Nepal Money Basics: a complete guide to personal finance in Nepal

This is the index. Each post on the blog answers one specific question about money in Nepal: taxes, banks, retirement, insurance, home loans, NEPSE. The page lays them out in the order you actually use them, so they read as a sequence rather than a list.

Got ten minutes today? Read the first link in each section below. Everything else is depth.

1. Understand your money

Before changing anything, see what you have.

• How to read your Nepali salary slip — basic, gross, allowances, PF/SSF, CIT, TDS. Read this first.
• What to do with your first salary in Nepal — the PAN and SSF setup, why take-home is less than the offer, the 50/30/20 split, and the first-paycheck mistakes (an EMI in month one) worth skipping.
• The Bikram Sambat fiscal year, decoded — why your tax year ends in mid-July, not December.
• The 15-minute monthly money review — the single habit that compounds harder than any investment.
• Dashain bonus and tax: why your Kartik salary slip looks weird — Section 37, the "one-month tax-free" myth, and why the TDS line spikes while PF/SSF stay flat.
• Bank statement decoded: 20 codes and abbreviations on your Nepali statement — ABBS, IPS, RTGS, IBFT, TDS, MICR, and the rail-pricing differences that explain the silent Rs 11.30 charges.
• ConnectIPS vs mobile banking: fees, limits, and when to use which — why one bounces a Rs 6 lakh transfer and the other clears it, the Rs 20 lakh ceiling, and which rail to use for tax and government revenue.
• Digital wallet limits in Nepal: load, hold, and send caps by KYC tier — the Rs 50,000 overnight cap, the KYC cliff at Rs 5,000, eSewa and Khalti's verified grids, and the merchant-payment loophole that lets school fees through.
• eSewa vs Khalti vs IME Pay: which wallet wins for what — why Khalti and IME Pay are now one app, why NRB-set limits are not the differentiator, and where eSewa's reach beats Khalti by IME's government payments, ticketing, remittance, and balance interest.
• UPI in Nepal, Fonepay QR in India: what cross-border payments actually work in 2026 — why Indians can scan in Thamel but Nepalis still can't in Delhi, the INR 15,000/day NRB cap, and the UPI–NPI remittance link that went live in June 2026.
• Paying for Netflix, AWS, or ChatGPT from Nepal: every legal route and what each costs — the USD 500 prepaid dollar card, the USD 2,000 FC-account route, the new USD 3,000 IT card, and why the Rs 299 reseller profile is the one FERA punishes.
• Sent money to the wrong number on eSewa or mobile banking? How reversal actually works — why nothing reverses by design, the 30–45 day dispute windows, the NCHL block on disputed amounts, NRB's gunaso portal, and the Civil Code section that obliges return.
• Why the Nepali rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee at 1.6 — why one rate never moves while the dollar drifts daily, what the peg costs you in imported inflation, and which rate to actually watch.
• Why the dollar rate moves in Nepal: how NRB sets the exchange rate — how NRB derives the daily USD rate from India's market via the 1.6 peg, why it kept hitting records past Rs 150, and why your bank's rate differs from the headline.

2. Save the gap

For the first decade, saving rate beats investment returns. Get that one number right and a lot of other questions get easier.

