A Dubai off plan payment plan and India’s remittance rules run on two different clocks. The developer bills you by construction stage or by month. The Reserve Bank of India caps what each resident can send at USD 250,000 per financial year, April to March. Line them up before you sign, or the handover payment can land in a year when the money cannot legally leave India.
By Umer Shauket, Founder & CEO, Cresco Real Estate. RERA ORN 34288. Published 14 November 2026.
The short answer
- Each resident Indian can send up to USD 250,000, about AED 918,125, per financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and buying property abroad is a permitted use (RBI Master Direction).
- Banks collect 20% TCS on remittances for this purpose above ₹10 lakh in a financial year, about AED 38,968 at today’s rates (Income Tax Act, 2025, section 394).
- A payment plan spreads the price across several financial years, which spreads both limits. The risk sits in the handover year, when the largest single payment usually falls due.
- In Dubai, your off plan payments must go into the project’s own escrow account, not the developer’s general account (Law No. 8 of 2007).
Two clocks: the developer’s and India’s
The RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme lets a resident individual send up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permitted current and capital account purposes. Acquiring property abroad is on the list (RBI Master Direction, updated 6 September 2024). You can send as often as you like, but once the year’s total is used, nothing more can go until 1 April (RBI LRS FAQ). You need a PAN and you sign Form A2 at the bank each time.
Developers bill in months after booking or by construction stage. So the question is: in which Indian financial year does each instalment fall, and does any year cross USD 250,000 per remitter?
The general rules are in how Indians can buy property in Dubai, and the reasons people buy in why Indians buy property in Dubai. This piece does the arithmetic.
What developers actually publish
Danube Properties describes its 1% plan in its own words: a down payment of around 20%, then 1% every month, and the balance once the building is ready (Danube Properties). Its Shahrukhz office tower on Sheikh Zayed Road is sold on that plan, from AED 1.9 million, with completion in 2029 (Danube, Shahrukhz). Its Shahrukhz Residences tower was announced on 30% during construction and 70% on handover (Gulf News), a plan that puts most of the price at the end. We covered it in Shahrukhz Residences: what you pay for the name.
The exact schedule is in the Sale and Purchase Agreement, not the brochure.
Plan one: around 20% down and 1% a month
Imagine a unit priced at the Dubai average apartment sale over the last 12 months, AED 1,828,563 (Property Finder registered sales). You book in December 2026, pay 20% plus the 4% Land Department fee of AED 73,143 (Bayut fee guide), then 1% a month for 36 months, and the remaining 44% on handover in January 2030. This is an illustration of the structure Danube describes, not a quote for any project.
| Indian financial year | What falls due | Dirhams | Dollars | Rupees | TCS at 20% above ₹10 lakh | LRS check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 to March 2027 | 20% booking + 4% Land Department fee + 3 monthly 1% payments | AED 493,713 | $134,435 | ₹1.27 crore | ₹23.3 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2027 to March 2028 | 12 monthly 1% payments | AED 219,428 | $59,749 | ₹56.3 lakh | ₹9.3 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2028 to March 2029 | 12 monthly 1% payments | AED 219,428 | $59,749 | ₹56.3 lakh | ₹9.3 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2029 to March 2030 | 9 monthly 1% payments + 44% balance on handover | AED 969,139 | $263,891 | ₹2.49 crore | ₹47.7 lakh | Over one person’s limit by $13,891 |
The first three years fit comfortably inside one person’s limit. The handover year does not: $263,891 falls due between April 2029 and March 2030, against a limit of USD 250,000. One remitter cannot pay that year alone.
Plan two: 30% during construction, 70% on handover
Now imagine the same price on a 30/70 plan: 10% plus the fee at booking, 10% in each of the next two financial years, and 70% on handover.
| Indian financial year | What falls due | Dirhams | Dollars | Rupees | TCS at 20% above ₹10 lakh | LRS check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 to March 2027 | 10% booking + 4% Land Department fee | AED 255,999 | $69,707 | ₹65.7 lakh | ₹11.1 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2027 to March 2028 | 10% construction instalments | AED 182,856 | $49,791 | ₹46.9 lakh | ₹7.4 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2028 to March 2029 | 10% construction instalments | AED 182,856 | $49,791 | ₹46.9 lakh | ₹7.4 lakh | Within one person’s limit |
| April 2029 to March 2030 | 70% on handover | AED 1,279,994 | $348,535 | ₹3.28 crore | ₹63.7 lakh | Over one person’s limit by $98,535 |
The early years are light. Then $348,535 is due in one financial year, $98,535 more than one person may send.
