How do I count 182 days for NRI status in India?

Count every day you are physically present in India during the financial year (April 1 – March 31). Both arrival and departure days count as full days. Any part of a day counts as a full day. Days spent in India for any reason — vacation, medical, business — all count equally.

What is the 60-day rule for NRI status?

Even if you spent fewer than 182 days in India in the current financial year, you may become Resident if you spent 60 or more days in the current year AND 365 or more days in aggregate in the four preceding financial years. This rule catches NRIs who visit India very frequently.

What is RNOR status and how long does it last?

RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) is a transitional status for returning NRIs who have become physically resident in India. During RNOR, foreign-sourced income remains tax-free. You qualify if you were NRI in 9 of the last 10 years OR spent 729 or fewer days in India in the preceding 7 years. RNOR typically lasts 2–3 years after you return permanently.

How to Calculate NRI Status: The 182-Day Rule Explained (2025)

Q: What happens to my NRI status if I accidentally stay more than 182 days?

If you cross 182 days in a financial year, you become Resident for that year. Your global income becomes taxable in India. You must file ITR-2 declaring all global income, claim DTAA relief on foreign income already taxed abroad via Form 67, and convert NRE accounts to resident accounts under FEMA. You can revert to NRI status in the following year if you leave India and meet the threshold again.

What NRI Status Actually Means

Most people conflate FEMA NRI status with Income Tax NRI status — they are governed by separate laws and use different thresholds. For tax purposes, the relevant law is the Income Tax Act, 1961. Section 6 defines a person as a Resident if they are present in India for 182 days or more during the financial year (April 1 – March 31). If you fall below this, you are a Non-Resident Indian for that year.

Why does it matter so much? Because your residency status determines which income is taxable in India. As an NRI, only income that accrues or arises in India — salary for services rendered in India, rental income, NRO interest, capital gains on Indian assets — is taxable. Your foreign salary, foreign bank interest, and foreign capital gains are completely outside India's tax net.

How to Count the 182 Days

Days That Count

Both arrival and departure days count as days spent in India. If you land on April 5 and fly out on April 7, that is 3 days.
Any part of a day counts as a full day — even a 2-hour transit through an Indian airport if you clear immigration.
The financial year runs April 1 – March 31. Count every day within this window, not the calendar year.
Days spent in India for any reason — vacation, medical treatment, business — all count equally.

Days That Do NOT Count

Days on a flight over India without landing.
Days spent in Indian waters on a foreign vessel en route to a foreign port (mariner exception under Section 6).

The 60-Day and 730-Day Lookback Rules

Section 6 has a second test that catches NRIs who return to India frequently. Even if you spent fewer than 182 days in the current financial year, you become Resident if both of the following are true:

You were in India for 60 or more days in the current financial year, AND
You were in India for 365 or more days in aggregate in the four preceding financial years.

This rule is particularly relevant for NRIs who come back for extended family visits across multiple years. If you spent 70 days in India this year and visited for 3–4 months per year for the past four years, you may be Resident even without crossing 182 days.

Exception: The 60-day rule does not apply to Indian citizens or PIOs who leave India for employment abroad. For these individuals, the threshold remains 182 days regardless of prior-year visits.

RNOR: The Return Transition Status

When you return to India permanently after years abroad, you do not immediately become a full Resident. The Income Tax Act provides a transitional category called Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR). You qualify as RNOR if either:

You have been an NRI in 9 of the 10 preceding financial years, OR
You have spent 729 days or fewer in India in aggregate over the preceding 7 financial years.

During RNOR status — typically 2–3 years — your foreign-sourced income remains tax-free in India. NRE account interest also remains exempt. This is a valuable window many returning NRIs fail to use effectively.

Step-by-Step: How to Track Your Days Reliably

Keep a passport log — every immigration stamp records entry and exit dates.
Use your airline booking history as a secondary reference.
Maintain a simple spreadsheet: arrival date, departure date, total days per visit, running total for the financial year.
At the start of each financial year (April), check how many days you have already used of your 182-day budget.
If you approach 130–140 days by January, plan remaining India trips carefully.

What Happens If You Accidentally Become Resident

If you cross 182 days unintentionally — due to a medical emergency or visa delay — your global income becomes taxable in India for that year. File ITR-2 for that year disclosing global income, claim DTAA relief on foreign income already taxed abroad via Form 67, and convert NRE accounts to resident accounts as required under FEMA. In the following year, if you leave India again and meet the NRI threshold, you can revert to NRI status immediately — there is no lock-in period.

Use the NRI Tools Residency Tracker to log every India visit and get an automatic running day-count with alerts before you approach the 182-day threshold — open the tracker.