Free NRI Banking Tool

Your US Account Exit Plan
for Moving to India

Tick the banks and brokerages you hold and pick your move date. We'll build you a dated, step-by-step plan — which accounts to close, call, or keep, and exactly when to do each one before you go.

1 Which US accounts do you hold?

Pick everything — we'll sort them into close / call / keep for you.

Banks & cards

Brokerages & investments

2 When do you move?

An approximate date is fine — you can change it anytime.

Nothing selected yet

Your exit plan

0
Close
0
Call
0
Keep

After you land: both governments want to know

  • India — Schedule FA: once you're a resident for tax purposes, foreign bank accounts, brokerages and stock/RSUs must be declared in Schedule FA of your ITR. Non-disclosure carries heavy penalties.
  • US — FBAR (FinCEN 114): if your non-US accounts ever total over $10,000 combined in a year, you must file an FBAR. FATCA Form 8938 may also apply above higher thresholds.
  • Your RNOR window: for your first 2–3 years back you may qualify as RNOR, when foreign income is largely not taxed in India — which changes the best time to sell US investments.

This is just your banking timeline. Breather turns your whole move-back into a plan — 401(k) strategy, RNOR tax timing, corpus projections and city budgets.

How to plan your US bank exit before moving to India

The mistake most NRIs make is leaving their banking to the last week — then discovering, from India, that an account has been frozen or a card can't be reissued abroad. The fix is sequencing: deal with the accounts that require US residency first (while you still have a US address), keep the flexible ones with a simple address change, and open your India-side accounts before you land.

The tool above builds that sequence for you from your actual accounts and move date. The logic is simple:

Keeping USD without converting to INR

A common goal — like the NRI who wants to keep $100k+ in USD rather than convert at a bad exchange rate — is perfectly doable. Keep the money in a US bank account you've confirmed you can retain (Chase and Bank of America are the most commonly kept), and only move what you need into India using a low-fee transfer service such as Wise, into your NRE/NRO account or a UPI app. That way you control the timing of every conversion instead of being forced to move it all at once.

Common questions

Can I keep my Chase account after moving to India?
Most NRIs report they can — you call Chase, update your mailing address to your Indian address, and cards continue to be mailed internationally. Keep the account active and in good standing, and declare it in Schedule FA once you're an Indian tax resident.
Which US banks are easiest to keep as an NRI?
Large, internationally-oriented banks — Chase, Bank of America, Citi, and global banks like HSBC — tend to be the most flexible. Online-only banks that require a US residential address (Ally, SoFi, Marcus, Discover) are the hardest to keep.
What happens to my brokerage or 401(k) when I move to India?
Brokerages are stricter than banks. Some let you hold existing positions but block new purchases; some ask you to move to a non-resident arrangement or close. Interactive Brokers openly supports NRIs. Your 401(k)/IRA can usually stay put, but withdrawals and the India tax treatment of US retirement accounts get complex — worth modelling in detail before you move.
When should I start closing US accounts before moving?
Start about three months out. Accounts that legally need US residency should be transferred or closed while you still have a US address; flexible banks can be updated closer to your move. The exit plan above dates each step for you.

Plan the whole move, not just the banking

Breather helps NRIs seriously considering a return figure out the money — corpus, 401k, taxes, city, timing — in one place.