Returning to India for Good: The 22-Point Master Checklist

6–12 months out: the strategy layer (7 items)

1. Book the cross-border tax consultation — the single highest-leverage hour of the entire move; US exit questions and Indian entry questions interact.

2. Green-card holders: understand abandonment formalities (Form I-407) and, for long-term residents, whether the US expatriation-tax regime touches you before surrendering anything.

3. Decide each retirement account's fate: leave 401(k)/IRA invested, roll over for control, or model withdrawal costs — see our retirement-accounts guide; India's treatment of foreign retirement accounts (including the notified-country deferral provision) belongs in the same model.

4. Map your Indian tax re-entry: the RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) status can shield foreign income from Indian tax for a transition period if you qualify on the day-count tests — your arrival date changes your tax outcome; plan it, don't discover it.

5. If US real estate stays, set up its absentee life: property manager, landlord insurance, and the US tax filings rental income will still require.

6. School research for children: Indian academic year timing, board choice (CBSE/ICSE/IB/state), and admission cycles — apply from the US, not after landing.

7. Inventory US financial life: list every account, card, insurance policy and subscription with its closure/keep decision.

1–6 months out: the execution layer (8 items)

8. Keep one US bank account and one card open for trailing refunds, deposits and credit-history continuity; update their address and phone carefully.

9. Notify brokerages of the move — non-resident account policies differ; forced-liquidation surprises are avoidable with notice.

10. Plan the final-year US tax return (likely dual-status) and the state-tax exit — some states pursue residency aggressively; document your departure date and ties severance.

11. Claim what's yours before leaving: FSA balances, unused PTO payouts, expiring rewards points and any state unclaimed-property listings.

12. Medical wrap-up: records for the whole family, prescriptions with generic names, dental/vision runs while insured, and children's vaccination records mapped for Indian schools.

13. Shipping decisions with India's Transfer of Residence concessions in mind — used household goods enjoy duty relief within conditions and timelines; sea-freight quotes vary widely, get several.

14. Apostilles and attestations: US documents that Indian institutions will want (birth certificates, marriage certificate, degrees earned in the US) are far easier to apostille while you're in the US.

15. Convert your Indian accounts back: NRE/NRO re-designation to resident accounts is a FEMA duty on return; RFC accounts can park your foreign currency legally meanwhile.

Landing and the first quarter (7 items)

16. Track your RNOR day-counts from arrival and file the first Indian return accordingly.

17. Re-KYC everything Indian with resident status: banks, demat, mutual funds, insurance.

18. US obligations continue where triggered: FBAR/8938 for any year you remain a US person, and 401(k) distributions' US withholding — calendar the filings you still owe.

19. Re-establish Indian credit and mobile-linked identity: phone number first, then Aadhaar/PAN updates, then everything that OTPs against them.

20. Health cover immediately: Indian health insurance from day one — waiting periods make early purchase valuable.

21. Children's transition: school admission documents, plus the emotional runway — returning-kid syndrome is real and forums of returned families help.

22. Keep the US door's paperwork clean: passports current for all, any re-entry documents you're preserving handled correctly, and your US document archive (taxes, W-2s, green-card history) stored digitally forever — future consulates and CPAs will ask.