EOR from United States to India.
Hire Indian talent from the US without setting up an Indian entity. TMS is the legal employer of record, on the ground in India since 2006. Skip the setup cost and the 90-day delay.
Hire in India without an Indian entity.
An Employer of Record (EOR) is a locally established company that legally employs staff in India on your behalf. Your team member reports to you day to day, works on your projects, and represents your brand. The employment contract, payroll, PF, ESI, professional tax, gratuity, and TDS filings all sit with TMS as the on-record employer in India.
US companies choose EOR when they want a small India team quickly, when the cost and timeline of incorporating an Indian subsidiary do not fit the plan, or when the hire is exploratory and they want optionality. TMS has been running payroll and compliance in India since 2006, so onboarding a US client’s first India hire is a well-worn path, not a first attempt.
On permanent establishment: Because TMS is the legal employer, an EOR structure is commonly used to reduce permanent-establishment (PE) risk in India. PE and tax outcomes depend on your specific activities in India, so please confirm your position with your own tax advisor before you rely on it.
Everything a US client needs, handled in India.
You get one commercial contract with TMS. We handle the India-side employment stack end to end.
Legal employer of record
TMS is the on-record employer in India, holding the employment contract and statutory registrations.
Payroll and statutory compliance
Monthly payroll with PF 12% employer, ESI 3.25% employer and 0.75% employee where applicable, professional tax, LWF, gratuity provisioning, and TDS filings.
Offer letters, contracts, onboarding
India-compliant offer letters and appointment letters drafted to your role scope and comp structure.
IP and confidentiality assignment
IP assignment and NDA clauses in the India employment contract so ownership of work product stays with your US entity.
Reimbursements and benefits admin
Expense reimbursements, mediclaim enrolment, leave records, and standard benefits administration in one flow.
Full and final settlements
Exit processing, gratuity, unused leave encashment, and clean F&F closure when a team member moves on.
Why US companies choose India via TMS EOR.
Time-zone overlap that works
India IST gives you a productive overlap window with US ET in the morning and US PT in the late evening. Handoff-friendly for engineering and ops.
English-fluent talent pool
Engineering, product, finance, and customer operations talent that already works in English on US and EU projects.
Skip nine months of setup
An Indian subsidiary takes many months and meaningful capital to stand up. EOR compresses that into weeks so hiring is not gated by incorporation.
US-friendly reporting cadence
Monthly reporting and invoicing designed for US finance teams, in a format your controller can reconcile.
When EOR fits, and when incorporation fits.
A quick side-by-side to help you decide which path suits the stage you are in.
| Dimension | TMS EOR | Your own Indian subsidiary |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Days to a few weeks | Typically several months, often two to three quarters |
| Setup cost | No incorporation spend, service fee model | Legal, registration, capital, and advisory fees |
| Legal employer | TMS holds the employment contract in India | Your Indian subsidiary is the employer |
| Ongoing compliance | TMS handles PF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS, filings | Your team, plus retained tax and payroll partners |
| Ideal for | 1 to 50 hires, testing the market, early builds | 50+ hires, long-horizon India investment, GCC |
| Time to first hire | Weeks once contract is signed | After incorporation, bank account, and registrations |
Four steps from scoping call to steady state.
Scoping call
Roles, comp, benefits, and India location. We map cost to CTC and service fee.
Offer and contracts
India offer letter and employment contract issued, US client MSA signed with TMS.
Onboarding and registrations
Statutory onboarding, PF and ESI enrolment, ID setup, and equipment coordination.
Steady-state payroll
Monthly payroll, filings, reimbursements, and a single point of contact for the US team.
How TMS EOR pricing works.
Pricing is per employee per month and transparent. Each monthly invoice is built from three parts: the employee CTC that passes through to your team member, the statutory loading (employer PF, ESI where applicable, gratuity provisioning, admin charges), and the TMS service fee. You see the split every month, so there are no bundled numbers to reverse engineer.
The service fee depends on headcount, role mix, and India locations. We quote after a short scoping call so the number reflects your actual plan, not a placeholder. If you want a rough number before you talk to us, you can estimate your cost with the EOR calculator.
Ready to hire Indian talent from the US?
Send us the role and rough comp band. We will come back with an EOR quote and a first-hire timeline.
Also useful for US companies expanding to India.
PEO India
Co-employment option for clients with an Indian entity that still want compliance support.
Read more →Payroll outsourcing
Standalone India payroll processing and statutory filings without the EOR wrapper.
Read more →India business expansion
Advisory on entity setup, GCC build-out, and the EOR-to-subsidiary transition.
Read more →Common questions from US buyers.
Do I need an Indian entity to hire via TMS EOR?
No. TMS is the legal employer in India, so you do not need to incorporate to make your first India hires. You keep the working relationship, we hold the employment contract.
How fast can we onboard our first India hire?
Once the MSA is signed and the candidate accepts, onboarding typically runs in a few weeks, depending on background checks, notice period, and statutory enrolments. We share a hire-by-hire timeline in the scoping call.
