
The proceeds are paid into your NRO account. With Forms 145/146 (earlier 15CA/15CB), including a CA certificate, you can remit up to USD 1 million per financial year to your UK bank. If you originally paid for the property in foreign currency, proceeds up to that amount are also repatriable.