Skip to content

Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation · Assessment of Individuals including Non-residents

Residential Status of an Individual under the Income-tax Act, 2025

Updated 10 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Residential status decides which of your income India can tax. An individual is resident if in India for 182 days or more in the tax year, or 60 days or more plus 365 days or more in the 4 preceding tax years. Residents are then split into ordinarily resident and RNOR. Everyone else is non-resident.

Understand Residential Status of an Individual

Residential status is about where you stay in a tax year, not about citizenship. A foreign national can be resident in India. An Indian citizen can be non-resident. Status is worked out separately for every tax year, so it can change every year.

It matters because it fixes the scope of tax. A resident and ordinarily resident (ROR) is taxed on global income. A non-resident (NR) and a resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) are both taxed on income received or deemed received in India, and on income that accrues or arises, or is deemed to accrue or arise, in India. An RNOR is additionally taxed on foreign income from a business controlled in India or a profession set up in India. An NR does not get this extra head.

The method has two layers. First, apply the basic conditions to decide resident or non-resident. Second, if resident, apply the additional conditions to decide ROR or RNOR. You never apply the second layer to a non-resident.

Two special groups need care. Indian citizens who leave for employment abroad or as crew, and citizens or persons of Indian origin who visit India from outside, get a longer day-threshold than 60 days. Separately, an Indian citizen with high Indian income who is not taxed anywhere else can be treated as deemed resident, and that person is always RNOR.

Count days carefully. Both the day of arrival and the day of departure count as days in India, and any part of a day counts as a full day. The days need not be continuous.

Key rules to remember

Basic conditions (resident if either is met)
(a) 182 days or more in India in the tax year; OR (b) 60 days or more in the tax year AND 365 days or more in the 4 preceding tax years
If neither is met, the individual is a non-resident. Day of arrival and day of departure are both counted.
Exception to the 60-day condition: employment or crew
Indian citizen who leaves India in the tax year for employment outside India, or as crew member of an Indian ship: the 60 days in condition (b) is replaced by 182 days, so in effect only the 182-day test applies
The same replacement applies to an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin who, being outside India, comes on a visit to India in the tax year: 60 days is replaced by 182 days. The 120-day rule below applies only to this visit case, not to employment or crew.
Visit by high-income citizen or person of Indian origin
Citizen or person of Indian origin who, being outside India, comes on a visit, and whose total income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15,00,000: 60 days is replaced by 120 days (365 days in the 4 preceding years still required)
Such a person who is in India for 120 days or more but less than 182 days is resident but RNOR, by a specific statutory provision for this case. The 2-year and 729-day conditions are not needed to reach that result.
Additional conditions: ROR
Resident AND resident in at least 2 of the 10 preceding tax years AND in India for more than 729 days in the 7 preceding tax years
Both conditions must be met to be ROR.
RNOR
Resident AND (non-resident in 9 or 10 of the 10 preceding tax years, i.e. resident in fewer than 2 of them; OR in India for 729 days or less in the 7 preceding tax years)
Failing either of the two additional conditions makes the resident an RNOR.
Deemed resident
Indian citizen, total income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15,00,000, and not liable to tax in any other country by reason of domicile or residence: deemed resident in India
A deemed resident is treated as RNOR. Apply this only when the person is not already resident under the basic conditions.

How to solve Residential Status of an Individual questions

Use this order for every question. It works for citizens, foreigners, and persons of Indian origin.

  1. 1Fix the tax year (for example 2026-27, which runs 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027) and list the days in India in that year and in the 4 and 7 preceding tax years.
  2. 2Note the facts that change the thresholds: citizenship, person of Indian origin, whether the person left India for employment or as crew, whether the person is only visiting, and Indian income other than foreign-source income.
  3. 3Pick the day threshold for condition (b): 60 days normally; for an employment or crew case, or a visit where income other than foreign-source income is ₹15,00,000 or less, the 60 days is replaced by 182 days; for a visit where such income exceeds ₹15,00,000, it is replaced by 120 days (visit case only).
  4. 4Test condition (a): 182 days or more in the tax year. If yes, the person is resident. Go to step 6.
  5. 5Test condition (b): threshold days in the tax year AND 365 days or more in the 4 preceding tax years. If neither (a) nor (b) is met, check deemed residency for an Indian citizen with income above ₹15,00,000 and no tax liability abroad. If that fails, the person is non-resident; stop.
  6. 6For a resident, test the additional conditions: resident in at least 2 of the 10 preceding tax years, and more than 729 days in the 7 preceding tax years. Both met means ROR; either failed means RNOR. A deemed resident or a 120-day high-income visitor is RNOR.
  7. 7State the conclusion in one line and link it to the scope of tax (global income for ROR; Indian-source for NR; and RNOR with the business or profession exception).

Quickest way: 182 first, then the 60/365 shortcut, then 2-and-729

When to use it: Use in the objective section and when a long case gives many years of data. It saves time because most questions are decided in the first two checks.

  1. Write the tax year days. If 182 or more, resident. No other check is needed for resident versus non-resident.
  2. If below 182, ask: is the person a citizen who left for employment abroad or as crew, or a citizen or person of Indian origin visiting from outside India? If yes, the 60-day figure becomes 182 days, so the person is non-resident unless deemed residency applies. The one exception is a visitor whose income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15,00,000: the threshold is then 120 days, and 365 days or more in the 4 preceding tax years is also needed.
  3. For everyone else, check 60 days plus 365 days in the 4 preceding years. Both met means resident.
  4. For residents, ask two quick questions: resident in at least 2 of the last 10 years? More than 729 days in the last 7 years? Two yeses mean ROR; any no means RNOR.
  5. Write the status and stop. Do not compute income unless the question asks for it.

