Union Budget 2026: What Changed (and What Did Not) for Global Investing

by Parth Parikh
February 2, 2026
3 min read
Union Budget 2026: What Changed (and What Did Not) for Global Investing

The Union Budget 2026 has been announced. As always, there is a lot packed into it. But if you invest or spend money overseas, only a small part of the Budget actually changes anything for you.

This note focuses on those specific areas that affect global investing and overseas exposure:

  • How much money can be remitted abroad under LRS, and whether those limits have moved
  • Changes in TCS on overseas remittances, travel, education, and medical expenses
  • Whether there are any changes in how global investments are taxed
  • New proposals related to foreign asset disclosure and compliance

The purpose of this note is to focus solely on the changes that impact investors with global exposure.

1. Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limits

The Liberalised Remittance Scheme limit remains unchanged.

Individuals can continue to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permitted overseas purposes, including investing, education, travel, and other expenses.

What this means: From a practical standpoint, there is no impact on how overseas remittances are planned or executed. Existing investment and spending patterns continue under the same framework.

2. Capital gains on overseas investments

There are no changes to the taxation of global investments.

Long-term and short-term capital gains continue under the existing rules, with no changes to rates, holding periods, or classifications.

What this means: Post-tax return assumptions remain unchanged. There is no need to revisit exit strategies, tax calculations, or portfolio structuring for foreign assets.

3. TCS on overseas remittances

For education and medical expenses, TCS has been reduced from 5% to 2%. The ₹10 lakh threshold remains unchanged.

For overseas tour packages, TCS has been standardised at 2%, replacing the earlier 5% / 20% structure. The threshold has been removed.

For overseas investments and other LRS remittances, there is no change. The ₹10 lakh threshold and 20% TCS rate beyond that continue.

What this means: Cash flow pressure eases for education, medical, and travel-related remittances. For investments, the existing TCS framework remains.

he Union Budget 2026 FAQ Document Source: The Union Budget 2026 FAQ Document

4. Foreign asset disclosure and compliance relief

While most parts of the global investing framework remain unchanged, the one area where the Budget meaningfully intervenes is foreign asset disclosure.

The government has introduced a one-time, six-month Foreign Asset Disclosure Scheme. This is aimed at individuals who may have foreign assets or income that were not disclosed earlier, whether due to oversight, misunderstanding, or legacy issues.

If foreign assets are not disclosed, they continue to fall under the Black Money Act, which carries:

  • High tax and penalty exposure
  • Interest accumulation
  • Risk of prosecution in serious cases

The disclosure window is clearly meant to encourage closure. It allows individuals to regularise eligible foreign assets by paying tax and penalty upfront, with immunity from further prosecution.

Why this matters even if you are compliant: Foreign assets need to be disclosed every year, even if there is no income from them. This includes overseas stocks, ETFs, bank accounts, RSUs, and other foreign holdings. The requirement exists regardless of whether the asset was sold, held passively, or generated returns.

This disclosure happens through Schedule FA in the income tax return.

At Vested, this is already built into the tax module, where Schedule FA reporting is available and aligned with how global assets are held and tracked. For investors with overseas exposure, having this visibility and structure becomes especially important in a regime that is increasingly focused on disclosure accuracy.

The overall direction from the government here appears corrective rather than punitive. The emphasis seems to be on improving compliance and reducing friction in the system, instead of introducing tighter controls or new enforcement triggers for overseas holdings.

Overall takeaway

Across all points, the message from this Budget is fairly consistent.

  • LRS limits remain unchanged
  • Taxation on overseas investments remains unchanged
  • TCS has been eased for education, medical, and travel
  • Compliance has been made more forgiving, not more aggressive

From a global investing perspective, the core framework stays intact.