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. Resident status generally brings worldwide income into scope; the RNOR category has narrower scope in specific circumstances.
OnlineWho: You
3
Count against April to March, not January to December
India's tax 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 under 115BAC is the default: lower rates, very few deductions. The old regime allows house rent allowance and section 80C deductions at higher rates. Delhi counts as a metro for the house rent allowance formula, which gives the higher exemption percentage — for someone paying substantial NCR rent, that can outweigh the lower headline rates.
Via employerWho: You
5
Get a tax residency certificate from home before you leave
India's treaty network is extensive, but claiming relief generally requires a tax residency certificate from your home authority plus Form 10F. Obtaining one retrospectively, after you have left, is considerably harder.
OnlineWho: You
6
File using Form 16 and the online portal
Your employer issues Form 16 summarising salary and tax deducted. Returns are filed through the income tax portal. Delhi levies no professional tax, unlike Maharashtra and several other states.
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

Delhi charges no professional tax, unlike Maharashtra.

Several Indian states levy a small monthly professional tax on salaried employees, deducted at source — Maharashtra and Karnataka among them. Delhi does not. It is a modest sum, but it is one of several small ways the NCR is administratively lighter than Mumbai or Bengaluru.

Source: Delhi Government — taxation

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, which changes which year your arrival income falls into and how the 182-day count works. Miscounting across the wrong twelve months is the most common newcomer error.

Source: Income Tax Department — residential status

House rent allowance under the old regime is worth more in Delhi.

The old regime allows a salaried employee to exempt part of a house rent allowance, with a higher percentage for metro cities. Delhi qualifies. For a foreign professional paying substantial NCR rent this can be a large sum — and it exists only in the old regime, which you must actively elect.

Source: Income Tax Department — tax rates

Treaty relief usually needs a certificate from your home tax authority.

Claiming benefits under India's treaty network generally requires a tax residency certificate issued by your home country plus Form 10F. Arrange it before you move, while you still have an active relationship with that authority.

Source: Income Tax Department — non-resident FAQs

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting your days against a calendar year rather than April to March.
Staying in the default new regime without modelling the old regime's house rent allowance exemption.
Filing without a PAN, or losing income to the higher no-PAN withholding rate.
Not obtaining a tax residency certificate from home before moving.
Assuming NCR states are interchangeable for tax — Haryana and Uttar Pradesh differ from Delhi.

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