Am I an NRI? — 182/60+365 day test, RNOR, deemed resident

Quick frame: Indian income-tax residency is decided by physical days in India, not by visa, citizenship, or where your salary lands. Section 6 of the Income-tax Act has two limbs — and a third "deemed-resident" trap added in Finance Act 2020 for high-income Indians.

The basic test

You are a Resident in a financial year if either:

1. You spent ≥ 182 days in India this FY, OR
2. You spent ≥ 60 days this FY AND ≥ 365 days in the preceding 4 FYs combined

If neither applies, you are a Non-Resident (NRI).

The 60-day threshold is relaxed to 182 days if you are an Indian citizen or PIO who:

• Leaves India for employment abroad, or
• Visits India during the year, AND your Indian-source income is below ₹15 lakh

The deemed-resident rule (FA 2020)

If you are an Indian citizen with Indian-source income > ₹15 lakh AND you are not liable to tax in any other country, you are deemed Resident — even if you spent 0 days in India. This catches stateless tax-residents (e.g., Indians in UAE/Bahrain who earn rental and dividends from India but are tax-residents nowhere).

RNOR — the 2-year buffer for returning NRIs

Even if you are Resident, you can be "Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident" (RNOR) if either:

• You were Non-Resident in 9 of the last 10 FYs, OR
• You were in India ≤ 729 days in the last 7 FYs

RNOR is the sweet spot — your foreign income stays exempt in India for up to 2-3 years after returning. Plan your move in late February or March to maximise this.

Use the NRI Residency Tool — it walks through all three tests.

Why it matters

Status	Indian income	Foreign income
Resident & Ordinary	Taxed	Taxed
RNOR	Taxed	Exempt (mostly)
Non-Resident (NRI)	Taxed	Exempt

Misreading status leads to either over-paying tax or attracting Section 90 / 91 inquiries on undisclosed foreign income.

FAQ

Q. Is the day of arrival/departure counted? A. Per CBDT and judicial precedent, both the day of arrival and the day of departure are counted as days in India. Keep passport stamps as proof.

Q. Does the new regime change residency? A. No. Residency is determined under Section 6 first; once you are a Resident, you choose between old and new regime for your tax slabs.

Q. I'm a US citizen of Indian origin — does the deemed-resident rule apply? A. No. The deemed-resident rule applies only to Indian citizens. PIOs/OCIs with foreign citizenship are exempt from the ₹15-lakh rule.