Tax residence in India for Pakistani taxpayers

India decides residence for its tax year of 1 April – 31 March under s. 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025: 182 days, or 60 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years, with special rules for Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin who visit India. Pakistan counts its own tax year of 1 July – 30 June. There is no comprehensive tax treaty between Pakistan and India, so a person resident in both stays resident in both and relies on each country's unilateral relief.

Check your status: Pakistan and India

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Pakistan's Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, compared with the law of India and the tax treaty.

When India treats you as a tax resident

India's tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March (tax year 2026-27 = 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027); for it, residence is determined under s. 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. 182 days or more in India in the tax year makes any individual resident.

A resident is «not ordinarily resident» (RNOR) if he or she was a non-resident of India in 9 of the 10 preceding tax years or spent 729 days or fewer in India in the 7 preceding tax years.

In the year an Indian citizen leaves India for employment abroad or as crew of an Indian ship, only the 182-day test applies.

An Indian citizen who is not resident under the day tests may still be deemed resident if his or her income other than foreign-source income exceeds ₹15 lakh.

For an Indian citizen living abroad who comes on a visit, the 60-day test does not apply; with Indian income above ₹15 lakh, a 120-day test applies instead.

The 60-day test needs, in addition, 365 days or more in India in the four preceding tax years.

The visitor rules of s. 6(4)–(5) also apply to persons of Indian origin who are not Indian citizens — a person is of Indian origin if he or she, either parent or any grandparent was born in undivided India. Deemed residence (s. 6(7)) applies only to citizens.

You were in India for 182 days or more in this tax year — you are resident in India under s. 6(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. As a resident and ordinarily resident, India taxes your worldwide income (s. 5(1)).
You were in India for 182 days or more — you are resident in India (s. 6(2)(a)), but not ordinarily resident (RNOR, s. 6(13)(a)) because of your past years. India taxes income received or arising in India, and foreign income only if it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India (s. 5(1)(c)).
You were in India for 182 days or more — you are resident in India (s. 6(2)(a)). Whether you are ordinarily resident depends on your past years (non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding tax years, or 729 days or fewer in the 7 preceding years, makes you RNOR); until you check, assume India taxes your worldwide income.
You were in India for 60 days or more this tax year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years — you are resident in India under s. 6(2)(b). As a resident and ordinarily resident, India taxes your worldwide income (s. 5(1)).
You were in India for 60 days or more this tax year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years — you are resident (s. 6(2)(b)), but not ordinarily resident (RNOR, s. 6(13)(a)). India taxes income received or arising in India, and foreign income only if it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India (s. 5(1)(c)).
You were in India for 60 days or more this tax year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years — you are resident in India (s. 6(2)(b)). Whether you are ordinarily resident depends on your past years; until you check, assume India taxes your worldwide income.
As an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin visiting India with income other than foreign-source income above ₹15 lakh, you spent 120 days or more in India this tax year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years — you are resident (s. 6(2)(b) read with s. 6(5)) and, by law, not ordinarily resident (s. 6(13)(b)). India taxes income received or arising in India, and foreign income only if it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India (s. 5(1)(c)).
You are an Indian citizen with income other than foreign-source income above ₹15 lakh and are not liable to tax in any other country by reason of domicile or residence — you are deemed resident in India (s. 6(7)) and, by law, not ordinarily resident (s. 6(13)(c)). India taxes income received or arising in India, and foreign income only if it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India (s. 5(1)(c)).

When you are a nonresident

You left India this tax year for employment abroad (or as crew of an Indian ship) and spent fewer than 182 days in India — you are non-resident (s. 6(3)) and not deemed resident. India taxes only income received or arising in India (s. 5(2)).
You live abroad and only visited India: you spent fewer than 182 days there and do not meet the 120-day rule for visitors with Indian income above ₹15 lakh (s. 6(4)–(5)), nor deemed residence — you are non-resident. India taxes only income received or arising in India (s. 5(2)).
You spent fewer than 182 days in India and do not meet the 60-day test (60 days this year and 365 days in the four preceding years), and you are not deemed resident — you are non-resident. India taxes only income received or arising in India (s. 5(2)).
You are not an Indian citizen and do not meet the 182-day or the 60-day test (60 days this year and 365 days in the four preceding years) — you are non-resident. India taxes only income received or arising in India (s. 5(2)).

