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India · tax residency · 2026

How many days make you tax resident in India?

182days
Tax residency thresholdchecked 2026-08-18 · incometaxindia.gov.in

182 days 182 days or more in the tax year; alternatively 60 days or more in the tax year combined with 365 days or more in the four preceding years makes you tax resident in India — but the day count is only the test people know about.

Next step

One email when the app can tally these days for you.

How we know

Figures are as Income Tax Department, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) publishes them at incometaxindia.gov.in, checked 18 August 2026.

Day threshold
182 days 182 days or more in the tax year; alternatively 60 days or more in the tax year combined with 365 days or more in the four preceding years
Tax year
1 April – 31 March
Other tests
Section 6(2), Income-tax Act, 2025: "An individual shall be resident in India in a tax year, if he— (a) is in India for a total period of one hundred and eighty-two days or more in that tax year; or (b) is in India cumulatively for sixty days or more during that year and has been in India cumulatively for three hundred and sixty-five days or more in the four years preceding such tax year." RELAXATIONS: s.6(3) disapplies limb (b) for an Indian citizen who leaves India in the tax year as a member of the crew of an Indian ship or for the purposes of employment outside India; s.6(4) disapplies limb (b) for an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin who, being outside India, comes on a visit to India — so only the 182-day test applies to them. s.6(5): where such a visitor has total income exceeding fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year (other than income from foreign sources), limb (b) applies "as if the words 'sixty days' had been substituted with 'one hundred and twenty days'". DEEMED RESIDENCE, s.6(7): irrespective of the above, an individual is deemed resident if he (a) is a citizen of India, (b) is not liable to tax in any other country or territory due to his domicile, residence, or similar criteria, and (c) has total income exceeding fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year (other than income from foreign sources); s.6(8) disapplies this to anyone already resident under s.6(2)–(6).
Worldwide income
Yes — residents are taxed on worldwide income
Special regimes
RESIDENT BUT NOT ORDINARILY RESIDENT (RNOR), s.6(13). A person is not ordinarily resident if they are: (a) an individual who has been a non-resident in India in nine out of the ten tax years preceding that year, OR in India cumulatively for 729 days or less in the seven tax years preceding that year; or (b) an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin whose total income excluding income from foreign sources exceeds fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year AND who has been in India cumulatively for 120 days or more but less than 182 days in the tax year; or (c) an Indian citizen deemed resident under s.6(7). Effect, s.5(1)(c): foreign-accruing income is included "only when it is derived from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India". No dedicated digital-nomad or remote-worker regime exists — official site searches for 'digital nomad', 'remote worker' and 'expatriate' returned nothing relevant.
Authority
Income Tax Department, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
Checked
18 August 2026

Sources are listed further down the page.

How the counting works

WHICH ACT APPLIES: the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025, assented 21 August 2025) came into force on 1 April 2026 and by s.536(1) repealed the Income-tax Act, 1961. The rules recorded here are therefore those of the 2025 Act, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026, which govern the tax year running 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027. Assessment year 2026-27 (i.e. the year ended 31 March 2026) is still assessed under the 1961 Act. VOCABULARY: the 2025 Act abolishes 'previous year' and 'assessment year' and uses a single term — s.3(1): "'tax year' means the twelve months period of the financial year commencing on the 1st April". DRAFTING PRECISION: the familiar shorthand that the 60-day limb is 'extended to 182 days' for visiting Indian citizens/PIOs is NOT the statutory wording — ss.6(3) and 6(4) disapply limb (b) altogether, leaving only the 182-day test. Only the 120-day rule in s.6(5) is drafted as a word substitution. Likewise the INR 15 lakh threshold is 'total income ... other than the income from foreign sources', not 'total Indian income'; s.6(14) defines income from foreign sources as income accruing or arising outside India (except income derived from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India) which is not deemed to accrue or arise in India. WORLDWIDE INCOME: s.5(1) includes, for a resident, all income received or deemed received in India, accruing or deemed to accrue in India, and accruing outside India — with the RNOR carve-out in s.5(1)(c) as the only exception. s.6(6) provides that for an Indian citizen who is a member of the crew of a foreign-bound ship leaving India, the days in India for that voyage are determined in a prescribed manner.

