Nine steps in the order they matter: whether the move works at your city’s prices, then the 401(k), the Roth, the Indian funds, the rupee, Social Security and what to do before you fly.
For Indians in the US on a visa or a green card who are weighing a return.
These numbers stay in this browser, and in your account if you sign in. A copied link carries them after the #, which is never sent to our server.
Everything else depends on this: what a month costs in your city, at the rupee rate you plan with, against what your savings can pay for in each country.
For a few years after you return, India can treat you as Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR). In those years income from outside India, such as US interest and gains, is generally not taxed in India, so the window is when US moves cost least.
Cashing out the year you leave can cost the 10% early-withdrawal tax on top of income tax, with 30% withheld from a payout to a nonresident. Leaving the money invested and drawing it later is often cheaper.
A traditional dollar skips tax now and is taxed when it comes out; a Roth dollar is taxed now and comes out free. Which wins depends on the tax on the payout after you have left.
To the IRS, Indian mutual funds are PFICs: without an election, gains are taxed at the top ordinary rate plus an interest charge. Once you are no longer a US tax resident, the US stops taxing gains you make on them.
Indian deposits pay more interest, but the rupee has lost value against the dollar over most decades. The trade-off turns on a rate you choose, not on a forecast.
Forty credits, about ten years of US work, earn a retirement benefit you can collect in India. The US has no Social Security agreement with India, so fewer years earn nothing from those payroll taxes.
Someone who is neither a US citizen nor living in the US is exempt from US estate tax on only $60,000 of US assets, such as US shares and a US home, against $15 million for a citizen or resident in 2026. The US has no estate tax treaty with India.
Your last US tax year, the accounts you keep, the address on file, and the forms due once you are gone.
Every number above is worked out by the calculator it links to, with its formula and sources on that page. The Indian rules mentioned in these steps are described as published on 2 October 2026; check them with a Chartered Accountant before you act. The rupee rate starts at ₹95.81 per dollar, the Federal Reserve’s rate for 25 September 2026 (FRED DEXINUS). Estimates, not advice.