• How much should you save from your salary in Nepal? — the right target by income band.
• The emergency fund: how big, where to keep it — Kathmandu-specific cost-of-living math.
• Sinking funds for Dashain, Tihar, and the wedding season — the budget category most Nepali households miss.
• Hidden subscriptions and the monthly leak — the audit nobody runs.
• The 72-hour rule for impulse buying in Nepal — a behavioural lever that needs no spreadsheet.
• The daily Rs 200 leak: what small Kathmandu habits cost over a year — Rs 200 a day is Rs 73,000 a year; the coffee, momo, ride, and data-pack math, and what the leak becomes if you redirect it.
• A Kathmandu grocery basket, 2083 vs 2080: what the same Rs 5,000 buys now — cooking gas up 20%, fuel up a quarter, oil and meat sharply higher, while sugar and vegetables held flat, and what that means for the budget.
• A 30-day no-spend challenge for a Nepali salary — the needs/wants freeze, which month to pick, how much a Rs 50,000 earner can recover, and how to lock the win on day 31.
• Pay yourself first: automating savings before you can spend it — the salary-day standing instruction, recurring-deposit auto-debit, ConnectIPS SIP e-mandate, and Khalti auto-save, with where the money should land.
• Lifestyle inflation after a promotion in Nepal — the tax + inflation wedge that eats half of every raise, and the mechanical defence against the rest.
• What inflation is quietly doing to your Rs 50,000 salary in 2083 — how 2–3% a year compounded to about 17% over four years, what that did to a flat salary, and why pay lagged prices until the 2083/84 catch-up.
• Budgeting on an irregular income: a system for freelancers and shopkeepers — budget to your floor, pay yourself a fixed salary from a pooled account, and set aside tax the day money lands.
• Buy Now Pay Later in Nepal: why 'Zero EMI' costs you 17–19% — the processing fee that doubles into an effective APR most checkouts never show you.
• Credit card in Nepal: when it makes sense and when it's a trap — the 24 to 27% APR, the four use cases where the math works, NRB's USD caps, and the OTP scam landscape.
• How to choose a savings account in Nepal: beyond the interest rate — the 2.48% to 3.25% Class A spread, DCGF's Rs 5 lakh limit, CAR and NPL filters, and the hidden-fee line items that bite.
• Is your bank deposit safe? Nepal's Rs 5 lakh deposit insurance, explained — how the DCGF guarantee works per depositor per institution, why stacking money at one bank wastes it, the Himalayan Finance payout and the OAG solvency warning, and why no guarantee reaches a cooperative.
• Bank lockers in Nepal: rent, rules, and whether a safe deposit box is worth it — the Rs 2,000–17,000 annual rent and refundable deposit, who can actually rent one, and the catch that the bank disclaims liability and insures nothing if the vault is robbed.
• How your savings account interest is actually calculated in Nepal — the daily-balance method, the (balance × rate ÷ 365) formula, why Rs 1 lakh at 5% pays about Rs 415 a month, and the 6% TDS that trims every credit.
• FD laddering in Nepal: stay liquid and still earn fixed-deposit rates — splitting one lump sum across staggered maturities to skip the premature-withdrawal penalty, the rate-risk hedge, and stacking the Rs 5 lakh guarantee across banks.
• Breaking an FD early in Nepal: how much interest you actually lose — why the loss is two cuts (the rate step-down plus a 1–3% penalty), the rupee math that can drop a 6% deposit below the savings rate, and when borrowing against the FD beats breaking it.
• Recurring deposit vs FD in Nepal: the math for monthly savers — why a 5% recurring deposit pays roughly half a 5% FD, the effective-yield math, and when an RD still beats a savings account.
• Why FD rates keep changing in Nepal: base rate and the NRB corridor — the base-rate formula, the 2.75%–5.75% interest-rate corridor, and why a liquidity glut pulled FD rates from 11–12% down to 5–7%.
• FD rates have fallen: where do you actually park money now? — why the real return on a deposit has turned negative, and how to match savings, FDs, bonds, debentures, and funds to when you actually need the money.
