How to Transfer a Down Payment from India to the United States
A documentation-first guide to moving home-purchase funds from India to a U.S. account without disrupting mortgage underwriting.
Start with the mortgage paper trail
Ask the underwriter which foreign statements, translations, exchange-rate evidence, and transfer records it will accept. Moving funds between several family accounts can make an otherwise legitimate transfer difficult to document.
- Statements showing where the money accumulated
- Sale, investment, salary, or inheritance records supporting the source
- The remittance application and bank confirmation
- SWIFT or wire receipt showing sender, recipient, date, and amount
- U.S. statement showing the matching deposit
Confirm Indian remittance rules
India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme and bank compliance procedures can affect how a resident individual sends money abroad. Limits, tax collection at source, permitted purposes, and forms can change. Confirm the current treatment with the remitting bank and an Indian chartered accountant before setting a closing date.
Do not describe a family transfer as your own savings if another person supplied it. Tell the lender whether it is a gift, loan, or jointly owned money.
Check U.S. reporting separately
A transfer between your own accounts is not automatically income, but U.S. persons may have separate reporting duties for foreign accounts or assets. FBAR can apply when aggregate foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 at any point in the year; Form 8938 uses different tests. Obtain cross-border tax advice for your facts.