The Paperwork: PAN, SSN, KYC and Residency Certificates

Most of the money problems NRIs describe to each other are paperwork problems in disguise: tax deducted at a higher rate because the bank had no PAN, an account frozen for a KYC refresh, a treaty rate refused because a certificate was missing. Each country issues its own numbers and certificates, and a few of them have to match. This chapter lists the documents, says what each one unlocks, and gives a way to keep the two files consistent.

India: PAN, KYC and the forms around them

PAN. The Permanent Account Number is the ten-character identifier the Income Tax Department issues. Under section 262 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 you must apply for one if your total income exceeds the amount not chargeable to tax, or if you are required to file a return. Interest on an NRO account usually puts an NRI in that position. A bank deducts tax at source on that interest, and if the payee does not furnish a valid PAN, section 397(2) requires deduction at the higher of the rate specified, the rate in force and 20%, with some relief for non-residents who supply prescribed details. A PAN is also required to file an Indian return, to receive a refund and to make most investments.

Aadhaar link. Section 262(5) and (6) say that every person eligible to obtain an Aadhaar number must quote it in the PAN application and the return, and that a PAN of an eligible person who does not intimate their Aadhaar number can be made inoperative. The Act ties the duty to eligibility. We have not verified how the department applies it to NRIs who have no Aadhaar, so confirm the position for your case on the e-filing portal or with a Chartered Accountant before a refund or a bank form depends on it.

KYC. Know-your-customer rules require banks, fund houses and brokers to verify who you are. Checklists differ between institutions, but an NRI should expect to supply a passport, proof of the overseas address, proof of non-resident status such as a visa, residence permit or OCI card, a PAN, photographs, and a self-declaration of tax residence under the FATCA and common reporting rules. KYC records have to be refreshed from time to time, and accounts can be restricted if they lapse. The Reserve Bank's KYC Master Direction lets an NRI's documents be certified by, among others, authorised officials of overseas branches of Indian banks, a notary public abroad, or the Indian embassy or consulate in the country where you live, though each institution applies its own checklist. Ask for yours in writing.

Forms 145 and 146. From 1 April 2026 these replaced Forms 15CA and 15CB for payments to non-residents and remittances out of India (chapter 4). The answer page How to bring money from India to the US gives the sequence.

The United States: SSN, ITIN and W-8BEN

• Social Security number (SSN). Issued to people authorized to work, it is the US taxpayer identification number for most NRIs on work visas. It is the number the Indian bank will record for FATCA reporting.
• ITIN. An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is for people who need a US taxpayer number but cannot get an SSN, for example a spouse on a return. See the visa-shelf chapter Bank Accounts, an SSN or ITIN, and Credit from Zero.
• Form W-8BEN. A certificate of foreign status that a non-US person gives a US payer, such as a broker, to claim a treaty rate. It matters mainly after you leave the US, or to parents in India holding US accounts. A US resident gives a Form W-9 instead.

When Indian institutions record your US number, that is the number exchanged under the FATCA agreement (chapter 3). It should match the number on your tax returns.

The certificates that unlock the treaty rate

The India-US treaty caps India's tax on your interest and dividends (chapter 5), but India applies the lower rate only if you prove you are a US resident.

1. Get the US certificate. The IRS issues Form 6166, a letter certifying US tax residency, on an application on Form 8802. The IRS user fee for an individual applicant is $105 from 1 October 2026. Applying early matters because the certificate covers a specific year.
2. Give the Indian payer the information India asks for. Section 159(8) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 says a non-resident can claim relief under a treaty only when they have a certificate of residence from their government and provide the other documents and information prescribed. Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 the information is given in Form 41 (rule 75(1)). People still search for it as "Form 10F", its name under the earlier rules. Ask the bank whether it takes the form on paper or through the portal, and for which years.
3. If the bank still deducts the higher tax, the excess can be claimed back on an Indian return, with the TDS certificate as support.

In the other direction, an Indian tax resident who needs an Indian residency certificate for a treaty claim abroad applies on Form 42, and the assessing officer issues Form 43 (rule 75(3) and (4)). That comes up when you move back and still hold US accounts that pay interest or dividends.

Keeping two files consistent

Names, dates of birth and addresses appear in at least six places: passport, PAN, bank KYC, US tax returns, the SSN record and the FATCA self-certification. Small mismatches cause large delays.

A list of what to keep, by year, will serve both a Chartered Accountant and a US preparer: bank interest certificates and TDS statements, the Indian return and its acknowledgement, the US residency certificate, the Form 41 you gave each bank, remittance advices, and sale papers for anything you sold.