Keep my money in India or bring it to the US?
Compare keeping rupees in India with converting them now, in the currency you will spend, under three rupee scenarios from the official record, with the break-even fall.
Where you will spend it
Spending in the US, only the dollars at the end count.
BRINGING IT NOW COMES OUT AHEAD BY
$7k
At these inputs, ₹25,00,000 kept in India at 6.25% (4.75% after 24% tax) and converted in 10 years at ₹135.15 per $1 brings $29,127; brought now ($25,832 after costs) and kept at 4.50% (3.42% after tax) it grows to $36,158: bringing it now comes out $7,031 ahead. If you’ll spend it in the US, the rupee return must beat depreciation: after tax the rupee rate beats the dollar rate by 1.29% a year at these inputs, so keeping wins only while the rupee falls less than 1.29% a year (you assumed it falls 3.5% a year). Not investment advice.
Kept in India
$29k
Brought now
$36k
Break-even fall
1.29% a yr
₹ per $1, yr 10
₹135.15
UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT
What each path is worth in dollars, year by year
Brought to the US nowRupee falls 0.6% / 3.5% / 7.6% a yearYour assumption
In dollars, ₹25,00,000 brought now grows to $36,158 by year 10; kept in India it is worth $38,701 if the rupee falls 0.6% a year, $29,127 at 3.5% (the 2005–2025 average) and $19,751 at 7.6%.
Under each rupee scenario, which path comes out ahead?
| Rupee falls a year | ₹ per $1 in year 10 | Kept in India | Brought now | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slow fall: 0.6% | ₹101.72 | $38,701 | $36,158 | Keep +$2,543 |
| Past 20 years: 3.5% (yours) | ₹135.15 | $29,127 | $36,158 | Bring +$7,031 |
| Fast fall: 7.6% | ₹199.31 | $19,751 | $36,158 | Bring +$16,408 |
If you’ll spend it in India, the rupee’s fall doesn’t hurt money kept in rupees; if you’ll spend it in the US, the rupee return must beat depreciation: after tax the rupee rate beats the dollar rate by 1.29% a year at these inputs, so keeping wins only while the rupee falls less than 1.29% a year (you assumed it falls 3.5% a year).
What if I move it later instead of now?
| Convert all of it in | $ in year 10, 0.6% fall | $ in year 10, 3.5% fall | $ in year 10, 7.6% fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now | $36,158 | $36,158 | $36,158 |
| Year 1 | $36,405 | $35,385 | $34,037 |
| Year 2 | $36,653 | $34,628 | $32,039 |
| Year 3 | $36,903 | $33,887 | $30,159 |
| Year 4 | $37,155 | $33,162 | $28,390 |
| Year 5 | $37,408 | $32,453 | $26,724 |
| Year 6 | $37,663 | $31,759 | $25,156 |
| Year 7 | $37,920 | $31,079 | $23,679 |
| Year 8 | $38,179 | $30,415 | $22,290 |
| Year 9 | $38,439 | $29,764 | $20,982 |
| Year 10 (when needed) | $38,701 | $29,127 | $19,751 |
Spending it in the US, converting part-way lands between the two ends: at a steady rate of fall the better date is either now or when you need it (at these inputs converting now is best when the rupee falls 3.5% or 7.6% a year; converting when you need it is best when it falls 0.6% a year). The rupee does not fall at a steady rate, and no one can say in advance which year it will be cheap or dear; these are scenarios at these inputs, not a forecast of the best day to convert.
How fast has the rupee fallen? Rupees per dollar, 2005–2025
The rupee averaged ₹44.00 per dollar in 2005 and ₹87.15 in 2025, a fall of 3.48% a year on average (Federal Reserve H.10 via FRED). Single years ranged from a rise of 8.9% in 2007 to a fall of 14.6% in 2012, and five-year stretches from 0.6% a year (2006–2011) to 7.6% (2011–2016). The latest daily rate was ₹95.81 on 25 September 2026. History is a range to test, not a forecast.
What moves the needle
Each row re-runs the calculation with one change. Click to apply.How it's computed
FORMULA
Rate in year n = rate now × (1 + d)ⁿ (d = the yearly rise in rupees per dollar; negative = the rupee strengthens)
Kept in India = ₹A × (1 + r₹ × (1 − t))ⁿ; in dollars: ÷ rate in year n × (1 − spread) − fee
Brought now = (₹A ÷ rate now × (1 − spread) − fee) × (1 + r$ × (1 − t))ⁿ; back in rupees: (− fee) × (1 − spread) × rate in year n
Break-even fall (no flat fee, spent in the US): 1 + d* = (1 + r₹ × (1 − t)) ÷ (1 + r$ × (1 − t))
- The rupee falls (or rises) at the same rate every year: 3.5% at your setting, and three scenarios from the official record: 0.6% (slowest five years on record in the window, 2006–2011); 3.5% (average yearly fall, 2005–2025); 7.6% (fastest five years in the window, 2011–2016). Federal Reserve H.10 annual averages via FRED (AEXINUS), read 2 October 2026. Real rates move in jumps; these are scenarios, not forecasts.
