Question regarding Closing US bank account

Tax queries 188 views 3 replies

I am an Indian national and between 2002 and 2004 I worked in USA in L1 Visa, paid taxes and then returned to India after that. I have been living India since then, as a resident Indian, but my bank account in USA is still active.
I intend to close it now and wish to wire transfer the money into my local Indian bank account. The money has been in a normal SB account (checking account) so the interest earned is 0.1% which did not attract any taxes in USA and hence I have not filed US taxes after I stopped earning in the US and returned to India. But for the earnings in India, since 2004 till now, I have been a prompt tax payer as a resident Indian.
Is it better that I disclose the US bank account details in this AY 2022-23 IT (Income tax filing) and then initiate the transfer?
I have not included this US bank details in any of my previous years IT filing.

Replies (3)
You can voluntary disclose in AY 2022-23 return. Also, offer the interest income in your Indian Tax Return and pay taxes on it.

Reporting is required to be on a conservative side. Whether you close the account or not is secondary to your reporting requirements.

I would suggest wiring the money to a sibling or parent or other close relative in India or abroad. And then wiring it to your account in India by classifying it as a gift. 

Since its going to be a one-time activity, this solves all the problems without complicated disclosure and lingering doubts.

It's what I did a few years ago.

Dear CA Raj Doshi sir and other experts, 

what will be the purpose code for a wire transfer that is done for such a transaction? 

For easy reference the context is: 

I am an Indian national and between 2002 and 2004 I worked in USA in L1 Visa, paid taxes and then returned to India after that. I have been living India since then, as a resident Indian, but my bank account in USA is still active. I intend to close it now and wish to wire transfer the money into my local Indian bank account.

 


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