NRI Tool
RNOR Status Checker
Returning to India? Find out whether you qualify as RNOR — the transitional status that can keep your foreign income out of Indian tax for two to three years.
Your India days
For FY 2026-27. Count every day you were physically present in India.
Your likely status
An estimate under Section 6 — confirm with an advisor.
Returning NRI Guide
RNOR: The Returning NRI's Tax Window
Move back to India and you don't become a full taxpayer overnight. For two to three years you may be RNOR — and your foreign income can stay out of Indian tax. Here's how to know, and how to use it.
Updated for the day-count rules in force for FY 2026-27.
When you move back to India after years abroad, you don't flip straight to full resident. For a two-to-three-year window you can be RNOR — and during it, your foreign income generally stays outside India's tax net. It is one of the few genuinely plannable moments in cross-border tax, and it closes on a date you can calculate years in advance.
What RNOR actually means
Indian tax law sorts you into one of three boxes each year, based almost entirely on how many days you spent in India:
- Non-Resident (NRI): only your Indian income is taxed.
- Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR): the in-between. Indian income is taxed; most foreign income is not.
- Resident & Ordinarily Resident (ROR): your worldwide income is taxed, and foreign assets must be reported.
RNOR is the bridge between the first and the last. For a returning NRI, landing in RNOR rather than ROR in a transition year can be the difference between your overseas salary, pension and investment income staying out of Indian tax — or all of it coming in.
The two-step test
Your status is decided in two steps. You must clear the first before the second even applies.
Step 1 — Are you a resident this year?
You are a resident if either is true:
- You were in India 182 days or more during the year, or
- You were here 60 days or more this year and 365 days or more across the previous four years.
Two concessions matter for returning NRIs. If you were abroad for employment, the 60-day limb is stretched to 182 days — so effectively only the 182-day test applies. For a visiting NRI or PIO whose Indian income exceeds ₹15 lakh, the threshold is 120 days, and crossing it lands you in RNOR automatically.
Step 2 — Are you ordinarily resident?
If you are a resident, you are RNOR (not ROR) if either is true:
- You were a non-resident in at least 9 of the 10 financial years before this one, or
- You were in India 729 days or fewer across the previous 7 years.
You only need to satisfy one of the two. Most people who were continuously abroad for seven years or more pass at least one in their first year or two back, which is why RNOR typically runs for two to three years.
Use the checker above to run your own day counts through both steps and see your likely status — then read on for what to do with the window.
What's taxed, and what isn't
While you're RNOR, the line is simple: Indian-source income is taxed; most foreign income is not. So rent from your Indian flat, interest on NRO deposits and gains on Indian shares are taxable as usual. But your foreign salary already earned abroad, foreign interest and dividends, and gains sitting in an overseas brokerage generally stay out of India's reach — much as they did when you were an NRI.
The one carve-out: foreign income from a business controlled from India or a profession set up in India is taxable even for an RNOR.
The planning window — and how to use it
Practitioners say the most commonly missed opportunity is failing to crystallise foreign gains while still RNOR. A sale that is tax-free in India during RNOR may become taxable once you're ROR — especially if the other country taxes it lightly or not at all. Things worth doing inside the window:
- Realise foreign capital gains that would otherwise be taxed once you're ROR.
- Convert NRE / FCNR balances into an RFC account. Held in an RFC while RNOR, that interest can stay tax-free; convert it as an ordinary resident and it becomes taxable.
- Reorganise or consolidate foreign holdings before worldwide taxation and foreign-asset reporting begin.
- Mind your return date. Returning in February or March rather than April can buy an extra transition year, because your first resident year starts later in the cycle.
Your accounts change too
Residential status under tax law and under FEMA are different questions, but returning triggers both. Once you're a resident under FEMA, your NRE and NRO accounts must be redesignated as resident accounts, and NRE/FCNR balances can move into an RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) account, which suits the RNOR period. Don't wait for your bank to prompt you — track your own status and inform your institutions ahead of time.
