NRI Residential Status Calculator

Why this is the most important answer

Indian income tax taxes residents on worldwide income and non-residents only on India-sourced income. Get the status wrong and you either overpay tax on global income that India had no business taxing, or under-report and invite a Schedule FA penalty under the Black Money Act of up to ₹10 lakh per failure — regardless of whether tax was due.

The three statuses, in plain English

• NRI (Non-Resident Indian): Only India-source income taxable in India — rent from Indian property, interest from Indian banks, capital gains on Indian assets. Foreign salary, foreign dividends, foreign capital gains not taxable here.
• RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident): The "soft landing" status for returning NRIs. Indian-source income taxable in full, but foreign income from a business NOT controlled from India is not taxable. Typically applies for 2-3 years after return — a major planning window.
• ROR (Resident & Ordinarily Resident): Worldwide income taxable. Schedule FA disclosure mandatory for every foreign asset.

The 120-day rule — for high-income visitors

Introduced from AY 2021-22 (Finance Act 2020), the 120-day rule narrows the day-count concession for Indian-origin visitors with substantial India income. If you are an Indian citizen or PIO/OCI visiting India and your India-source income exceeds ₹15 lakh in the FY, the second-test threshold drops from 60 to 120 days. Cross 120 days plus 365 days in the prior 4 FYs, and you become resident — automatically RNOR.

Section 6(1A) — the deemed-resident rule

Also introduced from AY 2021-22, Section 6(1A) deems an Indian citizen with India-source income above ₹15 lakh to be a resident of India if they are not liable to tax in any other country by reason of domicile or residence. The deemed resident is automatically classified as RNOR — so India income is taxed here but foreign income generally is not. This closes the "stateless taxpayer" loophole.

How to count days correctly

• Count every day you were physically present in India during the financial year (1 April to 31 March).
• Include the day of arrival AND the day of departure — both count as days in India.
• Track travel using passport stamps, e-FRRO records, or boarding passes.
• Brief stops in transit (without exiting the international terminal) typically do not count.

What this calculator cannot do

• Resolve DTAA Article 4 "tie-breaker" rules when you qualify as resident in both India AND another country (permanent home → centre of vital interests → habitual abode → nationality → mutual agreement).
• Handle split-residency mid-year for the rare cases where it applies.
• Model the FEMA residential status (different definition, used for NRO/NRE banking).
• Compute the actual tax — see our Tax Calculator + Capital Gains Calculator for that.