What is RNOR, and how long does it last?

Three Indian tax statuses, not two

Indian income tax sorts individuals into three groups each tax year (April to March):

• Non-resident (NR): taxed in India only on Indian income.
• Resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR): a resident, but with a narrower tax base, described below.
• Resident and ordinarily resident (ROR): taxed in India on worldwide income.

The rules are in section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which applies to tax years from 1 April 2026. RNOR is section 6(13) of the 2025 Act; under the Income-tax Act, 1961 it was section 6(6), the number most articles still use. The Income Tax Department's non-resident help page says the test did not change.

Step one: are you resident at all?

You can be RNOR only in a year you are resident. Under section 6(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (section 6(1) of the 1961 Act, the number most people still search by), an individual is resident in a tax year with 182 days or more in India, or with 60 days or more in the year plus 365 days or more in the four years before it. For Indian citizens there are exceptions: a citizen leaving India for employment abroad is resident only with 182 days or more, and a citizen or person of Indian origin visiting India with Indian income above ₹15 lakh uses 120 days in place of 60. Whether someone moving back for good is "coming on a visit" for this rule is a point practitioners argue about; a Chartered Accountant should look at your dates.

Step two: the RNOR test

A resident individual is RNOR for a tax year if either of these is true:

1. They were a non-resident in nine out of the ten tax years before it; or
2. They were in India for 729 days or fewer in the seven tax years before it.

The incometax.gov.in page notes that these look-back years can include years under the 1961 Act, so your years abroad count even though the Act changed.

How long it lasts: work it out from the test

Take someone who lived abroad ten years or more, visiting India a few weeks a year.

Arriving in April, at the start of a tax year. Year 1: resident (well over 182 days); the ten years before were all non-resident, so RNOR. Year 2: nine of the previous ten years were non-resident, so RNOR again. Year 3: only eight of ten were non-resident, so the first test fails; in the seven years before, Years 1 and 2 alone are 730 days or so, which fails the second test. Year 3 is ROR. Result: two RNOR years.

Arriving later in the tax year, say in October. Year 0 has fewer than 182 days. If only the 182-day rule applies to you (see the visit question above), Year 0 is a non-resident year, when foreign income is not taxed in India either. Years 1 and 2 are RNOR on the nine-of-ten test. In Year 3 the nine-of-ten test fails, and the days test depends on the total: Year 0's days, plus 365 for each of Years 1 and 2, plus earlier visits, is above 729, so Year 3 is ROR. Result: a non-resident part-year, then two RNOR years.

When the days test adds a year. Someone who arrives early enough to be resident in Year 1, say in August, has 240 or so days that year. In Year 3, the seven-year count is about 240 plus 365 plus the earlier visits. If those visits were short, the total can stay at 729 or below, making Year 3 RNOR too. Result: up to three RNOR years.

So for a long-time NRI the answer is two or three tax years, depending on the arrival date and past visits. The RNOR timeline calculator does this count from your dates.

What RNOR protects

Under section 5(1) of the 2025 Act, a resident's income includes income that accrues or arises outside India, but for someone not ordinarily resident, that foreign income is included only if it comes from a business controlled in, or a profession set up in, India. In practice, during RNOR years India generally does not tax:

• interest, dividends and capital gains on US accounts;
• withdrawals from a US 401(k) or IRA;
• rent from a US property,

as long as the income accrues and is received outside India. Income received in India, and all Indian income, is taxed as usual.

What it does not change

• The US side. RNOR is an Indian status. If you are no longer a US tax resident, the US still taxes your US-source income: a 401(k) withdrawal still has US tax withheld and a Form 1040-NR to file. If you are a US citizen or green card holder, the US still taxes your worldwide income.
• Your bank accounts. NRE and NRO accounts follow India's foreign exchange law (FEMA), which uses a different residence test. RBI's FAQ (16 January 2025) says NRE accounts should be designated as resident accounts, or the funds may be moved to an RFC account, at your option, immediately on return for a job or on a change in residential status; NRO accounts may be designated as resident accounts. The tax exemption for NRE interest is tied to FEMA status, so it can end on your return even while you are RNOR. FCNR deposits may run to maturity, and their interest exemption covers both non-residents and people who are not ordinarily resident.

What people time around it

• Realizing gains on US investments during RNOR years, when India does not tax them, while checking the US tax on the same sale.
• Withdrawing from US retirement accounts in RNOR years, with the US withholding and the 10% early-withdrawal tax still in view; see the 401(k) withdrawal calculator.
• Holding FCNR deposits to maturity, and deciding what to do with them before ROR.
• Sorting out Indian mutual funds, which are Indian income in every status; for a US person they are also PFICs, covered in the PFIC calculator.