Where the rules of India clash with Pakistani tax rules

Collision: resident in both Pakistan and India — no tie-breaker. Both countries treat you as resident and no treaty assigns your residence to one of them. Each taxes your worldwide income as a resident (in India, foreign income only if you are ordinarily resident). Relief: Pakistan credits Indian tax on Indian-source income (s. 103) and exempts Indian salary on which tax was deducted and paid in India (s. 102); India gives unilateral relief on income taxed in Pakistan (s. 160). Neither country's certificate of residence changes this. Plan your days: with fewer than 183 days in Pakistan and more than 182 days in India, a Pakistani citizen who is resident in India stops being resident in Pakistan under s. 82(d).
Collision: India's 60-day rule for repeated visitors. A person who is not an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin becomes resident in India with only 60 days in an Indian tax year if he or she spent 365 days or more in India in the four preceding tax years (s. 6(2)(b)). Regular business visitors from Pakistan can meet this without noticing. Pakistan may treat you as resident at the same time, and with no treaty both residences stand; however, if your earlier years were mostly as a non-resident of India, you are likely to be not ordinarily resident, so India taxes mainly Indian income.

What else to know

No income tax treaty between Pakistan and India. Pakistan and India have no comprehensive treaty for the avoidance of double taxation: India is not on FBR's list of Pakistan's full-scope treaties, nor on Pakistan's list of agreements covered by the MLI. The SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement of 2005 (in force since 19 May 2010) binds both countries but deals only with exchange of information, collection assistance, visiting teachers and researchers and students. Consequences: no tie-breaker for salaries and other income — you can be fully resident in both countries at once; no 183-day exemption for short assignments; no reduced withholding rates; no mutual agreement procedure on residence. Double tax is relieved only by each country's own rules: Pakistan's foreign tax credit (s. 103) and exemption of foreign salary taxed at source (s. 102), and India's unilateral relief (s. 160).
Different tax years: 1 July – 30 June and 1 April – 31 March. Pakistan counts days in its tax year (1 July – 30 June); India counts days in its tax year (1 April – 31 March). The same stay gives different totals: for example, a stay from 1 December to 30 June (212 days, or 213 in a leap year) falls in one Pakistani tax year but is split between two Indian tax years (121 or 122 days, and 91 days). Check both counts separately; India also looks at your days in the four preceding Indian tax years.
Person of Indian origin: visitor rules can apply to Pakistanis. Indian law treats a person as of Indian origin if he or she, either parent or any grandparent was born in undivided India. For such a person living abroad who visits India, the 60-day test does not apply (s. 6(4)): with Indian income other than foreign-source income of ₹15 lakh or less, you become resident only with 182 days or more in India; above ₹15 lakh, with 120 days and 365 days in the four preceding years — and then you are not ordinarily resident (s. 6(13)(b)). Keep proof of birthplace if you rely on this rule.
Not ordinarily resident in India: Pakistani income stays outside Indian tax. As a resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) of India, income arising outside India — for example rent from property in Pakistan or salary for work done in Pakistan — is taxed in India only if it comes from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India (s. 5(1)(c)). Pakistan may still tax it if you are resident there. RNOR status usually applies if you were non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding Indian tax years or spent 729 days or fewer in India in the 7 preceding years; check it every year.
Working in India while resident in Pakistan. India taxes pay for work done in India as income arising in India, even if you are non-resident and your employer is in Pakistan; with no treaty there is no 183-day exemption. In Pakistan, salary earned in India is exempt if Indian tax on it was deducted by the employer and paid to the Indian tax authority (s. 102); otherwise Pakistan gives a credit for the Indian tax, limited to the Pakistani tax on that income (s. 103).
How double tax is relieved without a treaty. If you are resident in Pakistan, Indian tax on Indian-source income is credited against Pakistani tax on that income, computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is lost and the Indian tax must be paid within two years after the end of the Pakistani tax year (s. 103). If you are resident in India, tax paid in Pakistan on income arising there is relieved by a deduction at the lower of the Indian and the Pakistani average rate on the doubly taxed income (s. 160). To prove tax paid in Pakistan, ask the Competent Authority for a certificate of tax paid (rule 19B).
Pakistani government posting to India. Federal and Provincial Government employees and officials posted abroad remain resident in Pakistan under s. 82(c), and their government salary is Pakistan-source income (s. 101). There is no treaty article reserving it to Pakistan; whether India taxes it depends on Indian law and diplomatic privileges, which this package does not model.
Moving between Pakistan and India: no split year. India decides your status for the whole tax year (1 April – 31 March) and Pakistan for the whole tax year (1 July – 30 June); neither has a split-year rule. Because the years overlap only partly, a move can make you resident in both countries for part of the time. A Pakistani citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and stays abroad for the rest of it is exempt in Pakistan on salary earned abroad in that year (s. 51(2)).
Social security: no Pakistan–India agreement. Pakistan is not on EPFO's list of countries with which India's social security agreements operate. There is no certificate of coverage, so contributions may be due under the rules of both countries for the same work.

