When you report foreign income or foreign assets in your ITR — like RSU vesting, capital gains on foreign stocks, dividends, or Schedule FA holdings — you cannot use whatever exchange rate you find on Google or your broker's statement.
The Income Tax Act specifies a particular rate, called the SBI TT Buying Rate (TTBR), and using any other rate exposes you to mismatches that the department can flag at scrutiny.
Table of contents
- What is the SBI TTBR?
- Why this rate and not Google's rate?
- When you need it
- Which date's rate do you use?
- Where to find it
- Common mistakes
- How Paasa helps
What is the SBI TTBR?
TTBR stands for Telegraphic Transfer Buying Rate. It is the rate at which State Bank of India buys foreign currency from customers via telegraphic transfer. SBI publishes this rate for major currencies (USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, AUD, JPY, and several others) every working day.
The Income Tax Act references this rate in two places: Rule 26 (for TDS on foreign currency salary income, which covers the RSU perquisite at vest) and Rule 115 (for general conversion of foreign income to INR, which covers everything else — capital gains, dividends, interest, Schedule FA).
Why this rate and not Google's rate?
The rate you see on Google or a forex website is a live market rate, which fluctuates throughout the day and varies across providers.
The tax department needs one objective, archived, traceable benchmark — a number that can be verified consistently regardless of who is doing the verification.
When you need it
For RSU holders and any Indian resident with foreign income or assets, TTBR shows up in most parts of the ITR:
- RSU vesting — to compute the perquisite value in INR
- Capital gains on sale of foreign equity — to convert both your cost of acquisition and your sale proceeds
- Foreign dividends — to convert the gross dividend to INR for inclusion in your income
- Foreign interest income — same treatment as dividends
- Schedule FA disclosures — initial value (cost), peak value, and closing value of foreign holdings
- Foreign Tax Credit via Form 67 — to convert tax paid abroad to INR
In each case, the conversion rate is not optional. It is the SBI TTBR for a specific date defined by the rule.
Which date's rate do you use?
The relevant date varies by income type:
| Income type | TTBR date to use |
|---|---|
| RSU perquisite at vesting | Last day of the month preceding the month of vesting |
| Capital gains on sale of foreign equity | Last day of the month preceding the month of sale (applied to both cost and sale proceeds) |
| Foreign dividends and interest | Last day of the month preceding the month in which the income is received or due (whichever is earlier) |
| Schedule FA — initial value | Last day of the month preceding the month of acquisition (same as vest-day calculation for RSUs) |
| Schedule FA — peak value | TTBR on the date of peak value |
| Schedule FA — closing value | TTBR on December 31 |
| Foreign Tax Credit (Form 67) | TTBR on the date the foreign tax was paid |
Note: For capital gains, a single TTBR (last day of the month preceding the month of sale) is applied to compute the gain in INR. Some readers expect a different rate for the purchase versus the sale — that is not how Rule 115 works for foreign assets held by Indian residents. The gain is computed first in foreign currency, then converted using the single rate.
Where to find it
SBI's official website publishes the current and recent TTBR rates. Useful for current-year filings but the historical range is limited.
Income Tax Department's e-filing portal maintains archived TTBR data for past years, accessible while you are working on your ITR.
Third-party archives maintain consolidated month-end TTBR data going back several years, useful as a cross-reference when filing for older years or filing an updated return.
Paasa gives you values calculated using the applicable TTBR rates in year-end tax reports.
Common mistakes
Using the spot rate on the transaction date.
For most income types it is the last day of the preceding month. Using the wrong date is the most frequent error.
Using TT Selling Rate instead of TT Buying Rate.
SBI publishes both. The Act specifies the buying rate. The selling rate is typically a few paise higher and using it skews your calculation.
Using the RBI reference rate.
RBI publishes its own daily reference rate, which is widely cited in financial news. It is not the rate the Income Tax Act requires for these purposes.
Falling back when the date is a weekend or holiday.
If the last day of the preceding month is a Sunday or a bank holiday, SBI does not publish a rate for that day. Use the rate from the last working day prior. For example, if March 31 is a Sunday, use the rate from Friday, March 29.
How Paasa helps
Paasa is the platform used by global Indian investors, HNIs, and family offices to diversify their wealth across global markets like US, UK, China, Singapore, Switzerland, and beyond.
Paasa applies the correct SBI TTBR automatically to every transaction in your account. End-of-year tax documents are delivered in INR using the rates the Income Tax Act requires, so you do not need to look up month-end rates manually or reconcile USD figures from a broker statement.
If you are a global investor with questions around taxation, FEMA, LRS, or compliance, feel free to reach out to our team.