• What happens if you can't pay your loan EMI in Nepal? — the default timeline from a missed installment to the 2% penal cap, the 90-day non-performing line, the 35-day auction notice, and the exits at every stage.
• CIB blacklist in Nepal: how you get on it and how to get off — the 90-day default and single-cheque-bounce triggers, ~150,000 currently listed, the 6-step removal flow, and the December 2025 NRB easing.
• Does Nepal have a credit score? CIB, your report, and how lenders judge you — the 60–960 KSKL score that exists but is not an app, the three layers lenders judge you on (Pass-to-Loss classification, the score, the blacklist), how to pull your own report for Rs 250–550, and the national score still being built.
• Cheque bounce in Nepal: the fine, the blacklist, and the law — the 2025 graded jail terms and 5% penalty, the police-led process with its 45-day and 1-year windows, and why a single bounce is the top cause of blacklisting.
• Being a loan guarantor in Nepal: the risk before you sign — why a jamani is liable for the full debt on default under Civil Code 2074, how a guarantor lands on the CIB blacklist after the collateral is auctioned, and the hit to your own borrowing capacity.
• Loan against your FD or shares in Nepal: cheaper than a personal loan? — borrow up to 90% of an FD at near-2% net cost or 70% against shares, why both beat an unsecured personal loan, and the margin-call risk that only the share loan carries.
• Personal loan vs gold loan vs overdraft in Nepal: the cheapest way to borrow — the rate ladder across the three, and which fits a short-term cash gap without wrecking the budget.
• Loan processing fees and hidden charges in Nepal: the real cost of borrowing — the 0.75% service fee NRB caps, plus valuation, CIB, mortgage-registration, and forced-insurance charges, the 2% penal-interest cap, and the tiered prepayment fee that turn an advertised rate into the real cost.
• When parents ask for your salary: navigating money in a Nepali joint family — the law, the gap-funding framework, and three honest scenarios for what to actually transfer.
• How couples in Nepal should manage money: joint account, separate, or both? — the three account models, the couple-vs-individual tax election and the women's rebate trap, joint nominee rules, and pooling two incomes for a home loan.
• Aging parents' medical fund: how much to set aside in your 30s — the HALE gap, single-event Kathmandu costs, what NHIP and Bipanna actually cover, and the Rs 15–25 lakh target built bottom-up.
• Money talks with parents in Nepal: 5 conversations before they retire — pension reality, where the money is, ansh-banda under Civil Code 2074, NHIP/care assumptions, and debt-and-guarantee gotchas, with the law and numbers behind each.
• Women's property rights in Nepal: ansha, parental property, and the marital share — what Constitution 2072 and Civil Code 2074 give daughters, wives, and widows, plus the 25–30% registration discount and the Rs 100 joint-titling conversion.
• Inheritance and wills in Nepal: what happens to your money if you don't write one — the Civil Code 2074 default order, the post-2007 daughter's share, the bank-and-demat transmission paperwork, and the three steps that account for most of the practical value.
• Is there a gift tax in Nepal? What you owe on gifted money or land — why personal gifts are exempt under Section 10(f), the "25% gift tax" myth debunked, the concessional Malpot fee on family land transfers, and the capital gains that wait for the sale.
• Tax on lottery, prize, and gift winnings in Nepal — the flat 25% windfall-gain tax under Section 88A, withheld at source (the Ncell crorepati example), the 25%-of-market-value bill on a non-cash prize, the narrow achievement-award exemption, and why a family gift is not a windfall.
• What to do with money when someone dies in Nepal: bank, FD, PF, insurance, and shares — the नाता प्रमाणित master document, and the claim process for each asset, with the SSF survivor pension and the unclaimed-money trap.

