NRI residency — the 60 / 120 / 182-day rule
Indian tax residence depends on annual day counts, qualifying visits or departures, citizenship and specified income. Deemed residence also requires a tax-liability check abroad. A resident may be ROR or RNOR; reaching 182 days does not automatically mean ROR. Check these conditions each year before deciding which income India can tax.
Year references: For Tax Year 2026-27, use section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. For FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26) and FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), use section 6 of the 1961 Act. RNOR appears in section 6(13) of the new Act and section 6(6) of the earlier Act.
Start with the applicable residence tests
The ordinary rule is residence after at least 182 days in India during the year, or at least 60 days during the year together with at least 365 days in the preceding four years. The second route has important exceptions. Establish the legal category before choosing a threshold.
Visits and departures
For an Indian citizen leaving India for overseas employment or as a member of the crew of an Indian ship, the combined 60-day test does not create residence below 182 days. For a qualifying Indian citizen or person of Indian origin (PIO) who lives outside India and visits India, the combined test is also excluded unless the specified income exceeds ₹15 lakh.
A qualifying visitor whose specified income is more than ₹15 lakh uses 120 days with the preceding-four-year 365-day condition. When those conditions make the visitor resident and the stay is 120–181 days, the special RNOR rule applies. At 182 days, residence is established, but the separate history tests may still make the person RNOR.
Here, “specified income” means total income excluding the statutory foreign-source income defined in section 6. It is not simply money received in an Indian account. The definition excludes foreign accruals except income from an India-controlled business or a profession set up in India, and except income deemed to accrue or arise in India. Confirm the income base with your CA.
Deemed residence requires more than a day count
An Indian citizen with specified income above ₹15 lakh may be deemed resident when not liable to tax elsewhere due to domicile, residence or similar criteria. This rule does not apply when the person is already resident under the ordinary residence provisions. A person resident solely through this deemed-residence rule is RNOR. PIO status alone does not satisfy the citizenship condition.
Paying no tax is not the same as not being liable to tax. Do not infer the answer from a nil return, an exemption, or a country's headline personal-tax rate. If legal liability abroad is uncertain, obtain a review before assigning status.
Follow three worked examples
These are illustrations for each of the three years listed above, not client cases. Each summary states the decisive facts and outcome. Expand it to follow the reasoning; changing a fact can change the result.
01 · Qualifying visitor130 days + 400 prior days + ₹17 lakh → RNORIndian citizen visiting from abroad; 400 days in the preceding four years.
- 182-day test130 is below 182.
- Visitor test₹17 lakh exceeds ₹15 lakh; 130 ≥ 120 and 400 ≥ 365.
- RNORThe resident visitor is within the 120–181-day range.
The income figure is the statutory specified-income base. No deemed-residence assumption is needed because the visitor test already establishes residence. This conclusion alone does not decide the treatment of overseas salary or investments.
02 · Annual residence test182 days + 9 prior nonresident years → RNOROrdinary stay; nonresident in nine of the preceding ten years.
- 182-day testExactly 182 meets the residence threshold.
- History testNine NR years out of ten meets an RNOR condition.
- RNORResidence at 182 days is not automatically ROR.
This example uses the history condition alone. The alternative history condition is no more than 729 days in India over the preceding seven years. Test the history afresh each year; there is no guaranteed two- or three-year exemption after returning.
03 · Tax liability matters20 days + ₹18 lakh + no liability abroad → RNORIndian citizen; not liable abroad due to domicile, residence or similar criteria.
- Day tests20 days is below all applicable residence thresholds.
- Deemed residenceCitizenship, income and overseas-liability conditions are met.
- RNORThe deemed-resident classification applies.
If this individual is instead liable to tax abroad under the relevant criteria, the deemed-residence condition fails: the stated day count then gives NR. If liability is unknown, the correct next step is review, not a guessed classification.
Try the three-year residence calculator → It checks supplied facts, explains the day tests and offers a separate calendar-day helper. It does not determine whether a stay legally qualifies as a visit or decide special voyage rules.
Then determine which income is included
- NR: Indian receipt or deemed receipt, and Indian accrual or deemed accrual, remain relevant.
- RNOR: those Indian receipt/accrual rules still apply. Foreign accruals from an India-controlled business or a profession set up in India can also be included.
- ROR: the general scope includes worldwide income, subject to the Act's provisions and applicable relief.
A foreign bank account or overseas employer does not by itself establish an exemption. Assess receipt, source, exemptions and any treaty relief after determining residence. Returning residents should review each income stream before timing transactions or assuming that overseas earnings are outside Indian tax.
Keep evidence for the legal review
Retain travel dates, immigration records, passports and relevant employment or visit documents. Keep the preceding four-, seven- and ten-year records needed for the tests. Reconcile overlapping stays so the same date is not counted twice.
The calculator's inclusive calendar counter is a planning aid. It is not a legal ruling on partial days, airport transit or ship voyages. Special crew rules and uncertain presence dates need separate verification. Tax residence, immigration status, FEMA residence and treaty residence are distinct questions; one label does not settle the others.
Questions readers ask
Does 182 days in India always mean ROR?
No. It establishes residence under the annual day test, but RNOR history conditions may still apply. Review the preceding years before deciding between ROR and RNOR.
Does paying no foreign tax make me a deemed resident?
No. The test concerns liability to tax abroad due to domicile, residence or similar criteria, together with Indian citizenship and the specified-income condition. A nil payment alone does not establish it.
Is RNOR a guaranteed three-year exemption?
No. Eligibility is assessed each year, and RNOR does not exempt every item of foreign income. Indian receipt/accrual rules and the India-controlled business or India-established profession exception still matter.
Official sources and scope
Last updated: . Source: Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by Finance Act, 2026, sections 5–6 (PDF pages 27–29); earlier section 6; earlier section 5.
For estimation only. Consult a CA for advice. This guide addresses individual domestic residence and general income scope. It does not determine treaty benefits, foreign-asset reporting, penalties or reopening periods.