Last updated: August 2026 | Written by Ashish Kumar, Founder at BusinessBuilts
If you have ever watched Apple or NVIDIA hit a new high and thought “kaash mere paas bhi ye stocks hote,” you are not alone. A growing number of Indian investors are searching for how to invest in US stocks from India, looking beyond Nifty and Sensex to build a slice of their portfolio in dollar-denominated assets. At BusinessBuilts, we get this question often, and the good news is, it is a lot simpler than it used to be five years ago.
This guide walks you through exactly how to invest in US stocks from India, from the legal routes available, to the taxes you will actually pay, to the mistakes that trip up most first-timers. No jargon, no sales pitch, just what you need to make an informed decision.
Why Indians Are Investing in US Stocks
Before we get into how to invest in US stocks from India, it helps to understand why so many investors are asking this question in the first place. Take Rohit, a 29-year-old software engineer in Bangalore. His entire portfolio, until last year, was Indian equity mutual funds and a few direct stocks. Then he realised something simple: every company powering the AI boom he works with daily, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Broadcom, isn’t listed on the NSE or BSE at all. If he wanted a piece of that growth story, India’s stock market simply couldn’t offer it.
That is the core pull for most Indian investors today.
Diversification beyond Indian markets. Nifty and Sensex are closely tied to India’s domestic economic cycle. When Indian markets go through a rough patch, US markets often move independently, which smooths out overall portfolio volatility.
Access to companies with no Indian equivalent. There is no Indian-listed NVIDIA, no Indian-listed SpaceX, no Indian-listed Amazon. If you want direct ownership in the businesses shaping global tech, US markets are the only route.
Currency as a secondary return driver. Since US stocks are priced in dollars, a weakening rupee against the dollar can add to your returns when you convert back to INR. This isn’t guaranteed, currency can move either way, but it is a real factor long-term investors consider.
A natural next step for existing equity investors. If you already invest regularly in Indian stocks or mutual funds through platforms discussed on BusinessBuilts’ investment category, adding a small US allocation is often the next logical step in a well-rounded portfolio.
None of this means you should move your entire portfolio overseas. Most financial planners suggest keeping international exposure to a modest percentage of your total investments, purely as a diversification tool rather than a replacement for domestic investing.
How to Invest in US Stocks from India: 4 Proven Routes
There isn’t one single way to do this. Depending on how hands-on you want to be, how much you plan to invest, and how comfortable you are with paperwork, one of these four routes will suit you better than the others.
Route 1: GIFT City / IFSCA-Regulated Platforms
This is the route most beginners end up choosing. Platforms operating out of GIFT City, Gujarat’s International Financial Services Centre, are regulated by IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) as Global Access Providers. You complete your KYC in India using your PAN, transfer money in INR, and your US stocks wallet sits within this regulated Indian framework. No need to open an account with a broker sitting in New York.
The appeal here is simplicity. Digital KYC, fast fund transfers through direct bank integrations, and the ability to start with as little as $1 through fractional shares.
Route 2: Direct Foreign Broker Account
You can open an account directly with an international broker like Interactive Brokers or Charles Schwab. This gives you a genuinely global trading account, but it comes with more paperwork, potentially higher account maintenance requirements, and you are dealing with a foreign entity rather than an India-based one for support and grievance redressal.
This route suits investors who want a wider range of instruments, more advanced order types, or plan to invest larger sums and prefer dealing directly with an established global brokerage.
Route 3: Indian Mutual Funds and ETFs
If you are specifically looking at how to invest in US stocks from India through mutual funds, this is your route. Rather than dealing with foreign remittance at all, several SEBI-regulated Indian mutual funds and ETFs invest in US markets on your behalf. You invest in INR, through your existing Indian mutual fund account, no LRS remittance required.
This is the lowest-effort route, but you lose the ability to pick individual stocks. You are buying into a fund’s existing basket, whatever that fund manager has chosen.
