Buying property in Dubai from India under LRS (2026): companies and family businesses

A resident Indian can buy property in Dubai from India under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which the RBI's FAQs, updated on 6 April 2023, cap at USD 250,000 per person per financial year. The same FAQs say the scheme is not available to companies, partnership firms, HUFs or trusts, and Rule 21 of the Overseas Investment Rules 2022 lets an Indian company buy property abroad only if it has an overseas office, for its business and its staff.

This guide to Dubai property for Indian investors is written for families, family businesses and NRIs buying one property or several in Dubai and the wider UAE. Every Indian rule here comes from the RBI, the Overseas Investment Rules or the Income Tax Department, and every Dubai fee from the Dubai Land Department. None of it is tax or legal advice. Each Indian point should be confirmed with an Indian chartered accountant before money moves, because the FEMA and income tax consequences of a mistake fall on the buyer, not the seller.

Can I buy property in Dubai from India through the LRS?

Yes. Rule 21 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules 2022, notified on 22 August 2022, starts from a prohibition: no person resident in India may acquire immovable property outside India without the RBI's general or special permission. It then grants that permission for set routes, including purchase "out of the remittances sent under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme".

The RBI's Master Direction on the scheme, updated on 6 September 2024, lists "acquisition of immovable property abroad" among the capital account transactions an authorised bank may allow. Its paragraph 1 sets the limit at USD 250,000 per financial year, April to March. The FAQs add that a PAN is mandatory for every LRS transaction and that minors are eligible, with the declaration countersigned by a natural guardian.

The other routes in Rule 21 matter for families that already hold money abroad. A resident may buy with funds in a Resident Foreign Currency account, with income or sale proceeds of assets acquired abroad under FEMA other than direct investment, or jointly with a relative who lives outside India. Property inherited or received as a gift is also covered.

In practice the buyer instructs an Indian bank to remit under the LRS, declares the purpose as purchase of immovable property abroad, and pays the developer's escrow account or the seller directly. Keep the bank's remittance advice for every payment; it is the evidence for the RBI route, the TCS credit and the Schedule FA cost.

What is the LRS limit for property abroad, and can a family pool it?

The limit is USD 250,000 per resident individual per financial year. At the peg of AED 3.6725 to the US dollar, fixed since November 1997 according to The National, that is AED 918,125 a person a year.

Family pooling is allowed, with a condition that decides how the title deed must read. Paragraph 4 of the Master Direction says remittances may be consolidated in respect of family members, but "clubbing is not permitted by other family members for capital account transactions" where they are not co owners of the investment. Rule 21 repeats that consolidation is for relatives resident in India who comply with the scheme.

The arithmetic is simple. A ready Dubai home at AED 2 million is about USD 544,600, and the buyer's 2 per cent Land Department fee adds AED 40,000, so the total is about USD 555,500. One person's limit does not cover it in a single year. Three resident family members, each named on the title deed and each remitting within their own limit, can. A spouse, parent or child who remits but is not on the title does not count.

Off plan purchases spread the cost. The FAQs say there is no restriction on the frequency of LRS remittances, so an instalment plan that runs across two or three financial years draws on each year's limit in turn. Our guide to off plan payment plans shows how Dubai schedules are typically structured.

Can I pay in instalments, borrow, or use a credit card?

Instalments paid by remittance are fine. Borrowing and cards are where Indian buyers get into trouble.

1. Indian bank credit. Paragraph 12 of the Master Direction says banks "should not extend any kind of credit facilities to resident individuals" to facilitate capital account remittances under the scheme. The FAQs say the same in other words: the LRS does not envisage fund or non fund based facilities for capital account remittances.
2. Margins. Paragraph 5 bars remittances for margins or margin calls to overseas counterparties.
3. Credit cards. Paragraph B.8 lets an authorised bank accept payment by the cardholder's own card for a remittance it processes, which is different from paying a Dubai developer directly with an international card. The RBI pages we read do not address direct card payment to a developer. Advisers quoted by Khaleej Times on 25 August 2025 said international cards are for current account spending and that property is a capital account transaction. WION, citing The Economic Times, reported on 23 March 2026 that the Enforcement Directorate had sent notices to at least three buyers who paid this way, and that regularisation runs through RBI compounding.
4. A UAE mortgage. No RBI page we read states whether a resident individual may take a mortgage from a UAE bank for a property bought under the LRS. Treat it as an open question for your chartered accountant before you apply, even though UAE banks do lend to non residents. Our mortgage guide explains the UAE side.

