Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
Count physical presence, year by year
The test looks at physical days in India in the financial year (April–March), not the calendar year. Add up every day you were on Indian soil, across all trips in the year. The reason you were here — work, family, holiday — does not change the count.
Arrival and departure days
By the common reading followed in practice, both the day you land and the day you leave are counted as days in India, because you were physically present for part of each. This matters when you are close to a threshold — two extra days per trip can add up. Day-count nuances have been litigated; confirm the treatment if you are borderline.
Keep evidence — an example
Example: you make three trips of 40, 35 and 30 days. Counting arrival and departure for each, that is 105 days, comfortably under the 182-day limit — but if your Indian income is over ₹15 lakh, you are nearing the 120-day line. Keep your passport stamps and boarding passes as proof, since the department can ask. A simple habit helps: maintain a running log of every entry and exit date through the year, rather than reconstructing it from memory at filing time — people who travel frequently are the ones most likely to miscount and accidentally tip into resident status. Our NRI tax service can verify your count.