Residential status calculator for Indian income tax
Your residential status decides how much of your income India can tax. A resident and ordinarily resident (ROR) is taxed on worldwide income; a resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) mostly on Indian income; a non-resident (NRI) only on income earned or received in India. The status is set each tax year by counting days, which is easy to get wrong when trips cross the 31 March year end.
This residential status calculator applies section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force for tax years from 2026-27, and the matching section 6 of the 1961 Act for earlier years. Enter your day totals or paste the dates of each stay in India, say whether you are a citizen, a person of Indian origin or a foreign national, and whether you came on a visit or left for a job abroad. It applies the 182-day test, the 60-day plus 365-day test, the 120-day rule for Indian income above ₹15 lakh and the deemed-resident rule, then checks whether a resident is “not ordinarily resident”.
How to use the Residential Status Calculator (NRI / RNOR)
- Choose the tax year (2026-27 is the first under the 2025 Act).
- Choose citizen, person of Indian origin or foreign national, and what happened this year: living in India, visiting from abroad, or leaving for employment abroad.
- Enter your total income other than income from foreign sources, and whether another country taxes you as a resident.
- Type the days in India this year and in the 4 and 7 years before, plus your non-resident years out of the last 10 — or switch to Stay dates and paste each stay.
- Read the status, the tests that were met and how many more days you could spend in India.
Residential Status Calculator (NRI / RNOR) features
All section 6 tests
182 days; 60 days plus 365 in four years; the 120-day replacement for visitors with more than ₹15 lakh of Indian income; deemed residence.
RNOR check
Nine of ten non-resident years, 729 days in seven years, the ₹15 lakh / 120–181 day rule and deemed residents.
Stay dates
Splits stays across 1 April, counts overlaps once, and estimates your past non-resident years from the same log.
Days to spare
For a non-resident, how many more days in India keep the status.
Both Acts
Section 6 of the 2025 Act for 2026-27 onwards, and section 6 of the 1961 Act for 2020-21 to 2025-26.
The residence tests in section 6
An individual is resident in a tax year if any one of these is met. The CBDT’s section utility maps section 6 of the 1961 Act to section 6 of the 2025 Act, and the day tests are the same in both.
| Test (2025 Act) | Rule |
|---|---|
| 6(2)(a) | 182 days or more in India in the tax year |
| 6(2)(b) | 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years |
| 6(3) | 6(2)(b) does not apply to a citizen who leaves India in the year for employment abroad or as crew of an Indian ship |
| 6(4), 6(5) | 6(2)(b) does not apply to a citizen or person of Indian origin who lives abroad and comes on a visit — unless their income other than from foreign sources exceeds ₹15 lakh, when 120 days replace 60 |
| 6(7) | A citizen not liable to tax in any other country by domicile or residence, with such income over ₹15 lakh, is deemed resident |
Resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR)
Under section 6(13) a resident is “not ordinarily resident” if they were non-resident in nine of the ten preceding years, or in India for 729 days or less in the seven preceding years; or if they are a citizen or person of Indian origin with more than ₹15 lakh of Indian income who spent 120 to 181 days in India; or if they are resident only because of the deemed-resident rule. RNORs are taxed on Indian income and on foreign income from a business controlled or a profession set up in India, but not on other foreign income.
Example: a citizen living in Dubai visits India for 150 days, earned ₹18 lakh from Indian rent and interest, and spent 400 days in India over the previous four years. The 120-day rule applies, so they are resident — but RNOR, because of the 120–181 day rule.
Counting days and limits
Any part of a day in India is usually counted, so the day you arrive and the day you leave both count; some advisers leave out one of them, so the tool has an option to drop departure days. Days on a foreign-bound ship for Indian crew are counted under rules not modelled here. In stay-date mode the past ten years are estimated with the basic day tests only. Tax treaties can make you resident of one country only. This is a calculator built from the Act’s text, not tax advice. Compare the US rule with the substantial presence test calculator, or look up other sections with the Income-tax Act 2025 section mapping.
Residential Status Calculator (NRI / RNOR) FAQ
How do I calculate residential status for income tax in India?
Count your days in India in the tax year. 182 days or more makes you resident; otherwise 60 days or more plus 365 days in the four years before also makes you resident, with exceptions for people leaving for a job abroad and for visitors.
What is the 120-day rule for NRIs?
A citizen or person of Indian origin living abroad who visits India is resident at 120 days (with 365 days in the previous four years) if their income other than from foreign sources exceeds ₹15 lakh. Such a person is RNOR, not ROR.
How many days can an NRI stay in India for AY 2026-27?
Assessment year 2026-27 is the 1961 Act’s previous year 2025-26. A visiting NRI with Indian income up to ₹15 lakh stays non-resident below 182 days; above ₹15 lakh, below 120 days (if they had 365 days in the previous four years).
Who is a deemed resident?
An Indian citizen who is not liable to tax in any other country because of domicile or residence and whose Indian income exceeds ₹15 lakh. A deemed resident is treated as not ordinarily resident.
Is the residential status calculator for 2026-27 different?
The day tests did not change; from 1 April 2026 they are in section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and the year is called the tax year.
Is this tax advice?
No. It applies the published section 6 tests to the numbers you enter. Ask a qualified adviser about treaties and your own facts.