I moved abroad mid-year: how is my freelance income taxed?

A Hyderabad UX designer moves to Lisbon in October. A Delhi developer relocates to Dubai in July. Their clients stay the same, but India's claim on their income may change. Three separate questions apply: income tax residence, GST location and FEMA residence.

Am I still resident in India for income tax?

Residence is decided for each tax year under section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. You are resident if you are in India for 182 days or more in the tax year, or for 60 days or more in the year and 365 days or more in the four preceding years.¹ For a citizen leaving India for employment outside India, only the 182-day test applies.¹ Section 6(13) also creates a "not ordinarily resident" category for people who were mostly non-resident in earlier years.¹

Someone who leaves India around the end of September 2026 has spent roughly 182 or 183 days in India in tax year 2026-27, so a few days either way can change the answer under the 182-day test.¹ Keep your passport stamps and travel records.

What does India tax in each case?

Section 5 of the 2025 Act sets the scope:²

A non-resident cannot use the 50% presumptive scheme in Table row 3 of section 58(2), which is limited to resident individuals and firms.⁵ If you remain resident in India for the year and your new country also taxes the income, sections 159 and 160 give credit for the foreign tax.² See income tax on foreign income.

What happens to GST?

An export needs the supplier to be located in India under section 2(6) of the IGST Act, and section 2(15) looks at your registered place of business or fixed establishment.⁴ If you keep an Indian registration and keep supplying from India, the usual rules continue. If you now work entirely from abroad, your invoices may no longer be Indian supplies at all, and you may need to cancel the registration.

Do RBI rules still apply?

FEMA's definition of "person resident in India" in section 2(v) excludes a person who has gone out of India for employment, to carry on a business or vocation outside India, or for another purpose showing an intention to stay outside India for an uncertain period.³ Once you are a person resident outside India, the export rules for residents stop applying to your new invoices, but invoices raised before the move still need to be realised.

Your new country's tax rules and any treaty with India also matter, so speak to a chartered accountant in India before your move, ideally one who can coordinate with an adviser abroad. See permanent establishment risk if you work abroad for only part of the year.