India's PPF and EPF: IRS Reporting for US-India Expats

India's Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a government-backed long-term savings scheme offering tax-free interest under Indian law, while the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a mandatory employer-employee retirement contribution scheme. The IRS does not recognize either as tax-advantaged: interest earned inside a PPF is taxable on your US return each year, and both employee and employer EPF contributions may be treated as taxable income in the year they are contributed. There is no US-India totalization agreement, so US citizens employed in India may face both US self-employment tax and Indian provident fund contributions on the same earnings. Both PPF and EPF accounts must be reported on FBAR if aggregate foreign account balances exceed $10,000, and the EPF may also need to be disclosed on Form 8938 depending on the total value. The US-India tax treaty does not contain a pension article comparable to the US-UK or US-Germany treaties, so there is limited treaty relief for US citizens participating in Indian retirement savings schemes.