India's 182-Day Tax Residency Rule for NRIs

182 days in India's April-to-March tax year makes you resident, and for some people far fewer days do. Here is how the 182-day, 120-day and 60-day tests work, and which one applies to you.

Last verified: October 2026

In short: you are an Indian tax resident if you spend 182 days or more in India in a tax year (1 April – 31 March). A second test makes you resident from 60 days if you also spent 365 days in India over the four previous tax years. For Indian citizens and people of Indian origin visiting from abroad, that second test uses 182 days when their Indian income is up to ₹15 lakh, so 182 is then the only line, and 120 days when it is higher. A citizen with more than ₹15 lakh of Indian income who pays tax nowhere else is deemed resident without any days in India.

Threshold: 182 days or more, so day 182
Counting window: Tax year, 1 April – 31 March
Second test: 60 days in the year and 365 days in the four years before
Citizens and PIOs visiting: 182 days, or 120 days with Indian income above ₹15 lakh
Deemed resident: Citizens with Indian income above ₹15 lakh who are not taxed anywhere else
Legal basis: Income-tax Act, 2025, section 6 (Income-tax Act, 1961, section 6, for years before April 2026)

The rule

India decides residence one tax year at a time. An individual is resident in a tax year if either of two day-count tests is met:

182 days or more in India during the tax year, continuously or in separate visits.
60 days or more in India during the tax year, together with 365 days or more in India during the four tax years before it.

The threshold is inclusive: the Act says 182 days or more, so a year with exactly 182 days meets the first test. Some official summaries say "more than 182 days", which is one day out. The tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act for tax years starting on or after 1 April 2026 and renamed the "previous year" the "tax year", but carried these tests over unchanged.

Which second test applies to you

The 60-day test is the one most often changed, and for most non-resident Indians it is not 60 days at all:

Living in India, or a foreign national

Second test: 60 days in the year and 365 days in the four years before

Indian citizen leaving for work abroad

Second test: Replaced by 182 days in the year you leave, so 182 is the only line
Also covers: Crew members of an Indian ship

Citizen or PIO visiting, Indian income up to ₹15 lakh

Second test: Replaced by 182 days, so 182 is the only line

Citizen or PIO visiting, Indian income above ₹15 lakh

Second test: 120 days in the year and 365 days in the four years before
Status if met: Resident but not ordinarily resident

A person of Indian origin (PIO) is someone who, or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents, was born in undivided India. "Indian income" here means total income other than income from foreign sources. Income that arises outside India still counts as Indian income if it comes from a business controlled in India or a profession set up in India.

How to count it

India counts days of physical presence and adds separate visits together within the tax year.

List every stay in India with its arrival and departure dates.
Count the days in each stay, including the arrival day and the departure day.
Add the stays that fall between 1 April and 31 March. A stay that crosses 31 March is split between two tax years.
Compare the total with 182, then with the second test that applies to you.

The Act does not say whether a day of arrival or departure counts in full. Tribunal decisions have differed: one excluded an arrival day because only part of it was spent in India. Counting both travel days is the cautious reading.

Example. You arrive in India on 1 October 2026 and stay until 31 March 2027. Counting both travel days, that is 182 days in tax year 2026–27, and you are resident for that year.

Leave a day earlier, on 30 March, and the count is 181. If you are a citizen visiting with Indian income up to ₹15 lakh, you are then non-resident for the year. If your Indian income is above ₹15 lakh and you spent 365 days or more in India over the four previous tax years, the 120-day test still makes you resident, though not ordinarily resident.

Count your own days in the 183-day calculator. It opens set to the rule for India: tap the days you were there.

Resident, RNOR or non-resident

Meeting a test makes you resident, but India then splits residents into two groups, and the split decides how much of your income is taxed:

Resident and ordinarily resident: Taxed on worldwide income.
Resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR): Taxed on Indian income, and on foreign income only when it comes from a business controlled or a profession set up in India.
Non-resident: Taxed on Indian income only.

You are not ordinarily resident in a year if you were non-resident in nine of the ten previous tax years, or spent 729 days or fewer in India during the seven previous tax years. Residence reached through the 120-day test, and deemed residence, are always not ordinarily resident.

Beyond the day count

Deemed residence needs no days at all. An Indian citizen whose Indian income is above ₹15 lakh is deemed resident if no other country taxes them by reason of domicile, residence or a similar criterion, which typically means living in a country without personal income tax. It does not apply to someone already resident under the day tests. If another country also treats you as resident, the tie-breaker rules of its tax treaty with India decide. Residence for bank accounts and investments, such as NRE and NRO accounts, is set by a different law, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, with its own test. Visitors who are not Indian citizens also have visa limits to watch: see India's tourist visa stay limits.

AtlasDays works out which Indian day limit applies to you

Log your trips once and choose your situation in the India Tax Residency tracker. It adds up your days in India over the four previous tax years to tell you whether 182, 120 or 60 days applies this year. Then it counts this year's days, arrival and departure days included, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before you reach the limit. Deemed residence is not evaluated.

Get AtlasDays

FAQ

How many days can an NRI stay in India without becoming a tax resident?

An Indian citizen or person of Indian origin visiting from abroad, with Indian income up to ₹15 lakh, can spend up to 181 days in India in a tax year. With Indian income above ₹15 lakh and 365 days or more in India over the four previous tax years, the limit drops to 119 days.

Is the rule 182 days or more than 182 days?

182 days or more. The Act makes you resident on the 182nd day. Summaries that say "more than 182 days" are one day out.

Can I be an Indian tax resident without visiting India?

Yes, if you are an Indian citizen with more than ₹15 lakh of Indian income and no other country taxes you by reason of domicile or residence. You are then deemed resident, but not ordinarily resident, so foreign income stays outside Indian tax unless it comes from a business controlled or a profession set up in India.

About this article: AtlasDays provides general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your circumstances, so never rely on it alone: check the linked official source or ask a qualified professional.