When the window closes
Because RNOR ends on a date you can calculate in advance, treat it as a deadline. Three to six months before it closes, revisit any foreign gains still to be realised, finish account conversions, and prepare for what comes next: worldwide income becomes taxable, and you must report foreign assets in your return under Schedule FA. Missing that reporting carries heavy penalties, so build it into your first ROR year from the start.
Which return do I file?
An RNOR cannot use ITR-1 or ITR-4. You'll generally file ITR-2, or ITR-3 if you have business income, and you'll claim any treaty relief on Indian income through Form 67. Getting the residential status right on the return is critical — marking yourself ROR by mistake can pull your entire global income into Indian tax.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How RNOR status works for returning NRIs — who qualifies, what stays tax-free, and how long the window lasts.
RNOR — Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident — is a transitional tax status between being a non-resident (NRI) and a full resident. While you are RNOR, your Indian income is taxed normally, but most of your foreign income stays outside India's tax net.
First you must be a resident this year under the day-count tests. Then you are RNOR — rather than an ordinary resident — if either applies: you were a non-resident in at least 9 of the last 10 years, or you were in India 729 days or fewer over the last 7 years. You only need to satisfy one.
An NRI is not a resident at all and is taxed only on Indian income. An RNOR is a resident, but a special one: Indian income is taxed while most foreign income is still exempt. The practical tax outcome on foreign income is often similar, but your account and filing obligations differ.
Usually two to three financial years after you return, depending on how many of the preceding years you were non-resident and when in the year you come back. It is decided afresh each year — it is not a multi-year grant.
Your Indian-source income — salary for work done in India, rent from Indian property, interest on NRO deposits, and gains on Indian assets. Most foreign income is not taxed, the exception being foreign income from a business controlled from India or a profession set up in India.
Generally no. Salary already earned abroad, foreign interest and dividends, and gains in an overseas brokerage usually stay outside Indian tax during the RNOR period, much as they did when you were an NRI.
By days in India. You are a resident if you were here 182 days or more this year, or 60 days or more this year plus 365 days or more across the previous four years. For someone returning from employment abroad, the 60-day limb is relaxed to 182 days.
A visiting NRI or PIO whose Indian income exceeds ₹15 lakh becomes a resident on spending 120 days or more in India (with 365+ days across the prior four years) — and lands in RNOR automatically that year, rather than becoming an ordinary resident.
Because a foreign gain that is tax-free in India during RNOR can become taxable once you are an ordinary resident. Realising foreign capital gains, and converting balances into an RFC account, while still RNOR can save meaningful tax. The window closes on a date you can calculate in advance.
A Resident Foreign Currency account holds foreign-currency funds after you return. Interest on it can stay tax-free while you are RNOR, but becomes taxable once you are an ordinary resident — so the timing of the conversion matters.
It can. Returning late in a financial year means your first resident year starts later in the cycle, which can effectively add an extra transition year of RNOR benefit. It depends on your day counts, so check your own position.
Once you become a resident under FEMA, NRE and NRO accounts must be redesignated as resident accounts, and NRE/FCNR balances can be moved into an RFC account. Inform your bank ahead of time rather than waiting to be prompted.
Not ITR-1 or ITR-4. An RNOR generally files ITR-2, or ITR-3 if there is business income, and claims treaty relief on Indian income through Form 67. Marking yourself as an ordinary resident by mistake can pull your entire global income into Indian tax.
The full foreign-asset reporting obligation (Schedule FA) applies to ordinary residents. Once your RNOR period ends and you become ROR, reporting foreign assets becomes mandatory and carries heavy penalties if missed — so prepare for it before the window closes.
No. It is an educational estimate under Section 6 based on your day counts and simplifies some edge cases. Residential status has significant tax consequences, so confirm your position with a qualified cross-border tax professional before filing.