Buying your first UK home is often when your Indian savings, FDs or property sale proceeds finally come over. It's also when three different sets of rules meet: Indian repatriation rules, UK tax rules, and your solicitor's and lender's anti-money-laundering checks.
Quick summary
- Moving your own capital to the UK is not taxable. UK tax is on income and gains as they arise, not on transfers.
- From your NRE account money is freely repatriable. From NRO, generally up to USD 1 million per Indian financial year, with Forms 15CA/15CB.
- Your conveyancer and lender will ask for source of funds and source of wealth evidence. Start collecting it early.
- Stamp duty traps: owning a flat in India can mean higher rates and no first-time buyer relief, and recent arrivals may pay the 2% non-resident surcharge.
Part 1: Is the transfer taxable in the UK?
Usually not. Since 6 April 2025, the UK taxes residents on worldwide income and gains as they arise, wherever the money is kept. Bringing money into the UK no longer triggers tax for most people. The old "remittance basis" rules have gone.
What matters is whether the money you're moving has already been properly taxed:
| Source of money | UK tax question |
|---|---|
| Savings built up before you became UK resident | Generally clean capital. No UK tax on moving it. |
| Interest earned on NRE/NRO/FDs after you became UK resident | Should already be declared on your UK return. See NRE/NRO guide. |
| Sale proceeds of Indian property/shares sold while UK resident | The gain may be UK-taxable. See selling Indian property. |
| Gift from parents | Not income. See gifts from parents in India. |
| EPF/PPF withdrawals | Check the UK treatment first. See EPF & PPF guide. |
If you used the old remittance basis before April 2025, pre-2025 foreign income and gains may still be taxable when brought to the UK. The Temporary Repatriation Facility (12% in 2025/26 and 2026/27) may help. Get advice before transferring.
Part 2: The Indian side, getting money out
(Confirm current limits and forms with your bank or an Indian CA.)
- NRE and FCNR accounts: principal and interest are freely repatriable.
- NRO accounts: NRIs can generally repatriate up to USD 1 million per Indian financial year (April–March). This covers balances, Indian property sale proceeds and similar funds.
- The remitter files Form 15CA.
- A Form 15CB certificate from an Indian chartered accountant is usually needed for larger remittances, confirming Indian tax has been dealt with.
- Property sale proceeds: keep the sale deed, TDS certificate (Form 16B) and proof of how the property was originally paid for.
- Exchange rates: compare your bank's rate with specialist FX providers. On a £100,000 transfer, a 1–2% difference is £1,000–£2,000.
Part 3: Source of funds and source of wealth
UK conveyancers and mortgage lenders must check where your deposit comes from under anti-money-laundering rules. Money from overseas gets more scrutiny, not less. Delays here are one of the most common reasons purchases slip.
Prepare a folder with:
- 6–12 months of statements for every account the money passes through (Indian and UK), showing the trail from origin to your UK account;
- Source of wealth: how you built the money up, e.g. Indian salary slips and Form 16, ITR acknowledgements, FD certificates, EPF statements;
- Property sale: sale deed, purchase deed, bank credits of the sale proceeds, TDS certificate;
- Gifts: signed gift letter, donor's ID and bank statements, and proof of relationship (see our gift guide);
- Translations of any non-English documents;
- a one-page summary tying it together: "£X from NRE FD (maturity 03/2026), £Y from Pune flat sale (01/2026), £Z gift from father".
Tip: avoid moving money through several accounts or friends' accounts. Every extra hop is another thing to explain.
Part 4: Stamp duty traps for people from India
(Rules below are for Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) have their own rules.)
Trap 1: Owning a flat in India can mean higher rates
The higher rates for additional dwellings (currently 5% on top of standard rates) can apply if, after the purchase, you own more than one residential property anywhere in the world, including in India, worth £40,000 or more, unless you're replacing your main residence.
Example: buying a £400,000 home in London while still owning a flat in Chennai could mean £20,000 more stamp duty than you expected.
Trap 2: No first-time buyer relief
First-time buyer relief requires that you've never owned a residential property anywhere in the world. A flat in India, even a share of one, rules you out.
Trap 3: The 2% non-resident surcharge
For SDLT, you may count as non-resident if you weren't in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase. That adds a 2% surcharge. If you then spend enough days in the UK in the following period, you can usually claim it back. Recent arrivals buying quickly should check this.
Raise all three with your solicitor before exchange, not on completion day.
A sensible order of steps
- 3–6 months before buying: list every source of your deposit. Check UK tax has been dealt with on interest and gains.
- Decide whether to sell or keep your Indian property, considering the stamp duty points above.
- Get Form 15CA/15CB sorted with your Indian bank or CA and make transfers in as few steps as possible.
- Build your source-of-funds folder and summary.
- Give it to your broker and solicitor at the start.
Free download: Moving from India? UK Tax Checklist
Buying soon? Book a free 20-minute overseas income review. We'll check the tax position of your deposit and prepare a source-of-funds summary your solicitor can use.
Related: Gifts from parents in India · Selling Indian property
General information, not personal, legal or mortgage advice. Stamp duty depends on your circumstances; confirm with your conveyancer. Indian repatriation rules should be confirmed with your bank or an Indian chartered accountant.
Overseas income service: fixed-fee pricing for residence, Indian income, FIG claims and foreign tax credit is on our overseas income page.