3. Protect what you've saved

One uninsured hospital bill, or a lapse in dependent protection, will wipe out a year of savings faster than any other line item. Cheap before clever.

• Health and life insurance basics in Nepal — term vs endowment, NHIP, private floater, and the Rs 40,000 deduction.
• Term life insurance for a 30-year-old in Nepal — the cheapest plans, pure-term vs return-of-premium, and which of the 14 NIA insurers actually sell pure cover.
• How to surrender a life insurance policy in Nepal, and what you lose — the three-year rule before any cash value exists, why early premiums vanished into commission, the GSV math, and surrender vs loan vs paid-up.
• How to claim a life insurance payout after a death in Nepal — the document set, the 15-day settlement window under the 2024 guidelines, the Section 127 nominee rule, the two-year suicide clause, and why claims get rejected.
• Insurance agent misselling in Nepal: 5 questions to ask before you sign — the 25× commission asymmetry under Insurance Regulation 2081, plus how to expose every misselling tactic before the signature.
• Health insurance claim process in Nepal: what hospitals actually pay vs reject — the cashless flow, the 24-hour rule, top rejection reasons, the 30-day settlement clock under Act 2079, and why HIB is in a payment crisis in 2026.
• Insurance claim rejected? The complaint ladder from branch to the Nepal Insurance Authority — the insurer's grievance desk, NIA's 3-month filing window and 6-month decision clock, the Rs 200,000 fines, and the complaint-backlog reality to plan around.
• The government Health Insurance Program: the Rs 3,500 family plan, explained — what the Rs 1 lakh ceiling buys, who gets it free, the first-service-point and 10% co-pay rules, the February 2026 OPD cut, and the funding crisis to price in.
• Health emergency cost map: what a hospital stay actually costs in Nepal — Bir vs Patan vs private-hospital bills by procedure, and what NHIP and a private floater actually pay against them.
• Vehicle insurance in Nepal: third-party vs comprehensive and what claims actually pay — the Rs 1,500 bike tariff, the 0.84% comprehensive math, IDV depreciation, and the 12 to 31% catastrophe payout reality from 2024 floods and the Gen Z protests.
• Travel insurance for your visa application: what embassies require and what it costs from Nepal — the EUR 30,000 Schengen rule, verified Nepali premiums from about Rs 5,800 for 15 days, and the age-70 wall that catches parents visiting children abroad.
• QR payment fraud in Nepal: the three Fonepay scams Kathmandu shopkeepers see daily — the fake-screenshot, sticker-overlay, and OTP-refund scams running across 1.7M Fonepay merchants, plus the 5-second verification habits that stop them.
• OTP and phishing fraud in Nepal: how bank-account scams actually happen — the impersonate-and-rush playbook behind 41% of cybercrime, why no rule forces your bank to refund you, and the first-hour freeze-and-report steps that decide recovery.