Can an Indian company or family business buy property in Dubai?

Rarely, and not as a simple investment. Rule 21(2)(iii) of the Overseas Investment Rules says "an Indian entity having an overseas office may acquire immovable property outside India" for its business and the residential purposes of its staff, under RBI directions. The RBI's FAQs on purchase of immovable property, updated on 6 April 2023, say the same. An Indian private limited company buying a Dubai apartment to let is not on that list.

Setting up a UAE company to hold the property does not get around it. Rule 19 says no person resident in India may make overseas direct investment in a foreign entity engaged in real estate activity, which Rule 2 defines as buying and selling real estate or trading in transferable development rights, excluding the construction of residential or commercial premises. Schedule III limits a resident individual's direct investment to an operating foreign entity not engaged in financial services, with no subsidiary or step down subsidiary under the individual's control, and within the LRS ceiling. Whether a UAE company that only holds and lets one property is "engaged in real estate activity" is not answered by the definition, and it is the question to put to your chartered accountant in writing.

For a family business, three practical routes follow from the rules:

1. Individual members buy. Promoters and family members buy in their own names under the LRS, each named on the title, each within their own limit.
2. The Indian company uses its UAE presence. A company with a genuine overseas office, such as a UAE branch or representative office, may buy premises for that business or housing for its staff.
3. A UAE operating subsidiary. An Indian company with a real operating business in the UAE, set up as overseas direct investment, may need premises for that business. Whether the subsidiary may hold property beyond its own operational need is a FEMA question to settle before purchase.

On the Dubai side, the Land Department's sale registration page says a company buying property must first be registered with the Department. Which vehicles it accepts, and what a company changes for UAE corporate tax and succession, is covered in our guide to holding UAE property personally, through a company or a foundation.

How much TCS applies to a foreign remittance for property?

Tax collected at source applies when the bank remits. From 1 April 2026, with the Income Tax Act 2025 in force, the rate for LRS remittances for purposes other than education and medical treatment is 20 per cent on the amount by which a person's remittances in the financial year exceed INR 10 lakh, according to Standard Chartered Bank India's notice on the change. The first INR 10 lakh a year carries no TCS. A property purchase is not listed as a separate category in the notices we read, so it falls under the other purposes line.

The Union Budget presented on 1 February 2026 changed only the other lines. Business Today reported the Finance Minister's words that day: "I propose to reduce TCS rate for pursuing education and for medical purposes." The bank's notice shows education and medical remittances at 2 per cent above INR 10 lakh and overseas tour packages at 2 per cent from the first rupee.

TCS is collected in advance against the remitter's income tax, not a separate final tax, but it is cash out of the buyer's account on the day of payment. A family remitting USD 250,000 each in one year pays 20 per cent on everything above INR 10 lakh per person and recovers it only through the return. Budget for it in the payment plan, and ask your chartered accountant how and when it is credited.

What foreign asset reporting does Schedule FA require, and what does the Black Money Act say?

A resident Indian who owns Dubai property must disclose it in the foreign assets schedule of the income tax return. The Income Tax Department's campaign, reported by PTI in The Tribune on 17 November 2024, listed foreign immovable property among the assets to be reported and said the schedule must be completed even where income is below the taxable limit or the asset was bought from disclosed sources.

The penalty is set by section 43 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act 2015. It applies to a resident, other than one not ordinarily resident, who fails to report a foreign asset or reports it inaccurately, and allows a penalty of INR 10 lakh. Its proviso excludes assets with an aggregate value up to INR 20 lakh, but only assets "other than immovable property". A Dubai home, however small, is not covered by that relief.