Why the day count is the part you can control

Ties, homes and intentions are argued after the fact; days are a record. That is why the first thing an adviser asks for is a list of the days you were in the country — and why reconstructing it from boarding passes and photos a year later is a bad afternoon. Log each stay as it happens and the tally is simply there, with the dates that produced it. If you are moving to India to work remotely, the India digital nomad visa page covers the permission side.

Sources

Questions people ask about India tax residency

How many days can you spend in India before becoming tax resident?

182 days 182 days or more in the tax year; alternatively 60 days or more in the tax year combined with 365 days or more in the four preceding years makes you tax resident in India, and residents are taxed on worldwide income. Days are not the only route in: Section 6(2), Income-tax Act, 2025: "An individual shall be resident in India in a tax year, if he— (a) is in India for a total period of one hundred and eighty-two days or more in that tax year; or (b) is in India cumulatively for sixty days or more during that year and has been in India cumulatively for three hundred and sixty-five days or more in the four years preceding such tax year." RELAXATIONS: s.6(3) disapplies limb (b) for an Indian citizen who leaves India in the tax year as a member of the crew of an Indian ship or for the purposes of employment outside India; s.6(4) disapplies limb (b) for an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin who, being outside India, comes on a visit to India — so only the 182-day test applies to them. s.6(5): where such a visitor has total income exceeding fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year (other than income from foreign sources), limb (b) applies "as if the words 'sixty days' had been substituted with 'one hundred and twenty days'". DEEMED RESIDENCE, s.6(7): irrespective of the above, an individual is deemed resident if he (a) is a citizen of India, (b) is not liable to tax in any other country or territory due to his domicile, residence, or similar criteria, and (c) has total income exceeding fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year (other than income from foreign sources); s.6(8) disapplies this to anyone already resident under s.6(2)–(6). Checked 18 August 2026 against incometaxindia.gov.in.

When is India's tax year?

1 April – 31 March. Day counts are measured against that year unless the rule names a different period — here, 182 days or more in the tax year; alternatively 60 days or more in the tax year combined with 365 days or more in the four preceding years.

Are residents of India taxed on worldwide income?

Yes — once you are tax resident in India, worldwide income falls in scope, subject to double-tax treaties. RESIDENT BUT NOT ORDINARILY RESIDENT (RNOR), s.6(13). A person is not ordinarily resident if they are: (a) an individual who has been a non-resident in India in nine out of the ten tax years preceding that year, OR in India cumulatively for 729 days or less in the seven tax years preceding that year; or (b) an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin whose total income excluding income from foreign sources exceeds fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year AND who has been in India cumulatively for 120 days or more but less than 182 days in the tax year; or (c) an Indian citizen deemed resident under s.6(7). Effect, s.5(1)(c): foreign-accruing income is included "only when it is derived from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India". No dedicated digital-nomad or remote-worker regime exists — official site searches for 'digital nomad', 'remote worker' and 'expatriate' returned nothing relevant.

Is there a special tax regime for people moving to India?

RESIDENT BUT NOT ORDINARILY RESIDENT (RNOR), s.6(13). A person is not ordinarily resident if they are: (a) an individual who has been a non-resident in India in nine out of the ten tax years preceding that year, OR in India cumulatively for 729 days or less in the seven tax years preceding that year; or (b) an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin whose total income excluding income from foreign sources exceeds fifteen lakh rupees in the tax year AND who has been in India cumulatively for 120 days or more but less than 182 days in the tax year; or (c) an Indian citizen deemed resident under s.6(7). Effect, s.5(1)(c): foreign-accruing income is included "only when it is derived from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India". No dedicated digital-nomad or remote-worker regime exists — official site searches for 'digital nomad', 'remote worker' and 'expatriate' returned nothing relevant. Conditions and time limits apply; the official page below is the place to check them.

How does Stretch count tax days for India?

Every stay you log feeds the tally: Stretch counts the days you were present against the 182-day threshold in the right window, so "how long was I actually there?" is answered before your accountant asks. Tax-day tallies are part of Stretch+; the day counter and the alerts are free forever.

Tax days elsewhere

India, the rest of it

Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice, and this is not tax advice. Visa and tax rules change and are applied by the authority, not by an app — every figure here shows its source and the date we checked it. Checked 2026-08-18; confirm on the official page before you apply or file.