NRO Account
5paisa Research Team
Last Updated: 20 Apr, 2023 02:45 PM IST
Want to start your Investment Journey?
Content
- Introduction
- What is an NRO Account?
- Why Do You Need to Open an NRO Account?
- Features of an NRO Account
- Eligibility Criteria to Open an NRO Account
- Benefits of an NRO Account
- Limitations of NRO Accounts
- Difference Between an NRO and a Resident Account
- Tax Rules for Interest Income from NRO Account
- Documents Required to Open an NRO Account
- Conclusion
Introduction
Non-Residents Indians often struggle with managing their finances when they have earnings abroad as well as in India. Some of their problems include tracking bank accounts and repatriating money to their home account. An NRO account is a solution to such problems and an easy way for NRIs to deal with their finances. Dive into this article to understand more about the NRO account meaning, features, benefits, and more.
What is an NRO Account?
An NRO account is a rupee-denominated account for NRIs. If you are wondering what NRO full form is, it’s a Non-Resident Ordinary account. Using an NRO bank account, NRIs can easily manage their income in India, including interest, dividends, and other sources.
An NRO account supports money transfers in foreign locations. Moreover, you can deposit money in Indian rupees as well as foreign currency. But withdrawals are only possible in Indian rupees.
Why Do You Need to Open an NRO Account?
According to FEMA guidelines, NRIs are not allowed to open a savings account in India. Once a change in their residence status gets declared, an NRI needs to transform their savings account into a Non Resident Ordinary account.
The account will enable NRIs to transfer their Indian income abroad. The account is also useful for transferring all their savings to India. An NRO bank account is also useful for facilitating investments in India. It is particularly suited for NRIs with income-earning assets in India.
Features of an NRO Account
Once you know what is an NRO account, you should start learning its different features:
● NRIs can transfer or repatriate both the interest and principal amount from an NRO account.
● Depositors are allowed to transfer the principal amount of up to Rs 1 million in a financial year after paying the applicable taxes.
● The income tax rate on an NRO account is 30% and is deductible at source.
● The income of an NRI in India gets deposited in an NRO account. It can include rent, pensions, dividends, and more.
● NRIs can avail of loans against an NRO account.
● An NRO account can be managed from any part of the world via internet banking facilities. Moreover, account holders also get international debit cards.
● Two or more individuals can have a joint NRO account. But at least one person needs to be an NRI, OCI, or PIO. The second holder can be an Indian. But if both NRO account holders stay outside India, they can give someone in India a power of attorney to handle the account.
● A nomination facility is also available for an NRO account.
● NRIs are allowed to invest in mutual funds, recurring deposits, term deposits, and more using their NRO account. The Government of India covers the term deposit of up to Rs 1,00,000.
● When an NRI comes back to India, their NRO account must be converted into a resident account.
● According to NRE and NRO account RBI guidelines, the funds from an NRO account cannot be transferred to an NRE account.
Eligibility Criteria to Open an NRO Account
NRIs, Persons of Indian Origin, and Overseas Citizens of India are eligible to create an NRO account. The following people are eligible to open an NRO account:
● Seafarers
● Student studying abroad
● Foreign students in India
● Foreign tourists on a short visit to India
Benefits of an NRO Account
The different benefits of an NRO account are as follows:
● An NRO account is useful for NRIs to manage their deposits, investments, and income earned in India.
● NRIs can transfer their funds to their country of residence through an NRO account. NRIs are allowed to transform $1 million per year through their NRO accounts. But they need to pay income tax in India for gains.
● NRIs can invest in mutual funds, Indian bonds, and more using their NRO accounts.
● Depositors can avail of loans against their NRO fixed deposits at a lower interest than unsecured loans.
● A joint NRO account ensures that someone back at home will seamlessly look after the financials.
Limitations of NRO Accounts
Apart from an NRO account, NRIs also open a Non Resident External or NRE account. Similar to an NRE account, the deposits are held in Indian currency. But the NRE and NRO full form is not the only difference between the two types of accounts.
One of the major disadvantages of an NRO account is the cap of USD 1 million on the repatriation of funds. Moreover, the interest income of an NRO account is also subject to taxes.
Difference Between an NRO and a Resident Account
The difference between an NRO account and a resident account can be understood from this table:
Factor |
NRO Account |
Resident Account |
Eligibility |
NRIs |
Indian citizens, associations, clubs, and more |
Definition |
An NRO account refers to a rupee denominated account for NRIs to deposit their Indian income. |
A resident savings account is for Indian citizens to deposit their income or savings. |
Minimum Deposit |
An NRO account minimum balance is Rs 10,000. |
The minimum deposit for a resident savings account is often Rs 0 in some banks. |
Join Account |
An NRI can open an NRO account with another NRI or an Indian citizen. |
Indian residents can create a resident savings account with another Indian resident. |
Repatriation |
The funds can be repatriated to the NRI’s country of residence with certain limits |
Deposits in a resident savings account cannot be repatriated to accounts abroad. |
Tax |
The interest income in an NRO account is subject to tax according to the tax slab rate. |
The interest income is subject to tax according to the tax slab rate. |
Tax Rules for Interest Income from NRO Account
If you are wondering whether an NRO account is taxable, the answer is yes. In India, interest earned on deposits in an NRO account is taxable. Interest earned on the funds in an NRO account is subject to TDS or tax deducted at source. Apart from the applicable surcharge and cess, the interest income in an NRO account is applicable to a tax of 30%.
