Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W · Reviewed on 9 October 2026
What the limit covers — and what it can’t absorb
The ₹4 lakh slab applies to your ordinary Indian income — rent, NRO interest, salary for work done in India. But for a non-resident, special-rate capital gains cannot eat the unused exemption: the provisos that let residents set listed-equity LTCG (section 112A) or STCG (111A) against an unexhausted basic exemption are resident-only. An NRI with ₹nil other income and ₹3 lakh of 112A gains above the ₹1.25 lakh exemption pays tax on them regardless.
No 87A, no senior-citizen slabs
The rebate that makes resident incomes tax-free up to ₹12 lakh is confined to residents — an NRI with ₹9 lakh of Indian income has real tax to pay. Likewise the ₹3 lakh/₹5 lakh old-regime senior limits: a 70-year-old NRI uses the standard ₹2.5 lakh old-regime limit (or the ₹4 lakh new-regime slab like everyone else).
Filing still pays below the limit
Banks deduct TDS on NRO interest at 30% from the first rupee — below-limit NRIs routinely have refunds waiting that only an ITR can claim. Filing also starts the clock on loss carry-forward and keeps DTAA positions documented. From Tax Year 2026-27 the same structure continues under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Our NRI tax practice handles the return and the refund chase over video.