Common mistakes in Residential Status of an Individual

  • Treating citizenship as the test for residence

    Students link 'Indian' with 'resident' from everyday language.

    Fix: Use days of stay only. Citizenship matters only for the special 182-day and 120-day rules and for deemed residency.

  • Applying the 60-day test to a citizen who left for employment abroad or is visiting India

    Students remember 60 and 365 and apply it to everyone.

    Fix: Check first whether the person is a citizen or person of Indian origin in an employment or visit case. If so, use 182 days. Use 120 days only for a visit where income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15,00,000; the 120-day rule does not apply to employment or crew cases.

  • Applying the additional conditions to a non-resident

    Students run all tests in sequence without stopping.

    Fix: Only a resident can be ROR or RNOR. If the basic conditions fail, write 'non-resident' and stop.

  • Mixing the look-back periods

    There are three: 4 years for the 365-day test, 10 years for the 2-year test, and 7 years for the 729-day test.

    Fix: Write each period beside its test before counting. Do not use the same set of years for all three.

  • Miscounting days of arrival and departure

    Students exclude one of the two days, as they would when counting a period of stay.

    Fix: Count both the day of arrival and the day of departure as days in India. Any part of a day counts as a full day.

  • Treating a deemed resident as ROR

    The word 'resident' makes students think global income is taxed.

    Fix: A deemed resident is RNOR. Use the RNOR scope of income.

Worked examples

Example 1

Mr Raman is an Indian citizen who has lived in Singapore for several years. In tax year 2026-27 he comes on a visit to India for 130 days. His income other than foreign-source income in that year is ₹18,00,000. He was in India for 400 days in the 4 preceding tax years. Determine his residential status for 2026-27.

Show the solution
  1. Days in 2026-27 are 130, which is below 182, so condition (a) fails.
  2. Mr Raman is an Indian citizen who is outside India and comes on a visit. His income other than foreign-source income is ₹18,00,000, which exceeds ₹15,00,000. So the 60-day threshold in condition (b) is replaced by 120 days.
  3. Days in the tax year are 130, which is 120 or more. Days in the 4 preceding years are 400, which is 365 or more. So the basic condition (b) is met and he is resident.
  4. He is a visiting citizen with income above ₹15,00,000 who is resident only through the 120-day rule, with 120 days or more but fewer than 182 days in India. A specific statutory provision in the Act's residence provisions treats such a person as RNOR. So he is RNOR without testing the 2-year and 729-day conditions.

Answer: Mr Raman is resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) for 2026-27, under the specific provision for high-income visiting citizens who are resident through the 120-day rule.

Example 2

Mr Smith, a foreign national, was in India for 75 days in tax year 2026-27. He was in India for 400 days in the 4 preceding tax years and for 650 days in the 7 preceding tax years. He was resident in 5 of the 10 preceding tax years. Determine his status. Would it change if he had been in India for 800 days in the 7 preceding years?

Show the solution
  1. Condition (a): 75 days is below 182, so it fails.
  2. Condition (b): 75 days is 60 or more, and 400 days in the 4 preceding years is 365 or more. Mr Smith is not a citizen, so no special threshold applies. He is resident.
  3. Additional conditions: he was resident in 5 of 10 preceding years, so the first condition (at least 2 years) is met.
  4. Days in the 7 preceding years are 650, which is not more than 729. The second condition fails. So he is RNOR.
  5. In the variation, 800 days is more than 729 and both additional conditions are met. He would then be ROR.

Answer: Mr Smith is resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR). With 800 days in the 7 preceding years, he would be resident and ordinarily resident (ROR).

Exam tips

  • In MCQs, read the first line for citizenship and employment facts. They decide the day threshold and are the usual trap.
  • Show the days arithmetic in a descriptive answer: tax year days, 4-year days, 10-year years and 7-year days, each with its test. Marks follow the working.
  • Always end with the status and what it means for tax on foreign income. Examiners link status to the scope of total income.
  • Remember that RNOR can still be taxed on foreign income from a business controlled in India or a profession set up in India.
  • Use 'tax year' and not 'previous year' in your answer, because the Income-tax Act, 2025 uses 'tax year'.

Practice questions from Assessment of Individuals including Non-residents

Residential Status of an Individual in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Residential Status of an Individual: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between resident, RNOR and non-resident?

A resident meets at least one basic condition. A non-resident meets neither. Among residents, an ROR meets both additional conditions, while an RNOR fails at least one or is a deemed resident. The scope of taxable income narrows from ROR to RNOR to non-resident.

Who is a deemed resident under the Income-tax Act, 2025?

An Indian citizen whose total income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15,00,000 and who is not liable to tax in any other country because of domicile or residence. Such a person is deemed resident in India and is treated as RNOR.

Do the 182 days have to be continuous?

No. You add up all days in India in the tax year, including the day of arrival and day of departure. Any part of a day counts as a full day.

Can a foreign national be resident in India?

Yes. Residence depends on days of stay. A foreign national who is in India for 182 days or more, or 60 days plus 365 days in the 4 preceding years, is resident.

Is residential status decided once or every year?

Every tax year. The same person can be ROR in one year, RNOR in the next and non-resident later, because the day counts and look-back years change.