Documents Required to Open an NRO Account
The documents required to open an NRO account are as follows:
● Valid passport copy
● NRI status proof via valid Residence/ Employment Visa copy or Residence/ Work permit
● Form 60 or a copy of an Indian PAN card
● Proof of an Indian and an overseas address according to the Customer Identification Policy
● Recent passport-size photograph
Seafarers need to submit their current work contract and a copy of the CDC. They also need to submit the last page of the disembarkation stamp and FEMA declaration to confirm their NRI status.
Conclusion
An NRO account is extremely crucial and lucrative for NRIs. The ability to pay bills and transfer funds in India using an NRO account comes in quite handy. Even though income on funds in an NRO account is taxable, it’s still worthwhile because of the attractive interest rates.
More About Generic
- Consolidated Fund of India: What is it?
- TTM (Trailing Twelve Months)
- What is a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) in UPI?
- Best Swing Trading Strategies
- What Is FD Laddering?
- What Credit Score is Needed to Buy a House?
- How to Deal with Job Loss?
- Is 750 a good credit score?
- Is 700 a Good Credit Score?
- What is Impulse Buying?
- Fico Score vs Credit Score
- How to remove late payments from your credit report?
- How to Read Your Credit Card Statement?
- Does Paying Car Insurance Build Credit?
- Cashback vs Reward Points
- 5 Common Credit Card Mistakes to Avoid
- Why Did My Credit Score Drop?
- How to Read a CIBIL Report
- How Long Does It Take to Improve Credit Score?
- Days Past Due (DPD) in CIBIL Report
- CIBIL Vs Experian Vs Equifax Vs Highmark Credit Score
- 11 Common Myths about CIBIL Score
- Tactical Asset Allocation
- What is a Certified Financial Advisor?
- What is Wealth Management?
- Capital Fund
- Reserve Fund
- Market Sentiment
- Endowment Fund
- Contingency Fund
- Registrar of Companies (RoC)
- Inventory Turnover Ratio
- Floating Rate Notes
- Base rate
- Asset-Backed Securities
- Acid-test Ratio
- Participating Preference Shares
- What is Expenses Tracking?
- What is Debt Consolidation?
- Difference Between NRE & NRO
- Credit Review
- Passive Investing
- How To Get Paperless Loans?
- How To Check CIBIL Defaulter List?
- Credit Score Vs CIBIL Score
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
- Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
- Cash Management Bill (CMB)
- Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR)
- Personal Loan Vs Business Loan
- Personal Finance
- What is Credit Market?
- Trailing Stop Loss
- Gross NPA vs Net NPA
- Bank Rate vs Repo Rate
- Operating Margin
- Gearing Ratio
- G Secs - Government Securities in India
- Per Capita Income India
- What is Term Deposit
- Receivables Turnover Ratio
- Debtors Turnover Ratio
- Takeover
- IMPS Full Form in Banking
- Redemption of Debentures
- Rule of 72
- Institutional Investor
- Capital Expenditure and Revenue Expenditure
- What is Net Income
- Assets and Liabilities
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Non-Convertible Debentures
- Cost Inflation Index
- What Is Book Value?
- What Are High Net Worth Individuals?
- Types of Fixed Deposits
- What Is Net Profit?
- What is Neo Banking?
- Financial Shenanigans
- China Plus One Strategy
- What is Bank Compliance?
- What Is Gross Margin?
- What Is an Underwriter?
- What is Yield To Maturity (YTM)?
- What is Inflation?
- Types of Risk
- What Is the Difference Between Gross Profit and Net Profit?
- What is a Commercial Paper?
- NRE Account
- NRO Account
- Recurring Deposit (RD)
- What is Fair Market Value?
- What Is Fair Value?
- What is NRI?
- The CIBIL Score Explained
- Net Working Capital
- ROI - Return on Investment
- What Causes Inflation?
- What is Corporate Action?
- What is SEBI?
- Fund Flow Statement
- Interest Coverage Ratio
- Tangible Assets Vs. Intangible Assets
- Current Liabilities
- Current Ratio Explained - Examples, Analysis, and Calculations
- Restricted Stock Units (RSU)
- Liquidity Ratio
- Treasury Bills
- Capital Expenditure
- Non-Performing Assets (NPA)
- What is a UPI ID? Read More
Disclaimer: Investment in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. For detailed disclaimer please Click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
NRIs can earn interest on money deposited in NRO accounts. The interest income is taxable, but the tax rate will depend on individual income. Moreover, banks will deduct TDS at 30% from NRO accounts. But NRIs can avail of tax deductions under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with a few countries.
An NRO account is a rupee-denominated account for transferring money outside India without any exchange rate risk. An NRI needs an NRO account to manage their income in India.
Parents can easily make deposits to the NRO account of their child.
After knowing the NRO account full form, you will be happy to know that the interest rate ranges between 2.75% to 7.35%. Senior citizens enjoy higher interest rates from NRO accounts.