A plain financial walkthrough for H1B professionals who want to know the number.
If you're on H1B and have been in the US a few years, you've probably had this thought. You're not planning to leave. You just want to know what would happen if you had to.
Most articles on this don't give you a number. They give you feelings. This one tries to give you a number, or at least show you how to compute one.
Why the question keeps coming back
A few reasons stack up:
- H1B has a 60-day grace period if you lose your job (8 CFR §214.1(l)(2)). You can do everything right and still be one layoff away from a countdown.
- Parents are getting older, and a 14-hour flight feels different than it used to.
- Salaries for senior IC roles in India have closed some of the gap.
- The rupee keeps drifting.
You don't necessarily want to go back. You want to stop feeling like the option isn't yours.
The number, in four parts
It's not one number. It's four, and they're connected.
1. Liquid net worth in INR today. Cash, brokerage, vested RSUs at current price, 401(k), Roth, minus US debt. Convert at today's RBI reference rate. Don't forecast FX.
2. What that buys in an Indian metro. A given portfolio supports very different lifestyles in Indiranagar vs Whitefield vs Hinjewadi. Pick a city and a tier (housing, schooling, healthcare, help, discretionary) before you compare.
3. A safe withdrawal rate calibrated to India. US-FIRE defaults to 4%. Indian planners typically use 3 to 4 percent real, because Indian equity drawdowns are deeper and healthcare inflation runs hot. Pattabiraman Murari's freefincal has the long-form methodology. Pick a number, document it, move on.
4. Move now vs stay 5 more years. This is the one most people skip. Run both scenarios out to year 10. The answer is rarely a clean win either way — it's a curve, and the crossover point is your real decision date.
RNOR, briefly
If you become a tax resident of India after being non-resident for 9 of the preceding 10 years (or in India ≤ 729 days in the preceding 7), you get RNOR status under Section 6(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. During RNOR, foreign-source income is generally not taxed in India. It usually lasts 1 to 3 financial years.
This matters because most online "return to India calculators" treat you as a full resident on day one and miss this window entirely. (Full RNOR day-counter mechanics →)
A worked example
H1B, year 5, age 33, senior IC, family of three.
- US liquid + vested RSU: ~$680K
- At today's RBI rate: roughly ₹5.7 to 5.8 crore (your number moves daily)
- Target: Bengaluru mid-tier, Whitefield or HSR-edge
- Annual run-rate at that tier: roughly ₹35 to 45 lakh
- At 3.5% real SWR: ₹5.7 crore supports about ₹20 lakh a year sustainably
That covers the lower end of mid-tier with margin. It does not cover Indiranagar 3BHK plus international school plus heavy travel — that's a tier-1 lifestyle and needs roughly ₹8 to 10 crore at the same SWR.
If this person qualifies for RNOR for 2 years post-arrival, US brokerage and 401(k) gains during that window are generally not taxed in India. The US side keeps running on its own clock — a pre-59½ 401(k) withdrawal still triggers the 10% IRC §72(t) penalty plus income tax (IRS Pub 590-B). Article 20 of the India-US DTAA covers pension treatment. This is where a cross-border CA earns their fee.
What not to do
- Don't panic-sell US brokerage in one tax year to "convert before moving." You'll stack long-term gains into one bracket and may trigger NIIT. FEMA lets returning Indians keep overseas assets they acquired while resident abroad.
- Don't buy property in India just to feel prepared. It's a common form of mental cushioning. Compute the number first, then decide if the flat earns its place.
- Don't trust calculators that ignore RNOR or US-side tax. A single-jurisdiction model produces a number that doesn't exist in real life.
Run your own number
The Crossroads Simulator on RebaseNest takes the four inputs above — liquid position, target city and tier, India-calibrated SWR, and a 5/10-year comparison — and gives you the number for your portfolio. Takes about 10 minutes. No email required to see the output.
👉 Try it: Crossroads Simulator
Most people who run it don't move. They keep building in the US, but with the option priced and the loop closed.
Editorial only, not tax or legal advice. Cross-border tax positions are fact-specific; consult a qualified CA with US-India practice before acting.