I Moved Abroad Mid-Year – Am I an NRI for Tax This Year, or Not?

NRI or Resident? How the 182-Day Rule Determines Your Tax Status Under Section 6

Summary: Whether you qualify as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) for income-tax purposes does not depend on your passport, visa, bank account status, or overseas employment. It is determined primarily by the number of days you are physically present in India during the relevant financial year, as prescribed under Section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. For Indian citizens leaving India for employment abroad, the usual 60-day residency test is relaxed, and only the 182-day threshold applies in the year of departure. This distinction can significantly affect the taxability of foreign salary and other income. A practical example demonstrates how even a few weeks’ difference in the date of departure can change residential status and alter tax liability. The article also explains the tax implications for NRIs, Resident and Ordinarily Residents (RORs), Resident but Not Ordinarily Residents (RNORs), and briefly highlights the deemed resident provision applicable in certain cases.

“I flew out to Dubai for a new job on 12 September 2025. My bank in India still treats me as a resident, my Gulf employer doesn’t cut any Indian tax on my salary, and honestly I have no idea whether India can tax that money. Am I an NRI this year or not?” – this is the single most common question that lands in my inbox.

It feels like it should be simple. You left India, so surely you’re a Non-Resident Indian? Unfortunately, your passport, your visa and even your bank’s label have nothing to do with it. For income tax, India cares about exactly one thing: how many days you physically spent in India during the tax year. Get the count right and everything else – which income is taxed, how much TDS applies, whether you even need to file – falls into place.

The rule that decides it: Section 6

Your residential status for Financial Year 2025-26 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), which you assess and file for in Assessment Year 2026-27, is decided under Section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The day-count logic in Section 6 is long-settled – the same thresholds Indians have relied on for decades. You are a resident if you meet either of the two basic tests in Section 6(1). If you meet neither, you are a non-resident (NRI) for the year.

Meet neither test = Non-Resident (NRI) for the year.

The special relief for people leaving for a job

Here is the part that saves most first-time NRIs. If you are an Indian citizen leaving India for employment abroad, Test 2’s harsh 60-day threshold is stretched to 182 days under Explanation 1(a) to Section 6(1). In other words, in your year of departure you only need to keep your India stay under 182 days to become an NRI – the 60-day trap does not apply to you. The same relief (under Explanation 1(b)) applies to Indian citizens or persons of Indian origin who are only visiting India.

(One caveat for high earners: an Indian citizen with Indian income above Rs 15 lakh who is not liable to tax in any other country can, under Section 6(1A), be treated as a ‘deemed resident’. For a salaried person genuinely working and taxed in the Gulf or abroad, this usually does not bite – but it is worth a quick check.)

Let’s count Rahul’s days – with real numbers

Take the reader who wrote in. Call him Rahul. He lived in India from 1 April 2025 and flew to Dubai on 12 September 2025 to start his job. His day-count in India for the year looks like this:

Rahul spent 164 days in India – below 182, so he fails Test 1. And because he left for employment abroad, Test 2 uses the 182-day threshold too, which he also fails. Result: Rahul is an NRI for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). That single fact means his Dubai salary is completely outside the Indian tax net. Only his Indian-source income – say, rent from a Mumbai flat or interest on an NRO deposit – is taxable in India this year.

Now flip one detail. Suppose Rahul had delayed his move and flown out on 5 October 2025 instead. His India stay would jump to about 188 days – over the line. He would be a resident, and his Gulf salary for the whole year could be pulled into Indian tax (subject to relief under the relevant tax treaty). A three-week difference in travel dates can change your entire tax bill. This is why I always tell clients planning a mid-year move: the calendar is a tax-planning tool.

What your status actually controls

• NRI: only income that arises or is received in India is taxable under Section 5(2) – Indian rent, NRO interest, capital gains on Indian assets. Your foreign salary and foreign investments are outside India’s reach.
• Resident and Ordinarily Resident (ROR): your worldwide income is taxable in India under Section 5(1).
• Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR, under Section 6(6)): a transition status for returning NRIs where foreign income mostly stays exempt for a couple of years. If you are moving back to India, that is a separate and very valuable planning point.

The takeaway

Don’t guess your status from your gut – count your days. Keep boarding passes and passport stamps, tally your India days for the year, and check them against the two tests in Section 6. If you are leaving for a job abroad, aim to keep your India stay under 182 days in your departure year, and you will comfortably qualify as an NRI. And looking ahead to FY 2026-27 (starting 1 April 2026, governed by the new Income-tax Act, 2025), the same 182-day logic carries over unchanged under Section 6 of that Act – so the habit you build now serves you next year too. When in doubt, get the count checked before you book that extra trip home.

*****

About the Author: Sonia Dawar is a Chartered Accountant and the founder of Dawar & Co. She has spent years helping NRIs, returning Indians and cross-border families untangle India’s tax rules without the jargon – turning intimidating questions into clear, confident decisions. Have a burning NRI tax question? Write to her at sonia@dawarandco.com or visit dawarandco.com.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information based on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (governing Financial Year 2025-26, Assessment Year 2026-27) and is not a substitute for personalised professional advice.