The Income Tax Department notified the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme on 15 August 2026, with declarations open from 16 August to 31 December 2026, according to PTI in The Tribune. It caps undisclosed assets at INR 1 crore and sets tax of 30 per cent plus an equal additional amount. The report does not say whether foreign immovable property qualifies, so a buyer with a past omission should ask a chartered accountant before the window closes.

Rental income and any gain on sale are separate questions of Indian income tax and of the India UAE tax treaty. They are outside this guide and belong with your chartered accountant.

How is the position different for an NRI buying Dubai property?

The LRS is a resident's facility. The RBI's FAQs describe it as available to "all resident individuals", and Rule 21 applies to persons resident in India. An NRI living and earning in Dubai, Singapore or London who pays from money held abroad is outside both.

An NRI paying from India follows a different rule. The RBI's Master Direction on Remittance of Assets, updated on 29 June 2026, allows NRIs and PIOs to remit up to USD 1 million per financial year from NRO balances, sale proceeds of assets and inherited assets, on documentary evidence, and requires RBI approval above that.

Reporting also changes. Section 43 of the Black Money Act applies to residents other than those not ordinarily resident. Residence for FEMA and residence for income tax are separate tests, and families with members moving between India and the UAE should have each member's status confirmed every year by a chartered accountant.

What does the Dubai side cost, and does it lead to a Golden Visa?

The Dubai Land Department's sale registration page lists a fee of 2 per cent of the sale value for the buyer and 2 per cent for the seller, a title deed fee of AED 250, map fees of AED 225 or AED 100, and a service partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT where the price is AED 500,000 or more. A non resident foreigner registers with a valid passport.

For off plan purchases, Law No. 8 of 2007, issued on 6 May 2007, requires the developer to open an escrow account for each project. Article 9 says the account is "dedicated exclusively to the construction" of that project, and Article 14 requires 5 per cent to be retained for a year after units are registered to buyers. An Indian buyer should remit only to the project's escrow account, named on the payment plan, and match the account name on the remittance advice.

Residence follows value. The Land Department's Golden Visa investor service describes a 10 year renewable permit for property of AED 2 million or more at purchase, "wholly owned by the investor" in the applicant's name. That creates a tension with family pooling: three co owners may meet the LRS rule and fail the Golden Visa test. Our Golden Visa guide sets out what each authority publishes on joint ownership.

What it means for investors

For an Indian family, the binding limit is the remittance rule, not the Dubai price. A family that wants one AED 3 million villa needs enough resident members on the title, or enough financial years, to fit inside USD 250,000 each. A family that wants three AED 900,000 apartments can give each member a unit in their own name.

The title deed has to be decided before the first remittance. Whose name is on it determines whose LRS limit counts, who reports it in Schedule FA, who can apply for a Golden Visa, and who inherits it in the UAE.

The rupee is the currency risk. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so a Dubai price is in effect a dollar price, and an Indian buyer on a three year payment plan carries the rupee against the dollar on every instalment. NRIs earning in dollars or dirhams carry no currency risk against the dollar on the purchase.

For family businesses, the company is usually the wrong buyer. The Overseas Investment Rules point the business toward its overseas office and its operating subsidiaries, and point investment property toward individuals.

What we recommend

1. Before reserving, take the price, the payment plan and the proposed names on the title to an Indian chartered accountant, and ask in writing about the LRS route, family clubbing, TCS, Schedule FA and any UAE mortgage.
2. Pay every amount, including the booking deposit, by bank remittance under the LRS, never by international credit card or a payment link.
3. For off plan, confirm the project escrow account in the Land Department's records and remit only to it.
4. For a company or family business, settle the Overseas Investment Rules question before forming any UAE vehicle.
5. Keep every remittance advice, TCS certificate and receipt in one file for each owner.

Confirm the current position with the authority before relying on it. RBI directions, TCS rates and Land Department fees change, and this guide reflects the pages as accessed on 7 November 2026. Castilion Estates works with Indian families, family businesses and NRIs on purchase structure and the Dubai transaction through our cross border investment advisory, alongside your chartered accountant in India.