Are you still an NRI?
Your tax obligations in India depend entirely on your residential status under Section 6 of the Income Tax Act — not on whether you hold an NRI bank account or an OCI card. An NRI is someone who has been in India for fewer than 182 days in the financial year, or who meets the 60-day/365-day test for those with lower historical presence. The NRI residential status calculator takes your days in and outside India and applies both tests step by step, telling you whether you qualify as NRI, ROR (Resident and Ordinarily Resident) or RNOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident) for FY 2026-27.
Getting this wrong has real consequences. An NRI's foreign income is not taxable in India; a resident's global income is. NRE account interest is tax-free only while you qualify as NRI under FEMA. If you've spent more days in India than you realised — perhaps working remotely during the pandemic years carried forward — you may have been resident without knowing it. Run the calculator before assuming your NRE FD interest is exempt.
The RNOR window when you return
Returning to India doesn't immediately make your foreign income taxable. If you qualify as RNOR — typically for 2–3 years after coming back, depending on your history — foreign income earned outside India remains outside the Indian tax net. The RNOR calculator works out how many financial years you stay in this transitional status before becoming a full ROR, when worldwide income becomes taxable. This window is critical for planning: repatriating NRE balances, restructuring foreign investments, and timing the sale of overseas assets can save significant tax if done while RNOR status still applies.
NRE vs NRO — same rate, very different after-tax outcome
Banks advertise identical headline rates on NRE and NRO fixed deposits, which makes the choice seem trivial. It isn't. NRE interest is fully exempt under Section 10(4)(ii) with no TDS. NRO interest faces 31.2% TDS from the first rupee — turning a 7% gross rate into roughly 4.8% in your hands. The NRE vs NRO FD calculator compares maturity values on the same deposit, rate and tenure, with DTAA rate options for USA, UK, UAE and Germany residents who submit a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F to their bank.
Use NRE for foreign earnings you want to hold in rupees — tax-free and fully repatriable. Use NRO for Indian-source income like rent, pension or dividends — taxable, but the right account type for money already earned in India. All three calculators run locally in your browser with FY 2026-27 rules; for cross-border tax planning involving multiple countries, consult a CA experienced in NRI taxation.