Your US LLC Got Paid. Now Bring the Money Home to India Without Breaking RBI Rules (2026)

Quick answer: An Indian resident can bring money home from a US LLC in two legal ways. Route A: invoice your own LLC for your work and receive it as export of services income (purpose code for the work, FIRA, and an EDF from 1 October 2026). Route B: take profits as the owner under RBI’s Overseas Investment rules (purpose code P1406 or P1407, within 90 days, Form FC first). Either way, declare the LLC in Schedule FA of your ITR.

You formed a US LLC. Clients now pay you in dollars, into a US bank account, without the 8% PayPal haircut and the “why is this Indian freelancer invoicing us” questions. Congratulations. That was the easy part.

The part nobody explains properly is this: how does that money legally get to your bank account in India? Most people just wire it and hope. Then their bank asks for a purpose code they have never heard of, a form called an EDF, or a UIN from RBI, and the money sits in limbo.

We built USBizGuru for Indian founders, so we are going to be blunt about the rules, and equally blunt about how we make them painless. You have been warned: this post contains a sales pitch. It also contains everything you need to do it yourself.

What changes on 1 October 2026

RBI has rewritten its export rules (Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB). From 1 October 2026, if you export services from India, which is exactly what you are doing when you invoice a foreign company for your work:

• You declare each export to your bank on an Export Declaration Form (EDF), within 30 days of the end of the month you invoiced in.
• The money must actually reach India within 15 months of the invoice (18 months if you invoiced in rupees).

Miss those and your bank starts asking questions, and eventually so does RBI. The good news: once you know which route you are on, it becomes a monthly habit that takes minutes.

Key rules at a glance

• Export Declaration Form (EDF): from 1 October 2026, within 30 days of the end of the month of the invoice (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB).
• Money must reach India: within 15 months of the invoice, or 18 months if invoiced in rupees.
• Profits owed to you as owner: repatriate within 90 days of falling due (Overseas Investment Regulations 2022, regulation 9(4)).
• Form FC: filed through your bank on or before the first money sent from India to the LLC.
• Annual Performance Report: to RBI through your bank by 31 December each year, once the LLC is reported.
• Schedule FA: declare the LLC and its US bank account in your ITR every year; up to ₹10 lakh penalty if missed (Black Money Act, section 43).
• Purpose codes: P0802 software consultancy; P1406 repatriation of profits; P1407 dividends.

The two legal routes home

Route A: Pay yourself for your work (most freelancers)

You, the individual in India, invoice your own LLC for the work you do. The LLC pays that invoice into your Indian account. In India, this is simply an export of services, taxed as your business or professional income.

1. Raise an invoice from you to your LLC each month, at a rate you can justify for the work.
2. Transfer it with the right RBI purpose code for the work: P0802 for software consultancy and implementation, for example. Wrong code, wrong treatment, so check it in our free RBI purpose code lookup.
3. Download the FIRA or eFIRC from your bank. This is your proof the money came in as export income. Keep every single one.
4. If you are GST-registered, exports are zero-rated when you file a Letter of Undertaking (LUT). Ask your CA whether you need to register.
5. From 1 October 2026, file the EDF for each month with your bank.

Route B: Take profits out as the owner

Here the money comes home as your share of the LLC’s profits. Under FEMA, an Indian resident owning a foreign company has made an overseas investment, so this route runs through RBI’s Overseas Investment rules.

1. Work out the profit with your CA and record the distribution in the LLC’s books.
2. Transfer it with purpose code P1406 (repatriation of profits to India) or P1407 (dividends), as your bank advises.
3. Money the LLC owes you as its owner must come home within 90 days of falling due (Overseas Investment Regulations 2022, regulation 9(4)). Parking profits in the US indefinitely is not an option.
4. Your LLC must be reported to RBI through your bank on Form FC, which gives it a UIN. Banks usually ask for this before they process profits from an overseas investment, and after that an Annual Performance Report goes to RBI by 31 December every year.

So which route is yours?

If you do the client work yourself, Route A usually fits, and it is the simpler of the two. Route B suits profits beyond what you pay yourself. India’s tax view of a US LLC is genuinely debated, so make the final call with a CA. (Ours is a phone call away. See below. We did warn you about the pitch.)