- Both balances compound once a year at a fixed rate, and the interest is taxed at 24% in both currencies: a US tax resident is taxed on worldwide interest either way. NRE interest is exempt from Indian tax but still taxable in the US, so the US tax is the same. NRO interest also has Indian tax deducted at source, usually creditable against US tax but not always in full: the NRE, NRO and FCNR after-US-tax calculator compares deposits one by one.
- Each conversion loses 1.0% of the amount. Money kept in India and spent there is never converted; money brought now and spent in India is converted twice.
- Not modeled: US tax on currency gains or losses when rupees are converted (IRC §988), mutual-fund (PFIC) taxation, tax after you move back and become an Indian resident, Indian tax collected on some transfers, deposit lock-ins and penalties, and any limit on taking money out of an NRO account.
- Indian rates and rules are as published on 2 October 2026; check with a Chartered Accountant. Not investment advice: this shows what the numbers say at these inputs.
WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS
After 24% tax the rupee rate is 6.25% × 0.76 = 4.75% and the dollar rate 3.42%. Rate in year 10: 95.81 × 1.035^10 = ₹135.15. Kept: ₹25,00,000 × 1.0475^10 = ₹39,76,311, which converts to $29,127. Brought now: ₹25,00,000 ÷ 95.81 × (1 − 0.010) = $25,832, × 1.0342^10 = $36,158. Break-even: 1.0475 ÷ 1.0342 − 1 = 1.29% a year.
SOURCES
[1]India / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate, annual (AEXINUS), 2005–2025Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.10, via FRED (read 2 October 2026)[2]India / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate, daily (DEXINUS): ₹95.81 on 25 September 2026Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.10, via FRED[3]Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 1-Year Constant Maturity (DGS1): 4.54% on 30 September 2026Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15, via FRED[4]Interest Rates on Retail Domestic Term Deposits (below ₹3 crore), revised 15 December 2025State Bank of India (page updated 16 June 2026)[5]Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens AbroadInternal Revenue ServiceHSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Oct 2, 2026
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Questions about this result
It depends first on where you will spend it. Money you will spend in India is not shrunk by a falling rupee if you keep it in rupees. Money you will spend in the US is worth what it converts to at the end, so keeping it in India only pays if the rupee rate, after tax, beats the dollar rate by more than the rupee falls each year. This calculator shows both paths in the currency you will spend, and the break-even fall at which they are equal. It is not investment advice.
On the Federal Reserve’s annual averages (FRED series AEXINUS) the rupee went from about ₹44.00 per dollar in 2005 to ₹87.15 in 2025, a fall of about 3.5% a year. Single years ranged from a rise of about 8.9% (2007) to a fall of about 14.6% (2012), and the rupee strengthened in 4 of those 20 years. In 2026 it passed ₹96 per dollar in May; the daily rate was ₹95.81 on 25 September 2026.
Not necessarily, if you will spend the money in the US. If the rupee falls 3.5% a year, a 7% rupee deposit earns about 3.4% a year in dollars before tax (1.07 ÷ 1.035 − 1), and as a US tax resident you pay US tax on the Indian interest too. Whether that beats a US account depends on the US rate you can get. If you will spend the money in India, the 7% is what counts.
Yes, if you are a US tax resident. NRE interest is exempt from Indian tax, but the US taxes its residents on worldwide income, so it is reported on your US return like US interest. NRO interest is taxed in India as well, usually with tax deducted at source that you may be able to credit against your US tax. This page applies one tax rate to both currencies; a separate calculator compares NRE, NRO and FCNR deposits after US tax.
No one can reliably say in advance. If the rupee fell at a steady rate, the better date would always be either now or when you need the money, depending on whether the rupee rate after tax out-earns the dollar rate by more than the fall. Real exchange rates jump around, so this page shows scenarios from the historical record instead of a forecast. Converting in stages spreads the money across several rates rather than one.
Moving your own savings is not income, so the transfer itself is not taxed in the US. The interest and gains were taxable when you earned them, and a gain or loss from the currency itself can have tax effects that this page does not model. Indian accounts may need to be reported on an FBAR or Form 8938 while you hold them.
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