How to File Form 67 for Foreign Tax Credit in India - Step by Step

What You'll Need Before You Start

Gather these documents before opening the portal. Missing any one of them mid-filing causes delays.

• PAN card — Required for all India tax filings. NRIs need a valid PAN to file an ITR in India. If you don't have one yet, here's how NRIs can get their PAN and Aadhaar.
• Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) — For US-based NRIs, this is IRS Form 6166. You request it from the IRS by submitting Form 8802 and paying a fee of $85. It confirms your US tax residency and satisfies India's TRC requirement for Section 90 claims.
• Proof of foreign tax paid — Your US federal tax return (Form 1040), W-2s, 1099s, or an IRS tax transcript. For state taxes, include your state tax return as well.
• Foreign income computation — A clear breakdown of your gross foreign income and the corresponding tax paid on it. Gross means before any withholding or deductions.
• RBI exchange rate — The telegraphic transfer buying rate published by RBI on the last day of the month immediately before the month in which you paid the foreign tax. Not the date you received income. Not the date you filed. Specifically, the last day of the prior month.
• Draft ITR — Form 67 must be filed before your ITR, so have your ITR data ready so you can complete both in sequence.

Step 1: Confirm You Are Eligible to File Form 67

Not every NRI needs to file Form 67. File it only if your income is taxable in India AND you have already paid tax on that same income in a foreign country.

Who typically needs Form 67:

• NRIs who returned to India and became RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) during a transitional period of 2-3 years. During RNOR status, foreign income may become taxable in India even before you are treated as a full resident. If you're unsure whether you're RNOR, check your RNOR status eligibility.
• Individuals who spent enough days in India during the financial year to cross the 182-day threshold, making their global income taxable in India for that year.
• Anyone whose foreign income is explicitly covered under a DTAA treaty as taxable in India.

Who does NOT need Form 67:

Pure NRIs — those who spent fewer than 182 days in India and whose foreign income is not taxable in India at all — do not need Form 67. If your US salary is not taxable in India, there is no India tax to reduce, so there is no credit to claim.

Which section applies to you?

Your situation: India has a tax treaty (DTAA) with the foreign country

Relief section: Section 90

Examples: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia

Your situation: No DTAA exists with the foreign country

Relief section: Section 91

Examples: Some African and Southeast Asian countries

For US-based NRIs, the India-US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement applies, meaning you claim relief under Section 90. This is generally the more favourable route. You can read the complete breakdown of how DTAA works for NRIs in the US before proceeding.

Once you confirm eligibility and your applicable section, move to calculating your credit.

Step 2: Calculate How Much Foreign Tax Credit You Can Claim

Before you open the portal, compute the exact credit amount you are entitled to. The FTC you can claim is the lower of:

1. The actual foreign tax paid, converted to INR at the applicable RBI exchange rate, OR
2. The India income tax payable on that same foreign income

Exchange rate rule: Use the RBI telegraphic transfer buying rate on the last day of the month before the month you made the tax payment abroad. For example, if you paid US federal taxes in April 2024, use the RBI rate on March 31, 2024.

Worked example:

Rahul moved back to India in November 2024 after 9 years in the US, crossing 182 days in India for FY 2024-25. His global income is now taxable in India. He earned $60,000 from his US employer (January to October 2024) and paid $11,000 in US federal income tax. The applicable RBI rate is 83.5 per dollar.

You earned $60,000 (₹50,10,000) in the US.

Out of this, you already paid $11,000 (₹9,18,500) as US tax.

Now in India, tax on this income (at 30%) comes to ~₹14,28,000.

But you don’t pay this full amount again.

You get a Foreign Tax Credit of ₹9,18,500 (the tax already paid in the US).

So effectively, you only pay the remaining tax in India (~₹5,09,500).

Rahul's net India tax after FTC = INR 14,28,000 minus INR 9,18,500 = INR 5,09,500.

One important note: if the foreign tax paid exceeds India's tax on the same income, the excess credit is lost. India has no carry-forward mechanism for excess FTC. Plan accordingly.

Step 3: File Form 67 on the Income Tax Portal

Go to the Income Tax e-filing portal and log in using your PAN and password. The entire Form 67 filing happens here.

Portal navigation:

1. Go to e-File > Income Tax Forms > File Income Tax Forms
2. On the next screen, select "Persons not dependent on any source of income" and click Continue
3. Search for Form 67 or select Double Taxation Relief (Form 67) from the list
4. Click File Now
5. Select the correct Assessment Year — for income earned in FY 2024-25, choose AY 2025-26 — and click Continue
6. Click Let's get started on the instructions page

Part A — Basic Information:

This is the main section you fill. Enter:

• Your name, PAN, and the Assessment Year
• Country where foreign tax was paid (for example: United States)
• Your tax identification number in that country (Social Security Number or ITIN for US)
• Name of the foreign tax authority (Internal Revenue Service)
• Gross foreign income in INR at the applicable RBI exchange rate
• Foreign tax paid in INR at the applicable RBI exchange rate
• India income tax payable on that foreign income
• Foreign Tax Credit being claimed — the lower of the two figures above

For income from multiple foreign countries, add a separate entry for each country in Part A.