4. Retire on purpose, not by default

PF/SSF runs on autopilot. CIT is the lever you actually choose.

• CIT vs PF vs SSF: where the next Rs 1,000 of retirement money goes — the framing post.
• SSF benefits explained: what your contribution actually buys — the four schemes behind the 31%: pension, medical and maternity, accident and disability, and the family payout, plus the medical cap that makes you still need health insurance.
• Transitioning from EPF to SSF — what changes when your employer moves you over.
• Gratuity in Nepal: how it's calculated and the SSF overlap — the 8.33% formula under Labour Act 2074, the pre/post-Ashadh 2078 cutoff, and the 5% vs 15% tax fork at withdrawal.
• Switching jobs in Nepal: what happens to your PF, CIT, and SSF balance — the portability and withdrawal rules for all three buckets on resignation day, plus the 5% TDS trap on lump-sum withdrawals.
• Final settlement when you quit a job in Nepal: PF, gratuity and leave encashment — the three parts of the exit cheque, the 15-day deadline that keeps your salary running if HR stalls, and the leave encashment most people forget to claim.
• How to withdraw your CIT or PF balance in Nepal — when you can actually cash out, the documents for each, why the higher of Rs 5 lakh or 50% comes out tax-free with just 5% on the rest, and why CIT pays faster than EPF.
• Loan against your CIT or PF balance in Nepal: when it makes sense — borrow up to 90% of your retirement balance at 5.25% (CIT) or about 5.75% (EPF special loan), why it beats a 13% personal loan, and the catch that it comes out of your final payout.
• How much retirement corpus do you need in Nepal? The Rs 2 crore math — a 3.5% safe withdrawal rate for Nepal, NLSS-IV expense data, and three Kathmandu corpus scenarios (Rs 1.7 cr, Rs 2.6 cr, Rs 3.4 cr).
• Senior-citizen allowance in Nepal: who gets बृद्ध भत्ता, how much, and how to claim it — the Rs 4,000/month rate, the age-70 threshold (60 for Dalit, single women and Karnali), how to register at the ward, and why the universal allowance is under fiscal scrutiny.

5. Invest the surplus

With retirement contributions running and the protection layer in place, the next decision is where any surplus goes.

