Residential status for income tax: resident, RNOR or non-resident

An individual is resident in a tax year if either test is met:

1. In India for 182 days or more in the year; or
2. In India for 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years.

The 60-day limb is modified for Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin:

Days are counted with both arrival and departure days treated as days in India under the usual practice. Keep your passport stamps and travel history; they are the evidence.

An Indian citizen whose Indian income exceeds ₹15 lakh and who is not liable to tax in any other country because of domicile or residence is treated as resident, even with no days in India. This targets people living in tax-free jurisdictions. A deemed resident is always “not ordinarily resident”, so foreign income stays outside Indian tax unless it comes from an Indian business or profession.

Many Indians working in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar fall into this if their Indian income, such as rent, interest or capital gains, crosses ₹15 lakh. A UAE tax residency certificate helps show liability to tax there under the treaty, though the position is not free of dispute.

A resident is resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) if any of these apply:

• non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding years;
• in India for 729 days or less in the 7 preceding years;
• resident only because of the 120-day rule above;
• a deemed resident.

Otherwise the person is resident and ordinarily resident (ROR). Returning NRIs typically enjoy two or three years of RNOR status, which is valuable because foreign income stays untaxed during that time.

A resident with foreign income claims credit for tax paid abroad through Form 67 (Form 44 from tax year 2026-27); our NRI tax guide covers the treaty side.

• Moving abroad for a job mid-year: if you leave in, say, September, you will usually be under 182 days and non-resident for that year. Salary for work done abroad is then not taxable in India.
• Returning to India: plan your return date around the RNOR tests; realise foreign gains while RNOR where it makes sense.
• Long visits by NRIs: with Indian income over ₹15 lakh, 120 days in India can make you resident (RNOR).
• Companies and LLPs have their own tests: a foreign company is resident if its place of effective management is in India.

Filing as a non-resident needs ITR-2 or ITR-3; see our NRI ITR filing service.