Query By - Rahul | Sweden | 26/03/12
For Indian income tax, your wife and you are two separate tax entities. If you have a single joint account, you should be able to segregate her income and your income. In the long run it is much more efficient and convenient to have two separate joint accounts, one with you the primary holder with her as the second one and vice versa. It appears that you simultaneously have Resident and Non-Resident bank accounts in India. Please note that --- As required by FEMA --- when you go out of India or stay outside India, in either case a) for or on taking up employment outside India, or b) for carrying on outside India a business or vocation outside India, or c) for any other purpose with intention to stay outside India for an uncertain period; you are required to inform all the banks and depository participants with whom you have an account or MFs where you are unitholder about the change in your status within a reasonable time. The banks will redesignate your accounts as NRO. You can use this account the same way as you used it before becoming an NRI. It is illegal for an NRI to continue to hold his normal Resident bank account. You will do well by getting all the existing Resident accounts of yourself and your wife redesignated as NRO accounts.