If you are a resident individual buying an Indian property from a non-resident seller, one piece of paperwork has become simpler. From 1 October 2026, eligible individual and HUF buyers can report the transaction’s tax deduction using their PAN and Form 141—without obtaining a separate TAN.
But the tax deduction itself has not disappeared. The buyer still has to identify the seller’s residential status, work out the applicable TDS, deduct it at the correct time, deposit it and report it accurately.
What changed on 1 October
CBDT’s Notification No. 121/2026, dated 22 September 2026, amended the Income-tax Rules. The Income Tax Department’s official Schedule E guide says a resident individual or HUF buying immovable property from a non-resident can now use the buyer’s PAN login and Schedule E of Form 141.
Before this change, such a buyer generally needed a TAN and the TAN-based reporting route. The new process is intended to reduce that procedural burden for what may be a one-time property purchase.
The legal scope is property bought from a non-resident seller. “NRI property” is convenient shorthand, but the seller’s status for tax purposes—not an Indian address, Aadhaar or PAN by itself—drives the treatment.
What did not change
No TAN does not mean no TDS. Do not automatically copy the familiar 1% approach used in many resident-seller property purchases. For a non-resident seller, the applicable deduction can depend on the relevant tax provision, capital-gain character, surcharge, cess and any valid lower-deduction certificate.
The buyer remains the deductor. If too little tax is withheld, the procedural simplification does not protect the buyer from the resulting liability. Where the rate or seller’s status is unclear, settle it with a competent tax professional before releasing the payment.
Your checklist before paying the seller
- Establish residential status: ask for the seller’s declaration and supporting passport, visa or travel information as relevant. Do not decide solely from PAN or an Indian correspondence address.
- Collect seller details early: PAN, email, phone number, overseas address and ownership share. The official form also provides for foreign tax-residency and identification details in relevant cases.
- Check for a lower-deduction certificate: confirm that it belongs to the seller, covers the transaction and remains valid for the payment.
- Map every payment: advance, token amount and instalments may require attention when paid or credited. Do not postpone the entire TDS exercise until registration day.
- Keep the trail: sale agreement, property and stamp-duty details, payment records, tax calculation, challan, Form 141 acknowledgement and TDS certificate.
How Form 141 works
The Income Tax Department’s official Form 141 FAQ says Schedule E is available only to a resident individual or resident HUF buyer for this transaction. Other buyer categories continue under the applicable TAN-based statements.
Under the buyer’s PAN login, the stated route is: e-File → e-Pay Tax → Income-tax Act, 2025 → New Payment → Form 141. Schedule E captures the property, buyer, seller, consideration, payment and deduction details. The FAQ states that the deducted amount must be paid within 30 days from the end of the month in which deduction is made, together with the challan-cum-statement.
For example, if an eligible buyer deducts tax during October 2026, the stated 30-day period runs from the end of October. Do not wait for the sale deed if an earlier payment has already triggered the deduction requirement.
Multiple buyers or sellers need extra care
Each buyer must file separately for the buyer’s share. A single buyer can include multiple sellers only when the sellers fall in the same corporate or non-corporate category and deduction occurs in the same month. Resident and non-resident sellers use different schedules, so mixed seller cases should not be bundled blindly.
The official guide also says correction of Form 141 is available through the TDS-TRACES portal rather than the e-Filing portal. That makes checking PANs, ownership shares, dates and amounts before payment especially worthwhile.
The practical takeaway
The reform removes a separate registration step; it does not turn an NRI property purchase into a routine resident-seller transaction. The safest sequence is: verify status, determine the rate, collect the seller’s details, deduct before releasing the relevant payment, file Form 141 and preserve the evidence.
Moneycontrol’s practical explainer, published on 8 October 2026 at 5:55 PM IST, highlighted the continuing risks of using an incorrect rate or relying on PAN alone. This article independently uses the Income Tax Department’s rules and filing guidance as its primary basis.
Sources checked on 9 October 2026. General educational information only. Property transactions can involve fact-specific income-tax, FEMA and documentation issues; obtain professional advice for the actual transaction.