Three ways families close the handover gap
- A second remitter who is a co owner. The RBI allows family members to consolidate remittances, but for capital account purchases only where they are co owners of the investment (RBI Master Direction, paragraph A.4). Put the second name on the SPA from the start, not at handover.
- Start the payments in the right financial year. If the handover date moves, the payment moves with it. A delay of a few months can push the balance into a new financial year with a fresh limit, or pile two years’ payments into one. Track the expected completion date and plan the remitters around it.
- A UAE mortgage for the balance. A Dubai bank loan can fund the handover balance. Ask your Indian bank how repayments are treated under the LRS, and check eligibility early; our guide on why Dubai mortgages get rejected covers the common reasons.
TCS: not a cost, but a cash flow problem
Under the Income Tax Act, 2025, the bank collects tax at source on Liberalised Remittance Scheme payments above ₹10 lakh in a financial year: 2% for education or medical treatment and 20% for every other purpose, which includes buying property (section 394, item 7). For a single remitter, total TCS is about ₹89.6 lakh on both plans, because every year crosses ₹10 lakh. What changes is when it is collected: on plan two, ₹63.7 lakh of it falls in the handover year.
TCS is collected against your PAN as tax paid in advance. You account for it when you file your return, so ask your chartered accountant how it fits your tax that year. The real cost is that the cash is locked up until then.
Two co owners remitting separately each get their own ₹10 lakh threshold.
Where the money goes in Dubai
Dubai’s escrow law requires a developer selling off plan to open an escrow account for the project, and buyers’ payments go into that account. Each project has its own account (Articles 6, 7 and 9). After completion, the escrow agent keeps back 5% of the account for one year after units are registered to buyers (Article 14). If a project is not completed, the escrow agent, after consulting the Land Department, must act to protect depositors, either toward completion or refunds (Article 15) (Law No. 8 of 2007).
The practical rule: every remittance should go to the escrow account named in your SPA, in the project’s name. If anyone asks you to pay a personal account or another company, stop. Our guide on checking Dubai property payments shows how to verify the account, and off plan delays and buyer rights covers what happens when handover slips.
What this means for a buyer
- Map every instalment to an Indian financial year before you pay the booking amount.
- Check the handover year first. On both plans above, the handover year is the only one that breaks the USD 250,000 limit for one person.
- Decide the co owners at booking. Pooling only works for co owners.
- Budget for TCS cash. On a large payment, 20% of the amount above ₹10 lakh is held until you file. Keep that money aside.
- Golden Visa needs full ownership. ICP grants the 10 year property residency for units worth at least AED 2 million with full ownership registered in the investor’s name, off plan included (ICP). If you split ownership to fit the LRS, ask ICP whether your share still qualifies.
The honest limits
The tables are illustrations on the Dubai average apartment price, not quotes for a project. Exchange rates are European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026 crossed through the dirham’s USD peg (ECB); about ₹25.66 per dirham. If the rupee weakens, a plan that fits today can break the limit. TCS assumes one remitter with no other LRS remittances that year; school fees or travel sent abroad use the same limit. Check the TCS rate with your bank before each payment. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the Liberalised Remittance Scheme to pay a Dubai payment plan?
Yes. Buying property abroad is a permitted capital account purpose under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, within USD 250,000 per resident individual per financial year. There is no limit on how often you send within it (RBI FAQ).
How much TCS is charged on money sent for Dubai property?
20% on the part of your remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year, under section 394 of the Income Tax Act, 2025. Education and medical remittances are charged 2% (Income Tax Department).
Can my spouse and I combine our limits?
Only if you are both co owners of the property. The RBI permits family members to consolidate remittances, but not for capital account purchases unless they are co owners (RBI Master Direction).
Where should I send off plan payments in Dubai?
Only to the project’s escrow account named in your Sale and Purchase Agreement. Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 requires buyers’ off plan payments to be deposited in an escrow account opened for that project (Dubai Legislation Portal).
Sources: RBI Master Direction, Liberalised Remittance Scheme; RBI LRS FAQ; RBI FAQ, purchase of immovable property; Income Tax Act, 2025, section 394; Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 on escrow accounts; Danube Properties, 1% payment plan; Danube Properties, Shahrukhz; Gulf News, Shahrukhz Residences; Property Finder, Dubai apartments, last 12 months, read 11 November 2026; Bayut, cost of buying property in Dubai; ICP, Golden Residency; European Central Bank reference rates, 13 November 2026.