Remember when I was in the US and my mom called me one day? She had slipped in the bathroom. Needed surgery. The hospital bill was ₹3 lakhs. That’s when I realized something. I was so focused on US health insurance for my family. But I had completely ignored health coverage for my parents back…

I know how confusing Indian tax laws can get, especially when you’re managing investments from abroad. When I first learned about Section 54 and Section 54F, I thought they were the same thing – boy, was I wrong! These two sections can save you literally crores in capital gains tax if you play your cards…

Let me be upfront with you – PayPal in India is not the same PayPal you’ve been using in the US, UK, or anywhere else. I’ve had countless NRIs in our community confused about this. They set up a PayPal account expecting it to work like it did abroad, only to hit wall after wall.…

Hey, Let me share a conversation that changed how I think about retirement planning in India. It was December 2019. I was visiting my mom in Chennai during the holidays. She was 67 then. We were sitting on the terrace, watching the sunset, when she suddenly said, “Mani, I’m worried about my pension taxes.” I…

Let me tell you about one of the most stressful days during our move back from California in 2017. Picture this. We’ve just landed in Bangalore after 8 years in the US. I’m trying to open a bank account at HDFC the next day. The relationship manager asks for my PAN card. I confidently reach…

When I was wrapping up my time at SuperMoney in California back in 2017, preparing for our move back to India, one thing kept me up at night. It wasn’t the job search or school admissions for the boys. It was FATCA. My accountant in San Francisco had mentioned it casually during our final tax…

Let’s talk about OCIs. The full thing! When I moved back from the US in 2017 with my family, getting our OCI cards was one of the first things on my checklist. My wife and I had been planning this move for months. My mom was alone in India after dad passed away during my…

2016. I’m sitting in my Santa Barbara office at Citrix, staring at this official looking document my HR team just handed me. Form W-2. I thought, “Great, another tax form to confuse me.” Back then, I had no clue how crucial this little piece of paper would become for my US tax filing journey. Fast…

Picture this. It’s April 2018, my first tax season back in India after returning from the US. I’m sitting in our Bangalore home, staring at my laptop screen in complete confusion. My US tax advisor had sent me a reminder about something called “FBAR filing.” I thought, “What the heck is FBAR? Another government form…