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Loading💸 True cost
The fare is only part of it. For an Indian traveller there’s TCS under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, plus forex/card markup and GST — the money no OTA puts in front of you. Here’s the honest total, and the part you’ll actually get back.
Flights, hotels, and on-ground money you’ll pay in foreign currency.
Your ₹10 lakh TCS-free threshold is shared across all foreign spends in a year.
What it really costs
₹1,53,540
on a ₹1,50,000 trip — ₹3,540 extra out of your account now
Foreign spend
Flights + hotels + on-ground
₹1,50,000
Forex markup (Forex / travel card)
+ ₹3,000
GST on the conversion
+ ₹540
TCS (none — under threshold)
First ₹10L/yr is TCS-free
₹0
True added cost: ₹3,540
Only the forex markup + GST is genuinely lost. The ₹0 TCS is not a cost — you adjust it against your income tax (or get it refunded) when you file your return.
Estimates for planning, on FY 2025-26 rules. TCS on the Liberalised Remittance Scheme is 20% above ₹10 lakh/year (a 5% band from ₹0 for tour packages). Rates change every Budget — verify the current Finance Act, and note markups vary by bank/card.
TCS (Tax Collected at Source) feels like a 20% penalty, but it isn’t a cost — it’s an advance tax collected in your name. When you file your income-tax return, it’s adjusted against what you owe, and any excess is refunded. So the real, unrecoverable extra on a foreign trip is the forex markup + GST — often 2–4% — which is exactly what a good travel card minimises. The number that scares people (the TCS) is the number you get back.
Raahi presents visa and entry information for the Indian passport compiled from public datasets. This is general information for planning, not legal or immigration advice.
Visa rules, fees, and processing times change frequently and without notice, and the underlying data can be outdated, incomplete, or wrong. Requirements also depend on your specific situation — purpose of travel, length of stay, past travel history, and connecting/transit countries.
Before you book or travel, always confirmwith the destination country's official embassy, consulate, or immigration website, and with your airline. Raahi holds no responsibility for travel decisions made using this information.