How dual residence is resolved

There is no tax treaty in force between Pakistan and this country.

Terms you will come across in India

tax year (India): 1 April – 31 March; tax year 2026-27 is the first under the Income-tax Act, 2025
resident and ordinarily resident (ROR): a resident of India taxed on worldwide income
resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR): a resident whose foreign income is taxed only if it comes from a business or profession run from India
person of Indian origin: a person who, or whose parent or grandparent, was born in undivided India; the 60-day test does not apply to such visitors
TDS: tax deducted at source by the payer, e.g. the employer on salary
unilateral relief (s. 160): Indian relief for tax paid in a country without a treaty, at the lower of the two average rates

Questions

Is there a double taxation treaty between Pakistan and India?

No comprehensive one. India is not on FBR's list of Pakistan's full-scope treaties. Both are parties to the SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement of 2005, which covers only information exchange, collection assistance, teachers and students.

I visit India for 70 days a year on business. Can I become resident there?

Yes, if you are not an Indian citizen or person of Indian origin: 60 days in an Indian tax year plus 365 days in the four preceding years make you resident. You are then probably not ordinarily resident, so India taxes mainly your Indian income.

How is double tax relieved if both countries tax me?

Pakistan credits Indian tax on Indian-source income (s. 103) and exempts Indian salary on which Indian tax was withheld and paid (s. 102). India gives unilateral relief for Pakistani tax at the lower of the two average rates (s. 160).

