Direct and Indirect Taxation · Taxation of Individuals (including AMT) and HUF

Residential Status of Individuals and HUF under Income-tax Act, 2025

Updated 10 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Residential status decides which income of a tax year is taxed in India. An individual is resident if in India 182 days or more, or 60 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years. Then check the RNOR conditions in section 6(13). Otherwise the person is non-resident.

Understand Residential Status of Individuals and HUF

Residential status is about stay, not nationality. It is fixed separately for each tax year. It decides how much of your income India can tax.

There are three statuses for an individual or HUF: Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR), Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) and Non-resident (NR). First decide resident or non-resident. Then, only if resident, decide ROR or RNOR.

An individual is resident under section 6(2) if he is in India for 182 days or more in the tax year, or for 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years. If neither test is met, he is a non-resident. The 60-day test is relaxed for some people: citizens who leave India for employment outside India or as crew of an Indian ship, and citizens or persons of Indian origin who visit India. For the visitors, 60 days becomes 120 days if their Indian income (excluding foreign-source income) exceeds ₹15 lakh. For those who leave for employment or as crew, the 60-day test does not apply at all, so only the 182-day test works.

A resident is not ordinarily resident under section 6(13) if he was non-resident in nine of the ten preceding tax years, or was in India for 729 days or less in the seven preceding years. A citizen or person of Indian origin with Indian income above ₹15 lakh who stayed 120 days or more but less than 182 days is also RNOR. A citizen deemed resident under section 6(7) is RNOR too. Any resident who meets none of these is ROR.

Status drives scope under section 5. A resident is taxed on income received in India, accruing in India, or accruing outside India. An RNOR is taxed on foreign income only if it is from a business controlled in or profession set up in India. A non-resident is taxed only on income received or accruing in India. A HUF is resident unless its control and management is wholly outside India. It is RNOR if its manager meets the same tests as above.

Key rules to remember

Basic conditions for an individual (s. 6(2)): Resident if: (a) days in India ≥ 182 in the tax year; OR (b) days in India ≥ 60 in the tax year AND ≥ 365 in the preceding 4 years; Meeting either one is enough. If neither is met, the individual is a non-resident.
Relaxation for leaving or visiting (s. 6(3), (4), (5)): Citizen leaving for employment abroad or as crew of an Indian ship: condition (b) does not apply. Citizen or person of Indian origin visiting India: condition (b) does not apply, but if Indian income (excluding foreign-source income) > ₹15,00,000, 60 days becomes 120 days; Only the 182-day test works for those leaving for employment or as crew. For visitors above ₹15 lakh, the 120-day and 365-day test applies.
Deemed resident citizen (s. 6(7)): Citizen of India + not liable to tax in any other country by reason of domicile or residence + total income (excluding foreign-source income) > ₹15,00,000; Does not apply if the person is already resident under s. 6(2) to (6). Such a person is RNOR.
RNOR test for individual or HUF manager (s. 6(13)(a)): NR in 9 of the 10 preceding tax years; OR in India ≤ 729 days in the 7 preceding tax years; Either condition makes a resident an RNOR. For a HUF, apply the tests to the manager.
Other RNOR cases (s. 6(13)(b), (c)): Citizen or person of Indian origin with Indian income (excluding foreign-source income) > ₹15,00,000 and stay 120 days or more but less than 182 days; OR citizen deemed resident under s. 6(7); If no RNOR condition is met, the resident is ROR.
HUF, firm, AOP (s. 6(9)): Resident unless control and management is wholly outside India in the tax year; Partly in India means resident.
Scope of total income (s. 5): ROR: India-received + India-accrued + foreign-accrued. RNOR: India-received + India-accrued + foreign income only from a business controlled in or profession set up in India. NR: India-received + India-accrued only; Income received in India is not taxed again on the basis of receipt if already included as accrued (s. 5(4)).

How to solve Residential Status of Individuals and HUF questions

Use the same order every time. Do not jump to RNOR before you have proved the person is resident.

1Identify the person (individual or HUF) and note the tax year. Note citizenship or Indian origin, as it affects the exceptions.
2Count days in India in the tax year. If 182 or more, the person is resident. Go to step 5.
3If under 182, check whether the person is a citizen who left India for employment abroad or as ship crew. If so, condition (b) is not available, and the person is non-resident.
4Otherwise apply condition (b): days in the year (60, or 120 for a visiting citizen or person of Indian origin with Indian income above ₹15 lakh) and 365 days in the four preceding years. If both are met, resident. If not, check the deemed resident rule in s. 6(7). If that also fails, non-resident.
5For a resident, test RNOR: non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding years, or 729 days or less in the 7 preceding years, or the ₹15 lakh and 120-to-181-day case, or deemed resident under s. 6(7). Any one makes him RNOR; none makes him ROR.
6For a HUF, say resident or not by control and management, then apply the RNOR tests to the manager.
7Apply section 5 to each income item given, mark it taxable or not, and give the total.

Quickest way: Three-gate check

When to use it: Use in numerical questions with a table of days for past years.