• FD vs mutual fund vs CIT in Nepal — comparing the three you actually have access to.
• NEPSE vs SIP vs FD: a 25-lakh case study from Kathmandu — what the same Rs 25 lakh would have done in each.
• Where Rs 5 lakh would be today: land vs NEPSE vs gold vs FD — a 10-year look-back, gold's roughly 5x win, why a 2016 NEPSE entry needed dividends to beat an FD, why the land number is a soft estimate, and the exit costs the multiples hide.
• Reading a Nepali mutual fund factsheet — the four numbers that matter.
• How to start a SIP in a Nepali mutual fund from Rs 1,000/month — open-end vs closed-end, the demat and ConnectIPS auto-debit setup, the 5% dividend and capital-gains tax, and a 20-year compounding table.
• SIP vs lump sum in Nepali mutual funds: which actually builds more — why lump sum wins about two-thirds of the time globally, why NEPSE's near-halving in 2021–22 argues for phasing a windfall, and a worked Rs 1.2 lakh example across three markets.
• Closed-end vs open-end mutual funds in Nepal: NAV, discount, and which to pick — why closed-end units trade below NAV on NEPSE while open-end funds transact at NAV, plus the load, tax, and SIP differences that decide which fits you.
• Cooperative FDs offering 13%: where the risk hides — the headline rate is real; so is the risk.
• Government and citizen savings bonds in Nepal: rates, tenure, and how to buy — the four instruments NRB sells, the 7 to 11.5% citizen-bond history, the Rs 10,000 minimum, and the market-maker-bank route most savers never use.
• Debentures in Nepal: the 10–12% bonds most retail investors ignore — bank bonds paying a fixed 7–9% (older ones 10–12%), how to buy via ASBA at Rs 1,000 a unit, the credit rating to check, and how they stack up against an FD.
• Tax on FD interest in Nepal: the 6% TDS you never noticed — the final-tax mechanics of Section 88/92, the 5%-to-6% bump from the Finance Act 2080, why the Rs 25,000 exemption doesn't apply to your commercial bank, and the post-inflation real return.
• MLM in Nepal: how to spot a pyramid scheme — the law, the recruitment math, and the ten red flags before you pay any joining fee.
• The first Rs 10 lakh: why it's harder than the next 10 — the contributions-vs-compounding curve, with Nepali numbers.
• Right shares vs bonus shares vs cash dividend on NEPSE — only one of the three asks you to write a cheque; the other two are taxed at 5%.
• Promoter shares vs ordinary shares in Nepal: the price gap explained — why the same bank's promoter line trades 30–50% below the ordinary share, the 3-year lock-in, the 51:49 rule, and why you can't just buy the cheaper line.
• Bonus share vs cash dividend on NEPSE: which builds wealth faster — why both are taxed at 5% and are legally the same payout, and how reinvestment and capital-gains timing split them.
• How NEPSE dividends are taxed in Nepal: the 5% you never see — why you net 95% of every cash dividend, how bonus shares get taxed at issue (and the small cash dividend that pays it for you), and where dividend tax ends and capital gains tax begins.
• Book closure dates on NEPSE: who gets the dividend, who gets nothing — the last-trading-day-before cutoff, the bonus and rights price-adjustment formulas, and the 45-day payout clock that starts at the AGM.
• Unclaimed dividends in Nepal: how to find and recover money your shares already paid you — the registrar BOID lookups, the claim documents, and the 5-year Companies Act deadline before the money leaves for the Investor Protection Fund.
• Capital gains tax on shares in Nepal: 5% or 7.5%, and who deducts it — the WACC gain math, the settlement-day withholding by CDSC, the Rs 40 lakh filing line, and the FY 2083/84 hike to 7.5%/10%.
• What it costs to buy and sell shares on NEPSE — the 0.36% to 0.24% broker commission slabs, the 0.015% SEBON fee, the flat Rs 25 DP charge, and a worked Rs 1 lakh round trip showing the real friction on a gain.
• How NEPSE settlement works: T+2, circuit breakers and when your shares actually arrive — why shares and money move on T+2 not the next day, the new (April 2026) 5%/8% market halts and 15% daily stock limit, and the Monday–Friday week.
• Margin lending on NEPSE: the math that wipes out small accounts — the 70% LTV equity-wipeout math, broker MTF's 30%/20%/15% triggers under SEBON's 2082 directive, and why the 2021-to-2022 43% drawdown still matters for anyone holding leverage.
• NEPSE sectors decoded: banking vs hydro vs microfinance vs insurance — what each sector actually is, with 2025/26 P/E, NPL, and penetration numbers.
• Reading a NEPSE company's financials: EPS, P/E and book value — what the three numbers mean, why annualized EPS misleads, the late-2025 market P/E near 38 vs banks at 16, and where to find every figure.
• NEPSE near record highs: how to judge if the market is expensive — why the index sits below its 2021 peak while a P/E near 38, a fully-valued market-cap-to-GDP, and a 1–2% dividend yield say the market is among its priciest ever.
• Gold as investment in Nepal: tola math, storage, and the 5-year return — the 16% 10-year CAGR, FENEGOSIDA pricing, the 2% luxury tax, and why jewellery is not investment-grade.
• Gold just hit record highs: what to weigh before you buy a tola now — the Rs 339,300 peak, the 15–20% making-charge spread that decides the real cost, the tax-and-import premium, and why a record price cuts both ways.
• Crypto and forex in Nepal: the legal reality, penalties, and scams — why NRB bans both, what trading them actually risks, and how the Telegram and broker scams that ride on them work.
• Can a Nepali resident legally buy US stocks? — why the Investment Abroad Act and NRB's capital controls block a resident from funding Interactive Brokers, who the 2025 reform actually opened the door for, and why NRNs are a separate case.
• Fake share-tip Telegram groups and pump-and-dump in NEPSE — how paid tip channels and price-rigging operators use low-float stocks and a retail flood, what the Securities Act actually punishes, and the tells that mark a call as bait.
• IPO allotment in Nepal: how the lottery actually works and why everyone gets 10 kitta — the 10-kitta SEBON rule, the CDSC computerized lottery, the 21× and 38× oversubscription cases of FY 2082, and why the multi-demat hack stopped working in 2026.
• How to buy your first share on NEPSE: the TMS step-by-step — the four accounts (Demat, Mero Share, broker, TMS), why a Demat alone can't trade, the ConnectIPS payment flow, and T+2 settlement.
• FPO vs IPO in Nepal: what's the difference and should you apply? — why an IPO is Rs 100 but an FPO is Rs 157 or Rs 280, the SEBON four-criteria pricing, lottery allotment for both, and the smaller listing gain.
• Mero Share and demat mistakes to avoid in Nepal — the rookie errors (wrong CRN, lapsed renewal, a blocked ASBA amount) that lock you out of an IPO application or a sale.
• What is ASBA and how IPO money gets blocked in your bank account — why your balance looks untouched after you apply, the Demat–Mero Share–CRN chain you need, and what happens to the block when the allotment lottery runs.
• What happens to your shares when you die? Demat transmission in Nepal — why you can't just log in and sell, the CDSC Transmission Request Form and 35-day objection notice, the nominee facility almost nobody sets, the physical-certificate trap, and the capital gains that wait for the heir's sale.
• Can an NRN invest in NEPSE and buy property in Nepal? — why direct secondary trading stayed shut in 2082/83, the SEBON joint-investment tranche that works instead, mutual funds and bonds, and the per-location property ceilings (2 ropani in the Valley).