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act No. 30 of 2025), s. 1(3) — Save as otherwise provided, the Act comes into force on 1 April 2026; tax year 2026-27 is the first tax year under it.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(1)–(2) — Residential status is determined for each tax year. An individual is resident in India in a tax year if in India for 182 days or more in that year, or for 60 days or more in that year and 365 days or more in the four years preceding it.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(13)–(14) — Not ordinarily resident: an individual non-resident in 9 of the 10 preceding tax years, or in India for 729 days or fewer in the 7 preceding tax years; a citizen or person of Indian origin with income other than foreign-source income above ₹15 lakh in India for 120–181 days; a citizen deemed resident under s. 6(7). Income from foreign sources: income accruing or arising outside India (except from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India) and not deemed to accrue or arise in India.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(3), (6) — The 60-day test does not apply to an Indian citizen who leaves India in the tax year as a member of the crew of an Indian ship or for employment outside India; only the 182-day test applies. Days of crew on a voyage are counted as prescribed.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(7)–(8) — An Indian citizen whose total income other than income from foreign sources exceeds ₹15 lakh and who is not liable to tax in any other country or territory by reason of domicile, residence or similar criterion is deemed resident in India; this does not apply to an individual already resident under s. 6(2)–(6).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(4)–(5) — The 60-day test does not apply to an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin who, being outside India, comes on a visit to India; if such a person's total income other than income from foreign sources exceeds ₹15 lakh, 120 days takes the place of 60 days (with 365 days in the four preceding years).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 5 — A resident is taxed on income received or deemed received in India, accruing or arising (or deemed to) in India, and accruing or arising outside India; for a not ordinarily resident, income accruing outside India is included only if it is from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India. A non-resident is taxed only on income received or deemed received in India, or accruing or arising (or deemed to) in India.
Government of India clarification on deemed tax residency, relayed by the Consulate General of India, Dubai, 3 February 2020 — The deemed-residence provision is not intended to include in the tax net Indian citizens who are bona fide workers in other countries; income they earn outside India is not taxed in India unless it is derived from an Indian business or profession.
FBR — Bilateral full scope treaties (list of Pakistan's comprehensive income tax treaties) — Lists 68 treaty partners of Pakistan, including Bangladesh, China and Japan; India is not on the list. India appears only among the limited purpose agreements (Air Transport Agreement).
Pakistan — MLI position at deposit, list of Covered Tax Agreements (OECD) — Pakistan's list of covered tax agreements includes no agreement with India.
SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Dhaka, 13 November 2005); India Notification No. 3/2011 — Signed in Dhaka on 13 November 2005 by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; in force from 19 May 2010; given effect in India from 1 April 2011. It covers exchange of information, assistance in collection, service of documents, visiting professors, teachers and researchers (exemption for up to two years) and students (employment income linked to studies up to USD 3,000 a year). It has no articles allocating taxing rights over salaries, business or investment income and no relief article.
FBR — Bilateral limited purpose treaties — Four limited purpose agreements: India (Air Transport Agreement), Jordan (airlines), Kenya (airlines and shipping), Saudi Arabia (airlines).
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 103 — A resident taxpayer gets a credit for foreign income tax on foreign-source income equal to the lesser of the foreign tax paid and the Pakistan tax on that income (average Pakistani rate × net foreign-source income), computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is not refunded, carried back or forward; the foreign tax must be paid within two years after the end of the tax year.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 160 (unilateral relief) — text from a secondary source — A resident who proves tax paid on income accruing outside India in a country with which India has no agreement under s. 159 gets a deduction from Indian tax on the doubly taxed income at the lower of the Indian and the foreign average rate of tax (the Indian rate if they are equal).
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(a) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if present in Pakistan for a period of, or periods amounting in aggregate to, 183 days or more in the tax year (1 July – 30 June).
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(d) (inserted by the Finance Act, 2022; consolidated text amended up to 30.06.2026 listed by FBR) — A citizen of Pakistan is also a resident individual if he or she is not present in any other country for more than 182 days during the tax year, or is not a resident taxpayer of any other country. Applies from tax year 2023.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 102 — Foreign-source salary received by a resident individual is exempt if the individual has paid foreign income tax on it; tax is treated as paid if it was withheld by the employer and paid to the revenue authority of the country where the employment was exercised.
Income Tax Rules, 2002, rule 19B — A non-resident may apply to the Competent Authority of Pakistan for a certificate of tax paid in Pakistan (by deduction, collection or otherwise) for presentation to the tax authority of the country of residence; proof of residence in that country is required.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(c) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if he or she is an employee or official of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government posted abroad in the tax year — regardless of days in Pakistan.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 101 — Salary is Pakistan-source to the extent it is received from employment exercised in Pakistan (wherever paid) or is paid by or on behalf of the Federal, a Provincial or a Local Government in Pakistan (wherever the employment is exercised). Dividends of resident companies, profit on debt and royalties paid by residents, rent and gains on immovable property in Pakistan, gains on shares of resident companies and pensions paid by residents are Pakistan-source; everything else is foreign-source.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 51 — (1) A citizen who becomes resident in a tax year after being non-resident in the four preceding tax years: foreign-source income is exempt in that tax year and the following one. (2) A citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and remains abroad for the rest of it: salary earned outside Pakistan in that year is exempt.
EPFO — International Workers: Social Security Agreements — India's social security agreements operate with Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Austria, Canada, Australia, Japan, Portugal, Brazil and Quebec. EPFO issues a certificate of coverage to employees posted to those countries, so they avoid contributing in the host country; periods count toward pension eligibility.
New tax regime, s. 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — rates for tax year 2026-27 (secondary source) — Nil up to ₹4 lakh; 5% ₹4–8 lakh; 10% ₹8–12 lakh; 15% ₹12–16 lakh; 20% ₹16–20 lakh; 25% ₹20–24 lakh; 30% above ₹24 lakh. Rebate for resident individuals with total income up to ₹12 lakh (up to ₹60,000); standard deduction ₹75,000 for salary; surcharge 10/15/25% above ₹50 lakh/₹1 crore/₹2 crore; 4% health and education cess. The old regime is available on opting in.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 263 — Return due dates (Table in s. 263(1)(c)): 31 July of the following financial year for assessees whose accounts are not audited; 31 October for audit cases. A resident other than not ordinarily resident who holds any asset outside India (including a financial interest in an entity) or has signing authority in an account outside India must file a return regardless of income. Belated return: within 9 months from the end of the tax year (or before assessment).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 393(2) (secondary source) — Tax is deducted at source on specified income paid or credited to non-residents, at the rates in the Table (in some cases 'rates in force' or the treaty rate), whether or not the non-resident has a presence in India.

Updated 04/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. The FBR, other tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes with each Finance Act. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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