Gate 1: 182 days or more this year? If yes, resident. Stop.
Gate 2: otherwise check 60 days this year and 365 days in the last four years (use 120 for the stated visitor case). Look for the employment or crew exception first.
Gate 3: for a resident, scan past years. Count the non-resident years out of 10 and add the days over 7 years. One hit means RNOR.
Then tick income items: India-received and India-accrued always taxable for all three statuses; foreign income taxable for ROR only, plus India-controlled business for RNOR.

Common mistakes in Residential Status of Individuals and HUF

Applying the 60-day plus 365-day test to a citizen who left India for employment abroad.
Students apply section 6(2) without reading the exceptions.
Fix: Check for employment abroad or crew first. Then only the 182-day test applies.
Deciding RNOR when the person is non-resident.
Students apply the nine-in-ten and 729-day tests to everyone.
Fix: RNOR is a sub-class of residents. Prove resident first.
Treating foreign income as always exempt for RNOR.
Students remember that RNOR is taxed less and stop there.
Fix: Foreign income is taxed for an RNOR when it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India.
Counting the preceding years wrongly, such as 365 days in 5 years or 729 days in 10 years.
The two periods (4 years and 7 years) are easy to mix up.
Fix: Write the periods down: 4 years for 365 days, 7 years for 729 days, 10 years for the nine-year test.
Using 120 days for every citizen with income above ₹15 lakh.
Students overlook that the 120-day rule is for citizens or persons of Indian origin visiting India, and income excludes foreign-source income.
Fix: Check the person is a citizen or of Indian origin who is outside India and visits. Then exclude foreign-source income before comparing with ₹15 lakh.
Taxing income received in India again as accrued, or vice versa.
Students list one item under both heads.
Fix: Include an item once. Under s. 5(4), if taxed as accrued, it is not taxed again as received.

Worked examples

Example 1

Rajesh, an Indian citizen, lives in Dubai and visits India in the tax year 2026-27 for 130 days. His Indian income, excluding foreign-source income, is ₹18,00,000. He has been in India for 400 days in total in the four preceding years. He was non-resident in 6 of the 10 preceding years and was in India for 1,000 days in the 7 preceding years. Find his residential status.

Show the solution

Stay in the year is 130 days, which is under 182. Condition (a) fails.
Rajesh is a citizen outside India who visits India. Condition (b) uses 60 days, but because his Indian income of ₹18,00,000 exceeds ₹15 lakh, 60 days becomes 120 days.
130 days is at least 120, and 400 days in the four preceding years is at least 365. Condition (b) is met, so he is resident.
Now test RNOR. Non-resident in 6 of 10 years is not nine of ten. 1,000 days in 7 years is more than 729. Those tests fail.
Check s. 6(13)(b): citizen, Indian income above ₹15 lakh, and stay of 120 days or more but less than 182. All are met, so he is RNOR.

Answer: Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) for 2026-27.

Example 2

Meera, an Indian citizen, is resident in 2026-27 and is RNOR. She has: (1) salary received in India ₹6,00,000 for services in India; (2) rent from a house in London received in London ₹3,00,000; (3) profit of ₹4,00,000 from a business in Singapore controlled from Pune and received in Singapore; (4) interest ₹50,000 from a Singapore bank received in Singapore. Find the income taxable in India.

Show the solution

Item 1: received in India and accrued in India. Taxable for any status. ₹6,00,000.
Item 2: foreign income, received abroad, not from a business controlled in India. Not taxable for an RNOR.
Item 3: accrues outside India but from a business controlled in India. Taxable for an RNOR. ₹4,00,000.
Item 4: foreign interest received abroad, no India-controlled business. Not taxable for an RNOR.
Total of taxable items is ₹6,00,000 + ₹4,00,000 = ₹10,00,000.

Answer: Income included in total income is ₹10,00,000. The London rent and Singapore interest are excluded.

Exam tips

Write the status conclusion in one line before income analysis. Examiners give marks for each test.
Set out a small table of past years with days. It shows both the 365-day and 729-day tests clearly.
Look for the words citizen, person of Indian origin, employment abroad and crew. They change which test applies.
In MCQs, check whether the person is already non-resident before reading RNOR options. No negative marking, so always answer.
Always state the tax year, such as 2026-27, never assessment year.

Practice questions from Taxation of Individuals (including AMT) and HUF

Residential Status of Individuals and HUF 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 Individuals and HUF: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between resident and not ordinarily resident?

A resident is taxed in India on income received, accruing or arising in India and also on foreign income. An RNOR is taxed on foreign income only when it is from a business controlled in or profession set up in India. An RNOR is a resident who meets a condition in section 6(13).

How is the residential status of a HUF decided?

A HUF is resident unless control and management of its affairs is wholly outside India during the tax year. If resident, it is RNOR when its manager meets the nine-in-ten or 729-day test.

Is residential status decided once for all incomes?

It is decided for the person for the tax year. Under section 6(12), if a person is resident for any source of income, he is resident for all other sources of that year.

Do days of arrival and departure count?

The Act text supplied speaks of total days in India. In exam questions follow the instruction given in the question on counting days, and if none is given, state your assumption.