Who is the legal employer of the person we hire?
TMS is the legal employer of record in India. The employment contract, payroll, statutory contributions, and filings sit with TMS. Day-to-day work direction, priorities, and reviews sit with your US team.
What does TMS handle on statutory compliance?
Employer PF at 12%, ESI at 3.25% employer plus 0.75% employee where wage ceilings apply, professional tax by state, LWF, gratuity provisioning, TDS deduction and deposit, and the associated monthly and annual filings.
How does permanent establishment (PE) risk work with EOR?
Using an EOR is commonly viewed as a way to reduce PE exposure in India because the local employer is TMS, not your US entity. PE turns on facts and circumstances, including the activities your team performs in India, so please treat this as general information and confirm your specific position with your tax advisor.
What does the pricing model look like?
Monthly per-employee invoicing with three transparent components: employee CTC, statutory loading, and TMS service fee. We quote the service fee after a scoping call that captures roles, comp bands, and India locations.
Can we transfer EOR staff to our own entity later?
Yes. Many US clients start on EOR, incorporate an Indian subsidiary once headcount justifies it, and transfer the team across. We support that transition, including F&F closure on the TMS side and clean handover of records to your entity.
Which US industries do you support?
SaaS and software, engineering services, fintech, healthtech, ecommerce, media, and professional services are the most common. If the role is legal to perform in India and the comp structure is workable, we can usually support it.
Talk to a TMS EOR specialist.
Tell us how many people you need to hire in India and when. We will come back with a quote, a hire timeline, and answers to the questions your finance and legal teams will ask.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
A US company can hire full-time employees in India without setting up a legal entity by using an Employer of Record (EOR) like TMS. TMS becomes the legal employer in India, handles payroll, statutory compliance, and benefits, while your team manages day-to-day work — typically live within 48 hours.
Why US companies hire from India through an EOR
US tech, fintech, and SaaS companies are increasingly building India teams to solve four specific problems at once:
- H-1B and L-1 backlog. Visa caps, lottery uncertainty, and 2-4 year processing windows have made onshore hiring in the US the slowest path to engineering capacity. Hiring in India removes immigration from the equation entirely.
- Engineering depth and cost arbitrage. India produces roughly 1.5 million STEM graduates annually. A senior engineer in Bangalore, Hyderabad, or Pune costs 25-40% of an equivalent hire in San Francisco, Austin, or NYC for comparable skill.
- Time-zone overlap. Bangalore is 9.5-12.5 hours ahead of US time zones. With staggered shifts, India teams give US companies meaningful overlap with West Coast mornings and “follow-the-sun” coverage for support, ops, and incident response.
- Avoiding the 4-6 month entity setup. Setting up a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary is the long path: incorporation, FDI approvals, bank account opening, tax registrations (PAN, TAN, GST, EPF, ESI, professional tax across multiple states), payroll software, statutory liaison. EOR collapses this to a contract.
How EOR US to India works — the legal mechanics
When a US company hires an Indian employee through TMS, the structure is:
- TMS is the legal employer of record in India. The employee signs an Indian employment contract with TMS. TMS issues the offer letter, pays salary in INR, deducts statutory taxes, and files all government returns.
- You retain full operational control. Day-to-day work, performance management, projects, and goals stay with your US team. Your relationship with TMS is governed by a Master Services Agreement (MSA).
- No Indian permanent establishment (PE) for your US entity. Because TMS — not your US company — is the employer, your US entity does not create a taxable presence in India by virtue of having staff here. This is the central tax advantage of the EOR model and the reason it is widely used by US firms hiring in India.
- The US-India tax treaty (DTAA, 1989) governs the employee side. An Indian-resident TMS employee pays Indian income tax on their salary. They do not have US tax obligations from this employment unless they are a US person (citizen or green-card holder) — in which case worldwide-income filing rules apply to them personally, which TMS does not handle on the personal-tax side.
- Your payment to TMS is a deductible service expense in the US, invoiced in USD or INR by agreement.
Roles US companies typically place on TMS payroll
Across the US clients on TMS payroll today, the most common hire profiles are:
- Software engineers (backend, full-stack, frontend, mobile) — by far the largest category.
- DevOps, SRE, and platform engineering — strong India talent pool, time-zone advantage for 24/7 reliability.
- QA and SDET — automation-heavy roles with measurable output.
- Data engineers and ML engineers — growing fast in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune.
- Product designers and UX researchers — with some US-overlap working hours.
- Customer support, customer success, and technical account managers — using India’s English-speaking pool for tier-1 and tier-2 coverage in US morning hours.
- Finance, accounting, and FP&A — back-office work with strong cost arbitrage.
- Sales development reps (SDRs) and outbound prospecting teams — targeting US/EU markets from India.
The TMS 5-step onboarding process
TMS handles end-to-end onboarding so your team focuses on day-one productivity:
- MSA and scope agreement. A one-time master agreement covers the commercial terms, IP assignment, confidentiality, and exit provisions.
