“Mani, do I have to pay taxes twice? Once in the US and once in India?” I get this question at least five times a week. Every single week. For the past seven years. And I get it. The fear of double taxation kept me up at night too when I was planning my move…

My flat in Kochi sat empty for three months after I moved to California. My mom finally said, “Why not rent it out? At least it will be maintained.” Great idea. Except nobody told me about TDS. Or that I would need to file ITR in India. Or that the tenant was supposed to deduct…

The email from my CPA made my heart stop. “Mani, did you report your Indian mutual fund gains? The IRS classifies these as PFICs. You might owe penalties.” This was 2015. I had been filing US taxes for eight years. I thought I knew what I was doing. Turns out I had been making mistakes…