Before you start

PAN
A day count kept against April to March
Records of foreign income and foreign tax paid
A tax residency certificate from your home country for any treaty claim

Step-by-step

1
Get PAN before payroll starts
Employers must report tax deducted at source against a PAN. Without one, withholding jumps to a penal rate recoverable only by filing a return the following year.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Count days against April to March
The financial year runs 1 April to 31 March. Arrivals from calendar-year countries consistently miscount and reach the wrong residency answer. Arrive after early October and you generally cannot reach 182 days that year.
OnlineWho: You
3
Establish whether you are RNOR
RNOR applies if you were non-resident in nine of the preceding ten years, or present in India 729 days or fewer across the preceding seven. Nearly every fresh arrival qualifies, and while RNOR, foreign-source income is generally outside Indian tax.
OnlineWho: You, with an adviser in year one
4
Model both regimes on your own numbers
The new regime has lower rates and almost no deductions and applies by default. The old regime allows house rent allowance, section 80C and home-loan interest. Jaipur is outside the higher HRA band, so the exemption is computed at 40% of salary rather than the 50% available in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and — from the 2026-27 year, under the Income-tax Rules 2026 — Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. Jaipur rents are also low, which weakens the old regime further.
Via employerWho: You
5
Arrange treaty documentation in advance
Claiming relief under a double taxation avoidance agreement generally needs a tax residency certificate from your home authority plus Form 10F. Obtaining one retrospectively from abroad is much harder than doing it before you leave.
OnlineWho: You
6
File using Form 16 and the AIS
Your employer issues Form 16 summarising salary and tax deducted. Reconcile against the Annual Information Statement on the e-filing portal, file, and e-verify. Withholding at source does not remove the obligation to file.
OnlineWho: YouBy 31 July following the financial year

Documents you’ll need

PAN
Form 16 from your employer
Passport with entry and exit stamps for the day count
Annual Information Statement and Form 26AS
Tax residency certificate and Form 10F for treaty claims

Things most newcomers don’t know

Rajasthan levies no professional tax on salaries, unlike Maharashtra, West Bengal or Karnataka.

Most Indian states deduct a small monthly professional tax from employees, but Rajasthan is one of the states that does not levy it on salaried individuals. The sums are small, but it illustrates a wider point: net pay comparisons between Indian cities are not like-for-like, because state payroll levies, house rent allowance rates and rent levels all differ. Compare take-home after these, not headline gross.

Source: Rajasthan Commercial Taxes Department

Jaipur sits outside the higher house rent allowance band, and that quietly favours the new regime.

The old regime's HRA exemption was for two decades capped at 50% of salary in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and 40% everywhere else. The Income-tax Rules 2026, notified on 20 March 2026, widened the 50% band to eight cities by adding Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad from the 2026-27 year — Jaipur was not among them and remains at 40%. Combined with rents here being a fraction of those in the metros, the single biggest reason to elect the old regime is much weaker in this city. Someone arriving with advice from a Delhi colleague will usually reach the wrong answer.

Source: Income-tax Rules 2026 — CBDT notification of 20 March 2026

RNOR is a two-to-three year shelter that nobody announces to you.

While Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident, income arising outside India — foreign salary, overseas rent, foreign interest and gains — is generally outside Indian tax; only Indian-source income is caught. Once you become Ordinarily Resident, worldwide income is taxable and foreign asset reporting begins. There is no notification. Timing a foreign disposal inside the window rather than just after it can be worth a great deal.

Source: Income Tax Department — residential status

The April-to-March year makes the month you move a real financial lever.

Residency is counted per financial year. Arrive in November and you cannot reach 182 days by 31 March, so you stay non-resident for that year and only Indian-source income is taxed. Arrive in July and you cross comfortably. Where the start date is negotiable, this is one of the largest levers available, and it is completely invisible to anyone thinking in calendar years.

Source: Income Tax Department — residential status

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting days against a calendar year rather than April to March.
Assuming Jaipur gets the 50% house rent allowance rate — it does not, even after the 2026 expansion to eight cities.
Letting the new regime apply by default without modelling the old one.
Filing without a PAN, or taking penal withholding for months.
Leaving your home country without obtaining a tax residency certificate.

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