- Candidate sign-on. TMS issues an Indian employment offer letter, completes KYC, and collects mandated documents (PAN, Aadhaar, prior-employer relieving letter, bank details).
- Statutory enrollment. TMS enrolls the employee in Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI, if applicable based on salary band), professional tax in the state of work, and gratuity nomination.
- Payroll setup and first salary credit. Salary structure is finalized (CTC breakdown across basic, HRA, special allowance, employer-EPF, gratuity provision). First salary credit lands on the standard monthly payroll date.
- Monthly compliance and reporting. TMS files monthly EPF, ESI, professional tax, TDS, and quarterly statutory returns. You receive a single consolidated invoice and reporting dashboard.
We deploy talent in 48 hours.
EOR vs setting up your own India entity
Setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India is the right move at scale. But for the first 1-25 hires, the math overwhelmingly favours EOR.
The real first-year cost of standing up an Indian entity: – Registrations and legal: ₹3-12 lakh (incorporation, FDI/FEMA reporting, PAN, TAN, GST, EPF, ESI, professional tax in each state of operation, RoC filings, legal review). – Operational setup: statutory auditor retainer, payroll software subscription, HRMS, statutory compliance consultant, banking and FX setup. First-year operational cost typically runs ₹15-35 lakh ($18,000-$45,000 USD) for a small entity. – Time to operational: 4-6 months minimum from incorporation to first compliant payroll run. – Ongoing burden: 80-150 hours per month of HR, compliance, and statutory work — usually requiring at least one full-time India HR/compliance hire by month 3.
EOR through TMS replaces all of that with: – A single per-employee monthly fee (quoted on engagement). – Zero setup time — talent deployed in 48 hours. – Zero PE risk for your US entity. – One-line accounting on your US books: services expense.
When EOR makes sense: 1-25 employees in India, market-test phase, multi-country expansion where India is one bet among several, or any stage where India headcount is not yet large enough to justify the operational overhead of an entity.
When to consider a transition: Once you have 30+ India employees, an Indian directorial presence on your roadmap, or strategic IP that you want held by an Indian subsidiary. TMS supports the EOR-to-entity transition as a standard service — we coordinate offer letter transfers, EPF account continuity, gratuity tenure preservation, and statutory handover with your new India entity so the employee experience stays seamless.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an Indian entity to hire engineers in India?
No. Through an EOR like TMS, you can hire full-time Indian employees without registering an Indian company. TMS is the legal employer; you are the operational manager.
How fast can a new hire be live on TMS payroll?
For candidates you have already identified, TMS deploys talent in 48 hours.
Who is the legal employer — TMS or my US company?
TMS. The Indian employee signs an Indian employment contract with TMS. This is what eliminates Indian permanent-establishment risk for your US entity.
Does the US-India tax treaty (DTAA) affect my hiring through TMS?
The DTAA primarily governs cross-border income for individuals and prevents double taxation. For your TMS-employed Indian-resident staff, income tax is paid in India only. The US company’s payment to TMS is invoiced as a service fee and deducted as a normal business expense in the US.
Can I convert my EOR hires to my own Indian entity later?
Yes. TMS supports EOR-to-entity transition as a standard service. We help preserve EPF continuity, gratuity tenure, and employee experience during the move.
Can my India team work US business hours?
Yes. Many TMS-employed engineers and support staff work staggered or US-overlap shifts. The standard Indian working week and statutory rules still apply (8.5 hours per day, weekly off, paid leave, etc.), but the schedule within those rules is set by your operational team.
How are India statutory benefits handled — EPF, ESI, gratuity, leave?
TMS administers all statutory benefits directly: EPF (12% employer + 12% employee), ESI where applicable, professional tax, gratuity (4.81% provision), paid leave per the applicable Shops & Establishments Act, and maternity benefits. All compliance is on TMS’s books, with monthly reporting to you.
An illustrative engagement — what hiring 8 engineers in Bangalore looks like
A US-based Series B SaaS company decides to build an India engineering team to scale their platform. They have 4 backend engineers identified through their own recruiting and want to hire 4 more (2 frontend, 2 SRE) over the next quarter.
- Week 0: MSA signed with TMS. Salary bands agreed (₹35-55 lakh for senior backend, ₹28-42 lakh for frontend, ₹40-60 lakh for SRE).
- Week 1: First 4 candidates onboarded — offer letters issued, KYC complete, statutory enrollment done, salaries credited.
- Weeks 2-10: TMS supports the next 4 hires as the company’s recruiting team sources them, with the same 48-hour deployment once each candidate accepts.
- Month 4: Full 8-person team live on TMS payroll. The US company has zero direct India statutory exposure, zero PE risk, and one consolidated monthly invoice.
- Month 18: The company crosses 25 India employees and decides to register an Indian subsidiary. TMS coordinates the transition over a 90-day period.
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