India Replaces Form 15CA with Form 145 Under Income-Tax Act, 2025 for Foreign Remittances

(INDIA) — India will replace Form 15CA and Form 15CB with Form 145 and Form 146 from April 1, 2026, shifting how residents report foreign remittances before money leaves the country.

The new framework, set under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income Tax Rules, 2026, applies to payments made from India to non-residents, NRIs and foreign companies. Tax authorities have positioned the change as a way to improve transparency, standardize reporting and verify whether tax has been deducted before a remittance is processed.

Banks and authorised dealers that handle outward transfers are likely to sit at the center of the change. A remitter sending tuition, consultant fees, vendor payments, family support, overseas service charges or other cross-border payments may have to show the revised paperwork before the transfer is cleared.

Under the old system, many remittances required Form 15CA and, in some cases, Form 15CB. From April 1, 2026, those functions move to Form 145, the remitter’s declaration, and Form 146, the Chartered Accountant certificate for certain taxable remittances.

Form 145 becomes the main declaration for payments to a non-resident individual, NRI or foreign company. It is generally filed before the remittance where the transaction falls within the applicable foreign remittance reporting rules.

The form collects the sender’s name, address, PAN and residential status, along with details of the overseas recipient, the nature and purpose of the payment, the amount being remitted, the tax position, whether tax has been deducted at source and the relevant remittance category or purpose code. In practical terms, it tells the tax department why money is being sent abroad and whether India has a tax claim on that payment.

Form 146 serves a different role. It is a certificate issued by a Chartered Accountant and comes into play in a narrower set of cases, tied to taxable payments and value thresholds.

That certificate applies where a payment to a non-resident or foreign company is taxable in India and the payment, or aggregate payments, exceeds ₹5 lakh during the tax year, unless the remitter has obtained an applicable certificate from the Assessing Officer. The Chartered Accountant certifies the tax treatment, the TDS rate, whether any Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement benefit applies, whether the proposed deduction is correct and the legal provisions supporting that treatment.

The shift reaches well beyond large companies. Indian families sending money abroad for education and living costs may need to assess whether a payment fits within ordinary personal remittance treatment or enters a category that requires additional tax reporting.

NRIs receiving money from India may also find the new forms relevant when a resident sends payment linked to rent, property purchase, service fees, consultancy, investment income or another taxable category. In those cases, the person sending the money, not the recipient, may need to file Form 145 and possibly obtain Form 146.

Indian businesses paying foreign consultants, software providers, marketing agencies, legal firms, royalty holders or service providers face a more document-heavy process if the payment is taxable. Digital nomads and remote professionals paying overseas platforms, contractors or foreign tax and legal advisers also need to classify the payment accurately before the bank reviews the transfer.

Visa applicants and immigrants sit inside that same compliance net. Payments to foreign lawyers, immigration consultants, education agents, relocation service providers and overseas institutions can trigger questions about purpose, recipient identity, supporting invoices and tax treatment, particularly where deadlines for admission, visa processing or relocation are tight.

Form 146 is not required for every international transfer. The main triggers are clear: the remittance must be chargeable to tax in India, the amount or aggregate amount must exceed ₹5 lakh in the tax year, an Assessing Officer’s certificate must not already be in place, and the Chartered Accountant certification must be needed to support Part C of Form 145.

Smaller taxable remittances may fall outside the certificate requirement, and non-taxable remittances may not need Form 146 at all. An Assessing Officer’s certificate can also displace the need for the Chartered Accountant route, and some transactions may sit in exempt or personal remittance categories that do not require this compliance path.

The distinction turns on the purpose of the payment. Sending money for university fees is treated differently from paying a foreign consultant, royalty holder, overseas contractor or NRI property seller, even though all of those transfers involve money moving abroad from India.

That makes early classification more than a paperwork exercise. Before a transfer is initiated, the remitter needs to identify whether the recipient is a non-resident, NRI or foreign company, pin down the exact purpose of the payment, determine whether the payment is taxable in India, check whether TDS applies and see whether total payments to that recipient have crossed ₹5 lakh in the tax year.

The same review extends to which part of Form 145 applies, whether a Chartered Accountant certificate is needed, whether the bank or authorised dealer will ask for supporting documents and whether any treaty benefit under a DTAA is being claimed. Proof of filing and bank acknowledgement also forms part of the compliance record.

Paperwork will matter because the bank is likely to want a clean file before releasing funds. Useful records include an invoice or fee letter, an admission letter or university demand notice, visa-related payment proof, recipient bank details, recipient tax residency details where applicable, a contract or service agreement, the remitter’s PAN and residential status, the selected purpose code, the Chartered Accountant certificate where required, any TDS challan or proof of tax deduction and the bank acknowledgement of transfer.

Education-related remittances illustrate the pressure points. A student headed to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany or another destination may need to transfer tuition, living expenses, deposits, insurance or institution-linked charges on a fixed deadline; any mismatch in classification, tax deduction or supporting forms can slow the payment when timing leaves little room.

The same timing issues arise with SEVIS, CAS, GIC or blocked account payments, immigration attorney fees, foreign housing deposits, overseas medical insurance and contractor payments tied to a business deadline. A delayed remittance can become an administrative problem long before it becomes a tax dispute.

Incorrect filing carries several layers of risk. Errors in classification, missing declarations or inaccurate information can prompt bank queries, additional verification, processing delays or tax exposure, and official guidance also refers to penalties for failure to submit Form 145 or for filing inaccurate information.

That moves the new forms out of the category of routine banking paperwork. A remitter treating Form 145 or Form 146 as a box-ticking exercise risks disruption at the bank stage and possible questions later about whether tax was correctly handled before the money moved offshore.

Residents planning outward remittances in 2026 therefore face a simpler rule in theory but a stricter one in practice: identify the nature of the payment early, determine whether India taxes it, confirm the TDS position and assemble the supporting documents before approaching the bank. High-value or taxable payments to foreign service providers, NRIs or foreign companies are likely to need the closest review under Form 145, Form 146 and the Income-tax Act, 2025.

From April 1, 2026, the old Form 15CA and Form 15CB process gives way to a compliance trail built around Form 145 and Form 146. Anyone sending money abroad for study, migration, family support, services or business now needs the paperwork ready before the transfer, not after the bank starts asking questions.