6. Earn more (and reconcile the tax)

Side income, freelance USD, and the tax bill nobody warns you about.

• Nepal Budget 2083/84 and your money: what changed for salary, tax, and savings — the Rs 10 lakh exemption, the 29% top rate, the 21% public-sector pay rise, and the 10% digital VAT cashback, in one map.
• New income tax slabs in Nepal's 2083/84 budget: how much more (or less) you pay — what is confirmed (Rs 10 lakh floor, 29% top), what is still in the Finance Bill, and the ~Rs 75,000 saving at the bottom band.
• What got cheaper and what got costlier in Nepal's 2083/84 budget — 273 raw materials cut, excise scrapped on 360 items, cigarettes and high-use electricity up, and the EV question mark.
• Government pay rose up to 21% in the 2083/84 budget — how the 10%-plus-10% rise breaks down, the provisional new scale by grade, and why the Rs 10 lakh tax floor lets almost the whole raise reach take-home.
• Your Shrawan 2083 payslip: the TDS and take-home change after the budget — why the TDS line collapses to near zero under Rs 10 lakh, what stays the same, and the three things to check on your first new-FY slip.
• What the 2083/84 budget changes at Rs 30k, 50k, 1 lakh and 2 lakh a month — worked before-and-after tax at four salary levels, from Rs 0 saved at the bottom to about Rs 2.5 lakh a year at the top.
• Salary negotiation in Nepal: how to ask for an increment without burning the relationship — the 1.67% statutory floor under Section 36, the data anchors that actually work, and the script for the conversation.
• Freelance and side income tax in Nepal — when TDS isn't enough.
• Remote work, USD earnings, and the NPR reality — exchange-rate timing, repatriation, and the IRD view.
• Getting paid from abroad: Wise vs Payoneer vs bank wire — which channel is actually cheapest, why PayPal still can't pay out to Nepal, and the 5% flat tax on IT-export income.
• Is your foreign salary or remittance taxable in Nepal? — why residency decides everything, why family remittance is never taxed on arrival, the 5% concession for resident freelancers, and the foreign-tax credit that stops double taxation.
• Sending money home to Nepal as an NRN: the cheapest legal channels — corridor-by-corridor fees, exchange-rate timing, and the paperwork that keeps a transfer above board.
• Hundi vs bank remittance to Nepal: the real cost of each channel — why the cheaper-looking hundi rate is illegal and riskier, and what the legal channel actually costs.
• Dollar account in Nepal: who can open one and the NRB rules — who qualifies to hold foreign currency onshore, the holding and spending limits, and when it beats converting to rupees.
• Foreign currency carry limit in Nepal: how much cash you can take abroad — the per-trip USD caps, the endorsement route for more, and the customs declaration line.
• Forex card vs cash vs international debit card for travel from Nepal — the USD 3,000 passport facility, why your regular debit card won't work abroad, the three "dollar cards" people confuse, and whether cash or a travel card is cheaper.
• How much customs duty to bring a phone or laptop into Nepal — the ~18.65% phone tax (not the 50% myth), the one-phone duty-free rule and MDMS registration, the laptop excise, and the FY 2083/84 green tax.
• Coming back to Nepal from abroad: a money checklist for returnees — the cash and gold limits at customs, the 183-day tax-residency rule, claiming a Korean or Japanese pension, and where to park the savings without losing them.
• Creator income tax in Nepal: how YouTube, TikTok, and brand-deal payouts get taxed — the new 5% flat final tax on foreign-currency creator income up to Rs 40 lakh, brand-deal TDS rates, and the Rs 30 lakh VAT line.
• TDS in Nepal explained: why your salary takes a haircut before you ever see it — what the Tax Deducted at Source line on your payslip is, the annual-divided-by-12 math behind it, the non-salary rates, and how to verify every paisa on Annexure 10.
• How to file income tax online in Nepal: an IRD taxpayer-portal walkthrough — who must file (the Rs 40 lakh single-employer exemption), D-01 vs D-02 vs D-03, the deduction caps, and the Ashoj end deadline.
• Getting excess TDS back: how to claim a tax refund in Nepal — why final withholding (bank interest, dividends) is gone for good while adjustable TDS (salary, service fees) is refundable under Section 113, the two-year deadline, and why refunds crawl.
• How to get a tax clearance certificate in Nepal — what कर चुक्ता प्रमाणपत्र actually certifies, the instant online route for single-employer salaried earners, fee and validity, and why it stalls on an old unfiled return.
• Do you need a PAN if you only earn a salary in Nepal? — why your employer needs it even when you don't owe extra tax, the free one-day registration, and when a single-employer salaried person can skip filing.
• PAN vs VAT in Nepal: when a freelancer or small shop must register for VAT — the Rs 50 lakh goods / Rs 30 lakh services thresholds, the businesses that must register from day one, and why the Rs 20 lakh figure online is outdated.
• Turnover tax vs regular tax: how small businesses are taxed in Nepal (D-01) — the three regimes by turnover, the flat D-01 presumptive amounts, the D-02 turnover-tax rates, and when keeping books beats the flat tax.
• Tax on agricultural and farm income in Nepal: what's exempt and what isn't — why own-land farm income is federally exempt, the two catches (land above the ceiling, agriculture as a registered company at a 50% rebate), why it is a provincial power, and Karnali becoming the first to levy it.
• How to legally lower your income tax in Nepal: insurance, CIT, and donation deductions — the five deductions and two credits that cut the bill (retirement up to Rs 5 lakh, life Rs 40k, health Rs 20k, donations, the women's 10% rebate), and why they matter most above the new Rs 10 lakh floor.
• Couple vs individual filing: the one checkbox that changes your tax slab in Nepal — the Section 50 election that saves a single-earner household up to Rs 29,000, costs dual earners up to Rs 56,000, and stops mattering from Shrawan 2083.

