Honest comparison

TrustNRI vs Traditional CA

Your CA is probably good at what they do. The problem is not competence — it is incentive structure. They charge ₹5-15K flat for your NRI ITR. DTAA claims mean extra work for zero extra pay. That is why 90% of NRI CAs never bring up DTAA.

Feature by feature

Where each shines

Proactively claims DTAA benefits

TrustNRI

It is literally all we do

Traditional CA

No financial incentive to do the extra work

Country-specific treaty knowledge

TrustNRI

CAs assigned by country specialization

Traditional CA

General tax knowledge, rarely treaty-specific

Past year recovery

TrustNRI

Section 119(2)(b) condonation as standard offering

Traditional CA

Most CAs only file current year

26AS analysis for DTAA gaps

TrustNRI

Automated scan with instant results

Traditional CA

Manual review, if they even look for DTAA gaps

TRC + Form 10F guidance

TrustNRI

Country-specific step-by-step walkthroughs

Traditional CA

May help, but rarely proactive about it

Personal relationship

TrustNRI

Dedicated CA, but interaction is digital

Traditional CA

Face-to-face (if local), long-term relationship

Aligned incentives

TrustNRI

We earn 15% of what we recover for you

Traditional CA

Flat fee regardless of outcome

Cost for ITR filing

TrustNRI

₹4,999/year + success fee

Traditional CA

₹5-15K flat — cheaper if you do not need DTAA

So which should you use?

Keep your CA for general tax filing. Use TrustNRI specifically for DTAA recovery — the thing your CA has no incentive to do.