Before you start

PAN card
Understanding of your residential status for the financial year
Records of foreign income and any tax paid abroad
Awareness of the April-to-March financial year

Step-by-step

1
Get the PAN card first
Without it, tax is deducted at a higher rate and you cannot file. Foreign nationals can apply online.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Work out your residential status
182 days or more in the financial year makes you resident, as does 60 days plus 365 across the preceding four years. Resident status generally brings worldwide income into scope.
OnlineWho: You
3
Count against April to March
India's financial year runs 1 April to 31 March. Arrivals from calendar-year countries consistently miscount and misjudge which year income falls into.
OnlineWho: You
4
Model the new regime against the old
The new regime — section 202 of the Income-tax Act 2025, formerly section 115BAC of the 1961 Act — is the default: lower rates, very few deductions. The old regime allows house rent allowance and section 80C deductions at higher rates, and Hyderabad's house rent allowance cap rose from 40% to 50% of salary from FY 2026-27 under the Income-tax Rules 2026. A return for FY 2025-26 still uses 40%; from FY 2026-27 you get the same band as Mumbai or Delhi. Run both.
Via employerWho: You
5
Expect a Telangana professional tax line on your payslip
The state levies a small monthly professional tax on salaried employees, deducted at source. It is modest and it is separate from income tax — it is simply a line most newcomers do not expect.
Via employerWho: You
6
Arrange a tax residency certificate before you leave home
Claiming treaty relief generally requires a certificate from your home tax authority plus Form 10F. Getting one retrospectively is considerably harder.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

PAN card
Form 16 from your employer
Passport with entry and exit stamps, for the day count
Tax residency certificate from your home country, for treaty claims
Records of foreign income and foreign tax paid

Things most newcomers don’t know

Hyderabad moved into the 50% house rent allowance band from FY 2026-27, after two decades outside it.

The old regime caps the house rent allowance exemption at a percentage of salary set by city. For twenty years that was 50% in only Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and 40% everywhere else, Hyderabad included. The Income-tax Rules 2026 added Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad to the 50% list with effect from FY 2026-27. Two consequences: older guides and payroll templates still say 40% and will be wrong, and a return for FY 2025-26 genuinely is still on 40% — the change is not retrospective.

Source: Income-tax Rules 2026 / Income Tax Department — tax rates

Telangana charges professional tax; Delhi and Haryana do not.

A small monthly deduction levied by the state on salaried employees, appearing as its own payslip line. Modest in amount, but one of a set of state-level differences that make Indian packages not directly comparable across cities.

Source: Telangana Commercial Taxes Department

The financial year runs April to March, and it trips up everyone.

Almost every country these newcomers come from uses a calendar or mid-year tax year. India's runs 1 April to 31 March, changing both the day count and which year arrival income falls into.

Source: Income Tax Department — residential status

Treaty relief usually needs a certificate from your home authority.

India's treaty network is extensive, but claiming benefits generally requires a tax residency certificate from your home country plus Form 10F. Arrange it before you move.

Source: Income Tax Department — non-resident FAQs

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting your days against a calendar year rather than April to March.
Using an old payroll template that still applies the 40% house rent allowance cap to Hyderabad — it is 50% from FY 2026-27.
Filing without a PAN, or losing income to the higher no-PAN withholding rate.
Not obtaining a tax residency certificate from home before moving.
Being surprised by the Telangana professional tax line and assuming it is an error.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.