Do I Need to File an ITR? Checker for NRIs

Do I need to file an ITR?

Pick your residency status, enter your Indian income and the tax deducted from it, and tick what else applies. You'll see whether the law requires a return from you, whether you should file anyway to get money back, and why.

Fact-checked against official sources · 27 Sep 2026Next review Mar 2027Tax year 2026-27

How this checker decides

This checker is part of our guides to filing your return from abroad. It answers one question for tax year 2026-27: does the law require an Indian income-tax return from you, and if it doesn’t, should you file one anyway? It works for any individual, but it’s built for non-resident Indians.

If you aren’t sure of your status, the residency status checker works it out from your days in India.

It runs through the tests in the return-filing section of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and the conditions in rule 163 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Meeting any one test is enough.

2025 Act s. 263(1)was s. 139(1)

When you must file

Your income is above the limit. Your Indian income, counted before any exemption for reinvesting a gain and before deductions, is above ₹4 lakh, the new regime’s basic exemption limit, or ₹2.5 lakh for a non-resident who chooses the old regime. For a resident who is ordinarily resident, it’s worldwide income. The test looks at income, not tax, so a rebate that brings a resident’s tax to nil doesn’t lift it.
Enough tax was deducted. Tax deducted or collected from you by all payers together reaches ₹25,000, even if your income is under the limit. For a resident aged 60 or over, the figure is ₹50,000; a non-resident of any age uses the lower one.
A deposit, travel or electricity condition. You put large sums into current or savings accounts, spent heavily on foreign travel, or paid large electricity bills. The checkbox lists each figure.
A loss to carry forward. A capital loss only carries into later years if a return reporting it is filed by the due date. 2025 Act s. 263(1)(a)(viii)was s. 139(3)
Assets abroad, if you’re resident and ordinarily resident. Holding any asset or account outside India makes a return compulsory, whatever your income. NRIs and RNORs are outside this rule.

When you don’t need to

A non-resident whose only Indian income is dividends, or income from shares, bonds or deposits bought with foreign currency, with tax deducted at the full rate the Act sets, needn’t file, even above the limit. For dividends, a lower treaty rate can take you outside it. 2025 Act s. 216was s. 115G 2025 Act s. 207(8)was s. 115A(5) One rupee of rent or NRO interest takes you outside it. The checker treats this exemption as lifting the tax-deducted and spending conditions too. The Act says a return isn’t necessary without carving those out, but the department hasn’t said so expressly, so treat that part as a grey area.

When you should file anyway

If more tax was deducted than you owe, a return is the only way to get it back. 2025 Act s. 433was s. 239 That’s common after a property sale, where the buyer usually deducts on the whole price, and where a treaty rate is lower than the rate deducted. 2025 Act s. 159was s. 90

Take the example above. Nikhil lives in Singapore and earns ₹3,20,000 of NRO interest, under the limit. But his bank deducted ₹99,840, well above ₹25,000, so he must file. With his income under the limit he owes no tax, so the whole deduction comes back to him when he does.

What the checker leaves out

It uses the new regime’s limit, which applies unless you opt out; tick the old-regime box and a non-resident is tested against the old regime’s limit instead. The age-based old-regime limits are for residents only, so a resident on the old regime is told to check that figure. It asks your age only for the tax-deducted figure.
It doesn’t ask about business turnover or professional fees, which have their own conditions in rule 163 and rarely apply to someone working abroad.
Whether deposits into NRE or NRO savings accounts count toward the savings figure isn’t settled. Nor is whether a trip from India back to the country you live in is foreign travel. Travel to neighbouring countries is left out of that condition.
It checks individuals only, not a family business or a trust you run.

When to get a chartered accountant

Your answer rests on the investment-income exemption, and you have large dividends or gains.
A deposit or travel condition is close for you and involves NRE or NRO accounts.
You’re moving back this year and aren’t sure whether you’re RNOR or ordinarily resident.
You have a loss to carry forward and the due date, 31 July 2027, is close.

If you do need to file, our guide to choosing the right ITR form is the next step.

Our other calculators cover the rest of an NRI’s Indian tax.

Questions about this calculator

My income is under the limit. Why does the checker say I must file?

Because the income test is only one of several. Tax deducted or collected from you adds up across every payer, and once it reaches ₹25,000 in the year (₹50,000 if you're resident and 60 or over), a return is compulsory whatever your income. A bank deducting at the flat non-resident rate on NRO interest gets there quickly. The same return is where you claim the excess back.

Where do I find the total tax deducted from me?

In your Form 168 (was Form 26AS) on the e-filing portal. It lists every deduction reported against your PAN by banks, tenants, buyers and companies. Add them up for the tax year, including any tax collected at source.

Does the checker look at my foreign salary?

Not if you're a non-resident or RNOR. India taxes you only on Indian income, so the checker asks for that alone. If you're resident and ordinarily resident, your worldwide income counts, and holding any asset or account abroad makes a return compulsory by itself.

I missed the due date. Does the answer change?

No, the same tests decide whether you have to file. You can still file a belated return until 31 December 2027, with a late fee, and still get a refund. A capital loss reported late can't be carried forward, though.