Part B — Refund or Disputed Foreign Tax:

Fill Part B only if the foreign tax you paid is currently under dispute, or if you received a refund of previously paid foreign tax and need to revise the credit. Most filers leave Part B blank.

Attachments:

Upload your proof of foreign tax paid. Accepted formats are PDF or JPEG. For US-based NRIs, upload your Form 1040, W-2s or 1099s, and your IRS Form 6166 (Tax Residency Certificate). Keep file sizes reasonable — the portal has upload limits.

Verification:

Click Preview after filling all fields. Review the amounts carefully, especially the exchange rate conversions. Then click e-Verify using one of these methods:

• Aadhaar OTP (fastest)
• Net banking
• Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)

A CA signature or verification is not required to file Form 67. After e-verification, you'll receive an acknowledgment number. Save it. You will reference it when filing your ITR.

Step 4: File Your ITR and Claim the Foreign Tax Credit

Form 67 must be submitted before or by the ITR due date. For most individual filers, the ITR due date is July 31. For those who require a tax audit, it is October 31. Filing Form 67 even one day after the ITR due date may result in the FTC claim being disallowed.

Once Form 67 is submitted, file your ITR (typically ITR-2 for NRIs and returning residents with foreign income):

1. In Schedule OS (Other Sources), enter your gross foreign income. Enter the gross amount, not the amount after foreign tax deduction.
2. In Schedule TR (Tax Relief), enter your Form 67 details: the country, the section under which relief is claimed (90 or 91), the foreign tax paid, and the FTC amount you are claiming.
3. The FTC amount will reduce your net India tax payable automatically in the ITR computation.

If after FTC your India tax liability is zero and there was TDS deducted on any India-sourced income, that TDS appears as a refund. India tax refunds for NRIs are typically credited to an NRO account. Learn about the differences between NRE and NRO accounts to ensure your bank details in the ITR are set up correctly.

Step 5: Retain Your Documents for at Least 6 Years

India's Income Tax department can reopen an assessment for up to 6 years from the end of the relevant assessment year in most cases. Keep every document that supports your Form 67 claim for at least that long.

Documents to retain:

• Acknowledgment copy of Form 67 with its submission number
• All proof of foreign tax paid: Form 1040, W-2s, 1099s, IRS transcripts
• IRS Form 6166 (Tax Residency Certificate) for the relevant year
• A record of the RBI exchange rate used (screenshot or printout from RBI's website)
• Bank statements showing the tax payments made abroad

Store digital copies in a secure, backed-up location. If you are audited or your ITR is taken up for scrutiny, these documents are what the tax officer will ask to see first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Filing Form 67

1. Filing Form 67 after the ITR due date

This is the single costliest mistake. Courts have upheld the tax department's right to reject FTC claims filed late. File Form 67 first, every time.

2. Reporting net income instead of gross

If your US employer paid you $70,000 and withheld $12,000 in taxes, your gross income is $70,000. Report $70,000 in Schedule OS. Many NRIs report $58,000 (net received), which understates income and creates problems. Similarly, if you received $75 in US dividends after 25% withholding on a $100 dividend, you must report $100 as gross income and claim the $25 withheld as foreign tax credit.

3. Using the wrong exchange rate

Use the RBI telegraphic transfer buying rate on the last day of the month before the tax payment month. Not the date you received income, not today's rate, not the average for the year. A wrong rate, even slightly, can mean the difference between the FTC being accepted and being queried.

4. Skipping Form 67 for small amounts

Even if you only earned $300 in US dividends and had $75 withheld as tax, you still need Form 67 to claim that credit. The form is free to file and takes under an hour. Skipping it means you permanently lose the credit.

5. Filing without confirming your residential status

The biggest source of confusion is not knowing whether you're an NRI, RNOR, or Resident for a given financial year. If you're classified as an NRI for the year, your foreign income likely isn't taxable in India at all, and filing Form 67 is unnecessary. Use the NRI tax residency calculator to confirm your status before you start.

Conclusion

Filing Form 67 correctly is the difference between paying tax once on your foreign income and paying it twice. The process is fully online, takes under an hour with documents ready, and does not need a CA. The critical rule is simple: file Form 67 before your ITR due date, report gross income, and use the correct RBI exchange rate. For NRIs with Indian investments generating capital gains or dividends, it is also worth understanding how capital gains tax works for NRIs to manage your overall India tax position.