{"id":17912,"date":"2026-04-08T16:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/uncategorized\/residential-status-under-the-new-income-tax-regime-why-it-matters-for-nris-and-founders\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:00:14","slug":"residential-status-under-the-new-income-tax-regime-why-it-matters-for-nris-and-founders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/business\/residential-status-under-the-new-income-tax-regime-why-it-matters-for-nris-and-founders\/","title":{"rendered":"Residential status under the new income\u2011tax regime: Why it matters for NRIs and founders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Residential status is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Indian income\u2011tax law. Yet it directly affects **which income is taxable in India** for NRIs, returning Indians and founders who travel frequently.<\/p>\n<p>This guide explains residential status under the new regime and why it matters.<\/p>\n<h2>Basic tests for residential status<\/h2>\n<p>In simplified terms, residential status depends on the **number of days you stay in India** in a financial year and over a rolling period. The law defines tests for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Resident and ordinarily resident<\/li>\n<li>Resident but not ordinarily resident<\/li>\n<li>Non\u2011resident<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Different tests and thresholds can apply depending on your Indian income and citizenship.<\/p>\n<h2>Why residential status matters<\/h2>\n<p>Your residential status determines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Whether **global income** is taxable in India or only Indian\u2011sourced income<\/li>\n<li>Eligibility for certain deductions and exemptions<\/li>\n<li>TDS requirements and reporting in returns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>NRIs often face surprises when their status changes but their tax planning does not.<\/p>\n<h2>Practical steps for NRIs and mobile founders<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep a **day\u2011count tracker** for time spent in India.<\/li>\n<li>Before changing jobs, relocating or extending stays, discuss impact on residential status with your tax advisor.<\/li>\n<li>Review foreign income (salary, ESOPs, investments) and map which parts may become taxable in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Good planning prevents double taxation and messy disputes later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residential status is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Indian income\u2011tax law. Yet it directly affects **which income is taxable in India** for NRIs, returning Indians and founders who travel frequently. This guide explains residential status under the new&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/business\/residential-status-under-the-new-income-tax-regime-why-it-matters-for-nris-and-founders\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7146],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastlegal.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}