A Dubai apartment listed at AED 1,000,000 is about ₹2.57 crore at early-September 2026 rates — but that is the listing price, not what leaves your account. On the Dubai side you add the 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee plus registration charges. On the India side, if you are remitting under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, your bank collects 20% TCS on everything above ₹10 lakh you remit in a financial year. That TCS comes back to you when you file your return, but it leaves your account on the day of the transfer, and it is the single most common reason an Indian buyer's budget stops adding up at the counter.
The calculator below shows the whole stack in rupees, and tells you how many people's LRS limits your purchase will use. Every figure it relies on is sourced at the bottom of this page. If you want to see what these numbers buy, the projects our buyers ask about are listed with developer prices and the date each was checked.
Full cost calculator
Rate on 5 Sep 2026. Use your own bank's rate.
On off-plan the developer normally pays the agency fee.
Fees, travel, education — the ₹10 lakh threshold is shared.
Not tax or legal advice. The rules below are quoted from the RBI and the Income Tax Department; the arithmetic for your own case belongs to your CA and your bank.
What the listing price does not include
These are the Dubai-side costs. They are the same whether you are Indian, British or Emirati.
| Cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DLD transfer fee | 4% of the price | The largest single add-on. Applies to off-plan too — off-plan is registered through Oqood, the percentage is the same. Market convention puts it on the buyer. |
| Trustee office fee | AED 4,000 + 5% VAT | AED 2,000 for deals under AED 500,000. |
| Registration and admin | ≈ AED 500–600 | Title deed, map, knowledge and innovation fees. Published breakdowns differ slightly, so we show a range rather than a false exact figure. |
| Agency fee | 2% on resale | Market convention, not law. Buying off-plan directly from a developer, the buyer normally pays nothing here. |
| Service charges | Annual, varies by building | Not a purchase cost but a holding cost. Ask for the exact figure per square foot for the specific tower before you commit. |
The India side: what your bank will do
This is the part portals leave out, because for a buyer inside the UAE it does not exist.
You can send USD 250,000 per person per financial year
The RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows every resident individual, including minors, to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year (April to March) without prior RBI approval. The limit is per person, not per family, and unused headroom does not carry over.
Using a relative's limit works — but only if they are on the title
This is the detail that decides whether a purchase above one person's limit is even possible, and it is almost never explained properly. The RBI FAQ says remittances for acquiring immovable property abroad may be consolidated in respect of relatives — and, in the same answer, that clubbing is not permitted for family members who are not co-owners of the investment.
TCS: 20% above ₹10 lakh, collected upfront
Under Section 206C(1G), remittances under LRS for purposes other than education and medical treatment — which includes buying property abroad — attract 20% TCS. The threshold is ₹10 lakh aggregated across every purpose and every bank against one PAN in a financial year, and the 20% applies to the amount above it.
TCS is not an extra tax. It is an advance collection of your own income tax, adjusted against your liability and refunded through your return. But it is real cash out on the day you transfer, and on a purchase in crores it is a large number.
Sources and method
LRS limit and the family-clubbing rule — Reserve Bank of India, FAQ on the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (page updated 6 April 2023).
TCS rate, threshold and its treatment — Income Tax Department, Government of India — Tax Collection at Source, Section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
DLD transfer fee, trustee and registration charges — cross-checked across independent Dubai industry sources, which agree on the 4% and the trustee fee and differ slightly on the small administrative items; we publish the range where they differ.
Exchange rate — indicative, 5 September 2026. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725, so almost all of the movement is in the rupee. Your bank's rate will differ; the field above is editable for that reason.
Last checked: 6 September 2026. We re-verify every figure on this page at least every 60 days.