Indians sent $1.4 billion abroad to invest in four months, twice last year's pace
RBI's monthly tables show money sent abroad for investment more than doubled from April to July 2026. Travel, gifts and family support barely moved.
From April to July 2026, resident Indians sent $1,403.53 million abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme to invest in shares and debt. That is 2.1 times the $670.69 million of the same months in 2025, and over half of all of 2025-26. Total remittances rose 4.7%.
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Resident Indians sent $1,403.53 million abroad to invest in shares and debt between April and July 2026. In the same four months of 2025, the figure was $670.69 million.
The numbers come from the RBI Bulletin. Each month it publishes a table of money sent out under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, or LRS. Resident individuals use this route to send money abroad, up to $250,000 in a financial year.
Where the money went
| Purpose | Apr to Jul 2025 ($ million) | Apr to Jul 2026 ($ million) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment in equity and debt | 670.69 | 1,403.53 | +109.3% |
| Deposits in foreign bank accounts | 237.16 | 330.32 | +39.3% |
| Property abroad | 163.61 | 185.48 | +13.4% |
| Travel | 5,340.18 | 5,270.46 | -1.3% |
| Maintenance of close relatives | 1,281.59 | 1,188.34 | -7.3% |
| Gifts | 938.23 | 914.81 | -2.5% |
| All purposes | 9,374.89 | 9,816.97 | +4.7% |
Total remittances rose by $442 million. Investment alone rose by $733 million, so it more than accounts for the growth.
Travel is still the biggest item, at 53.7% of all money sent this year. Investment is now 14.3%. Across the whole of 2025-26 it was 9.2%.
Month by month
Investment remittances were $238.63 million in April 2026, $363.64 million in May, $456.69 million in June and $344.57 million in July.
June 2026 was 2.2 times June 2025. In four months, Indians have sent 52.9% of the $2,652.01 million they sent to invest in all of 2025-26.
What the tax collected at source looks like
Banks collect tax at source, or TCS, when your LRS remittances in a financial year cross ₹10 lakh. TCS is tax the bank collects at the time of the transfer.
Under the Finance Bill 2026, these rates apply from 1 April 2026:
- 2% above ₹10 lakh for education or medical treatment, cut from 5%
- 20% above ₹10 lakh for every other purpose, including investment
- 2% on overseas tour packages, with no threshold
So the cut went to education and medical costs. Money sent abroad to invest still carries 20% TCS above ₹10 lakh.
Illustration. Say you send ₹50 lakh in 2026-27 to a US brokerage account, and nothing else under LRS that year. The bank collects 20% of ₹40 lakh, which is ₹8 lakh, at the time of the transfer. How that ₹8 lakh is set off in your return is a question for your CA.
What the tables do not show
The RBI table gives a purpose code and nothing more. It does not say which country the money went to, or whether it bought US shares, foreign funds or bonds.
It also says nothing about why the figure rose. The data cannot separate more people investing from the same people sending larger sums.
Education figures can't be compared across the two years. The table now lists "travel for education" under travel, for students who go abroad. "Studies abroad" covers courses taken remotely. July 2025 has no figure for travel for education, so the 30.6% fall in "studies abroad" is left out of the table above.
The latest month in RBI's published tables is July 2026. The figures are in US dollars, so they do not show what the transfers cost in rupees.
The limit per person
The $250,000 limit applies to each resident individual, per financial year, across all purposes together. RBI set it in June 2015. Investment abroad, foreign bank accounts and property abroad are all allowed within it.
Questions
- How much did Indians send abroad to invest in 2026 so far?
- $1,403.53 million from April to July 2026, against $670.69 million in the same months of 2025, according to the RBI Bulletin's LRS table.
- What is the LRS limit for a resident individual?
- $250,000 per financial year, for current and capital account purposes combined, under RBI's circular of 1 June 2015.
- What is the TCS rate on LRS remittances for investment in 2026-27?
- 20% on the amount above ₹10 lakh in the financial year. The Finance Bill 2026 cut the rate only for education and medical treatment, to 2%.
- Does the RBI data show which countries the money went to?
- No. The monthly table groups remittances by purpose only, such as investment, travel, gifts and property.
- Why did "studies abroad" remittances fall in 2026?
- RBI's table now lists "travel for education" separately under travel, for students who go abroad. "Studies abroad" covers education taken remotely, and July 2025 has no travel-for-education figure, so the two years are not comparable.
Sources
- RBI Bulletin, Table 36, Outward remittances under LRS for resident individuals, data to July 2026 (25 Sep 2026)
- RBI Bulletin, Table 36, data to June 2026 (25 Aug 2026)
- RBI Bulletin, Table 36, data to May 2026 (22 Jul 2026)
- RBI Bulletin, Table 36, data to April 2026 (22 Jun 2026)
- Memorandum explaining the provisions in the Finance Bill, 2026, rationalisation of TCS rates (Budget 2026)
- RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 106, LRS limit raised to USD 250,000 (1 Jun 2015)
Compound is analysis, not investment advice. Reva Money is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser.