7. Big-ticket decisions: home, vehicle, education

A house, a vehicle, and a child's education absorb most household wealth in Nepal. The right time to do the math is before you sign anything.

• Home loan EMI math in NPR — formula, LTV cap, prepayment math, with a calculator.
• How much home loan can you actually get on your salary in Nepal? — the two gates (80% LTV vs the 50%-of-income EMI cap), a salary-to-loan table, and why the lower number wins.
• Floating vs fixed rate home loan in Nepal: which to pick when base rate halved — the 5.73% to 8.77% floating spread, the 6.99% Saathi Ghar Karja fixed, and the 2022/23 stress test that frames the choice.
• Home loan balance transfer in Nepal: switching banks for a lower rate — the 0.75% NRB swap-fee cap, the prepayment-fee bands above Rs 50 lakh, a worked Rs 50 lakh switch that breaks even in 12 months, and why you negotiate with your own bank first.
• Loan rates are dropping: how to get your bank to cut your home-loan premium — why the base-rate fall is automatic but the premium is not, the NRB rule that bars premium hikes, and the competitor-quote lever that actually re-prices you.
• Should you prepay your home loan early in Nepal? — why NRB bars the prepayment penalty on loans up to Rs 50 lakh, and the prepay-vs-FD math that makes a 9% loan a guaranteed 9% return.
• Building a house in Kathmandu: a per-aana budget for 2026 — per-sq-ft tiers, a 4-aana worked example, material prices, permits, and the 20–40% overrun nobody plans for.
• Property registration costs in Nepal: the malpot stack — 5% registration fee, 5% Bagmati Savyata Kosh, 5/7.5% seller CGT, and a Rs 1 crore worked example you can run before signing bayana.
• Annual land and house tax: malpot vs municipal property tax — the two small yearly bills people confuse with the one-time registration tax, KMC's IPT slabs, why unpaid malpot freezes a future sale, and how to pay online.
• Renting vs buying in Kathmandu — the rent-yield ratio that decides it.
• Buying an apartment in Kathmandu: the real cost beyond the sticker price — the loading factor, registration, furnishing, and monthly dues that turn a Rs 1.5 crore sticker into Rs 1.7–1.9 crore.
• Buying land in Nepal: the 9-document verification checklist — lalpurja, char killa, rokka, banda patra — what to check at Malpot before bayana.
• Ropani, aana, bigha, kattha: converting Nepali land units — the two systems, the base-16 trap that hides three aana, sq-ft conversions, and what one aana costs in Kathmandu.
• Capital gains tax on property in Nepal: the 5% and 7.5% math nobody explains — the seller-side rates, the Malpot withholding, the deductions most owners forget, and three worked Kathmandu Valley examples.
• Land plotting scams in the Kathmandu Valley: 6 red flags before you book a plot — KVDA approval, cooperative-tied developers, flood zones, AML cash splits — the six checks that catch most plotting fraud.
• Bike vs car vs rideshare in Kathmandu — total cost of ownership, not sticker price.
• Car loan in Nepal: down payment, interest, and the real monthly cost — the 60% LTV / 40%-down rule, current auto rates, a worked EMI, and the insurance-plus-road-tax cost the EMI hides.
• Two-wheeler EMI math in Nepal: the real monthly cost of a bike on loan — down payment, current rates, a worked EMI, and the insurance-plus-road-tax the monthly figure hides.
• EV vs petrol: when does the break-even land? — the only honest answer is "it depends" — here's on what.
• EV prices after the 2083/84 budget: the kW-to-value duty switch — flat 20% customs, the new 2.5%-to-130% Clean Infrastructure Fee by import value, and why cheap EVs held while premium ones jumped Rs 40 lakh.
• Vehicle tax and road tax in Nepal: the annual bill nobody plans for — the FY 2082/83 Bagmati rate card, the penalty stairs (5/10/20/32%), and the sinking-fund setup that takes the surprise out of it.
• The 12-month runway for studying abroad from Nepal — what you actually need before you apply.
• How to pay foreign university tuition from Nepal, the legal way (SWIFT/TT) — the NOC-plus-wire path, the 3% education service fee that dwarfs the SWIFT charge, and why hundi is a criminal trade.
• DV lottery winners: the real cost to settle in the US from Nepal — the USD 565-per-head fees, the IOM medical, and the landing buffer that breaks budgets, not the fees.
• Going abroad for work: what it really costs, and the scams — why a Gulf job should cost Rs 18,000 but workers pay lakhs, the wage payback math, and the Foreign Employment Act defences that claw money back from a Rs 30 lakh deposit.
• Education loan in Nepal: banks, rates, and the co-sign reality — the 5.6% to 10.5% rate spread, USD 25,000 NRB tuition cap, 3% Education Service Fee, and what the co-signer actually risks.
• Realistic Nepali wedding budget — Rs 5L, 15L, 50L tiers — what each tier actually buys in Kathmandu, and the levers that genuinely halve a budget.
• The real cost of having a baby in Kathmandu: delivery to first year — free public delivery vs Rs 1–2 lakh private C-sections, the free vaccine schedule, the diaper-and-formula tail, and the unpaid-leave hit nobody budgets.
• Cost of raising a child in Nepal — birth to Class 12 — three honest 18-year totals, with the school-fee escalation that dominates everything else.
• Saving for your child's education in Nepal: the 18-year plan — the monthly SIP math to reach Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore, why an FD loses to fee inflation, and the equity-early, safe-late glide path.

8. The roadmap, end-to-end

For one post that ties everything together:

• A beginner's roadmap to financial independence in Nepal — every step above, sequenced.
• Coast FIRE for Nepal: the age and savings number that lets you stop adding to investments — the discounted FI number, with three expense scenarios and three age cohorts, at Nepal-specific real returns.
• Lean FIRE in Nepal: the smallest number you can actually retire on — the frugal-budget path, why a paid-off home is the real lever, and the Rs 1.2–2 crore corpus range at a 3–3.5% withdrawal rate.

How to use this guide

Three honest reading paths:

• New to all this. Begin at section 1 and work down to section 4. For most salaried readers, that covers roughly the first two years of work.
• Already saving and confused about CIT/SSF/insurance/home loans. Skip to sections 3, 4, and 7. Those are the three places where mistakes are most expensive.
• Past the basics, deciding what to do with surplus. Sections 5 and 6 are the relevant ones.

The blog will keep growing. Dhukuti math, IPO/Mero Share walkthroughs, gold-as-an-asset, and a few others will land in this same index as they come out. Bookmark the page if you want the up-to-date map.

Questions or specific situations you want covered? Email parjanya57@gmail.com.