The one form that trips people up: Form FC

Sending money from India to your LLC, even a few hundred dollars for software or ads, counts as an overseas direct investment. RBI says Form FC must be filed through your bank on or before that first transfer. File late and there is a late submission fee, and your bank can block further remittances until it is sorted.

If you have never sent a rupee to your LLC, it is a quick question for a CA whether to report now. Many advisers recommend doing it anyway, because it makes bringing profits home under Route B much smoother later. For the full walkthrough, read our guide to FEMA and ODI compliance for Indian founders.

Whichever route you take: Schedule FA

Your LLC and its US bank account must be declared in Schedule FA of your Indian income tax return (ITR-2 or ITR-3), every year, whichever route you use. Leaving it out can cost a ₹10 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act. This is the single most expensive checkbox Indian founders forget.

Stop losing 8% on the way

PayPal can quietly take around 8% once you add its fees to its exchange rate. Wise, Skydo or a plain bank wire usually cost far less. Do not guess: put your own monthly amount into our free freelancer take-rate calculator and see what each option actually leaves you with.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer money from my US LLC to my Indian bank account?

Yes. Either invoice your LLC for your work and receive it as export of services income (Route A), or take profits as the owner under RBI’s Overseas Investment rules (Route B). Each needs the right purpose code and paperwork.

What is an EDF and do freelancers need to file one?

An Export Declaration Form declares an export to your bank. From 1 October 2026, if you invoice foreign clients or your own LLC for services from India, you file it within 30 days of the end of the month you invoiced in.

Which purpose code should I use for money from my US LLC?

For payment for your work, use the code for the service, for example P0802 for software consultancy. For profits as the owner, use P1406 (repatriation of profits) or P1407 (dividends), as your bank advises.

Do I need to file Form FC if I never sent money to my LLC?

Form FC is due on or before the first money sent from India to the LLC. If you have sent nothing, ask a CA whether to report now; many advisers recommend it because banks usually ask for the UIN before paying out profits.

How long can I keep profits in my US LLC?

Money the LLC owes you as its owner must be repatriated within 90 days of falling due, under regulation 9(4) of the Overseas Investment Regulations 2022.

Do I have to show my US LLC in my Indian tax return?

Yes. Declare the LLC and its US bank account in Schedule FA of ITR-2 or ITR-3 every year. Missing it can mean a ₹10 lakh penalty under the Black Money Act.

Or let us handle all of it (here is the shameless part)

Everything above is a lot to remember every month. That is exactly why every USBizGuru LLC customer gets it built into their dashboard:

• Bring Money Home guide: both routes, step by step, tailored to your company, with your own RBI status shown right there.
• India compliance tracker: log each invoice and we track the EDF deadline and the 15-month limit, and email you before each one.
• Compliance calendar: Form 5472, your Wyoming annual report, registered agent renewal, the RBI Annual Performance Report and your ITR with Schedule FA, all dated, with reminders a month ahead.
• Form FC, done for you: with our partner CA, we prepare it and walk you through your bank.
• Set up once, then relax: we can pick your route with our CA, prepare your invoice to the LLC and your GST LUT, walk you through your first transfer, and file your monthly EDFs.

Other formation services hand you a certificate and disappear. We were built for Indian founders from day one, which means we care about the India side as much as the US side: the part that actually gets money into your account.

Ready? Form your Wyoming LLC with USBizGuru, or compare our packages. Already a customer? Open Bring Money Home in your dashboard.

Sources

• Reserve Bank of India, notifications: Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB.
• Reserve Bank of India, Master Directions: Overseas Investment Directions 2022 (Form FC, para 16(3); Annual Performance Report) and the purpose codes for reporting foreign exchange transactions.
• Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations 2022, regulation 9(4).
• Income Tax Department, incometax.gov.in: Schedule FA in ITR-2 and ITR-3; Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act 2015, section 43.

Related: How to open a US business bank account from India.

General information, checked against RBI’s published regulations and purpose codes in September 2026. Not legal or tax advice: your bank and your CA have the final say.