Is TCS an extra tax on sending money abroad?

No. It is collected in advance and credited against your income tax. If your liability is lower you get it back as a refund, so the cost is the cash flow, not the tax.

Does the threshold apply per remittance?

No, per financial year across all your remittances. Splitting one large transfer into several does not avoid it.

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TCS on Foreign Remittance Calculator

Tax collected at source on foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. It applies only above an annual threshold aggregated across all remittances, and it is creditable against your income tax rather than an extra cost.

Also called: lrs tcs calculator, foreign remittance tax.

Tax collected at source

₹1,00,000

₹1,00,000 collected at source on 15,00,000, at 20% for investment or other purposes. Cumulative remittances of 1500000 exceed the 1000000 threshold, so TCS applies to the excess. This is creditable against your income tax, so it affects cash flow rather than total tax.

Applicable rate

20%

Amount above the threshold

₹5,00,000

Total to send including TCS

₹16,00,000

Cumulative for the year

₹15,00,000

Purpose

investment or other purposes

On the threshold

Cumulative remittances of 1500000 exceed the 1000000 threshold, so TCS applies to the excess.

On the credit

TCS is creditable against your income tax liability and refundable if unused.

How this is calculated

Computed from the published rates for the tax year you selected, which is not necessarily the current year. A calculation, not tax advice, and it does not know anything about your circumstances beyond the figures entered.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for India change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

TCS applies to the amount by which your cumulative remittances in the year exceed the threshold, not to each remittance separately. Rates differ by purpose: education funded by a loan is lowest, tour packages and general investment highest. The important point is that TCS is not a tax on the remittance. It is collected in advance and credited against your income tax liability, so you recover it either through lower TDS or as a refund, provided you claim it.

the rate applies only to the amount above the annual threshold, aggregated across remittances

T: Threshold

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

a 15 lakh investment remittance

Amount remitted: ₹15,00,000
Purpose: Investment or other
Annual threshold: ₹10,00,000
Already remitted this year: ₹0

Tax collected at source₹1,00,000

20% of the 5 lakh above the threshold

Open this example

education funded by a loan is charged least

Amount remitted: ₹15,00,000
Purpose: Education, funded by a loan
Annual threshold: ₹10,00,000
Already remitted this year: ₹0

Tax collected at source₹2,500

boundary: the concessional rate

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below the threshold means no collection

Amount remitted: ₹5,00,000
Purpose: Investment or other
Annual threshold: ₹10,00,000
Already remitted this year: ₹0

Tax collected at source₹0

degenerate case

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

A single financial year with the remittances entered.

What it deliberately does not model

Rates and the threshold are set by the Finance Act and have changed more than once.
The bank aggregates across your remittances but not across banks, which is your responsibility.

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Frequently asked questions

Is TCS an extra tax on sending money abroad?: No. It is collected in advance and credited against your income tax. If your liability is lower you get it back as a refund, so the cost is the cash flow, not the tax.
Does the threshold apply per remittance?: No, per financial year across all your remittances. Splitting one large transfer into several does not avoid it.