Route 4: GIFT City Mutual Funds
A middle path. These are USD-denominated funds, managed by Indian AMCs, but structured through India’s International Financial Services Centre and regulated by IFSCA. You get fund-manager expertise with more direct dollar exposure than a typical INR-based international fund.
For a side-by-side breakdown of stock-picking versus fund-based investing in general, check out BusinessBuilts’ stocks and trading section.
Step-by-Step Process to Start Investing in US Stocks
Once you have picked a route, the actual process looks roughly like this across most platforms.
Step 1: Choose your route and platform. Decide between a GIFT City platform, a direct foreign broker, or a mutual fund route based on how much control you want over stock selection.
Step 2: Complete your KYC. You will need your PAN card, address proof, and bank account details. Most GIFT City platforms complete this digitally within minutes, no paperwork or branch visits.
Step 3: Transfer funds under LRS. Your bank processes this remittance under RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Direct bank integrations on most platforms mean this can happen within hours rather than days.
Step 4: Convert INR to USD. Your rupees get converted to dollars, either automatically through the platform or as a separate step depending on which route you chose.
Step 5: Buy your stocks or ETFs. With fractional share investing widely available now, you don’t need the full price of a stock to get started. Priya, a 34-year-old marketing manager in Pune, started her US investing journey by putting just ₹2,000 into a fractional share of Amazon, something that would have been impossible a few years ago when whole-share purchases were the only option.
One paperwork item worth knowing about is the W-8BEN form, a US tax document that reduces dividend withholding tax from 30% to 25% under the India-US tax treaty. Most platforms submit this on your behalf automatically, so you rarely need to fill it out yourself, but it is worth confirming with whichever platform you choose.
RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS): How Much Can You Invest
The LRS is the regulatory backbone that makes all of this legal. Under this scheme, RBI permits Indian residents to remit up to $250,000 per financial year for a range of purposes, including investing in foreign stocks.
A few practical points worth knowing:
This limit is combined, not stock-specific. The $250,000 cap applies to your total outward remittances in a financial year, travel, education, gifts, and stock investments all draw from the same pool. If you have sent money abroad for other purposes earlier in the year, that reduces what’s left for stock investing.
It applies per individual. Each adult Indian resident gets their own $250,000 limit. Priya and her husband, for instance, can each remit up to the limit independently, effectively doubling their household’s combined LRS capacity if both choose to invest.
You don’t need to use it all at once. Many investors treat this like a monthly SIP, remitting a fixed smaller amount regularly rather than one large lump sum, which also helps average out currency fluctuation risk over time. If you’re new to SIP-style investing in general, BusinessBuilts’ personal finance category has more on building this habit.
For more on how LRS interacts with other financial goals, see BusinessBuilts’ banking category. For the official scheme details, RBI’s own page on the Liberalised Remittance Scheme is the authoritative source.
Taxes on US Stocks for Indian Investors
This is the section most articles rush through, but it genuinely affects your real returns, so it deserves proper attention.
Capital gains tax. Unlike Indian equities, which get a concessional long-term capital gains rate, gains from US stocks are taxed as per your applicable income tax slab rate in India, regardless of how long you held them. There is no special LTCG benefit or indexation advantage the way there is for domestic equity investments.
Dividend tax and DTAA. When a US company pays you a dividend, the US withholds tax at source, typically 25% for Indian residents once the W-8BEN form is on file (down from the default 30%). Thanks to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and the US, you can claim credit for this tax already paid abroad when filing your Indian return, so you are not taxed twice on the same income.
Foreign Tax Credit via Form 67. To actually claim that DTAA credit, you need to file Form 67 along with your Indian income tax return. This is a separate filing step many first-time investors miss, and missing it means losing out on tax credit you were entitled to.
Schedule FA and FSI disclosure. If you hold foreign assets, including US stocks, you are required to disclose them under Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) and report foreign income under Schedule FSI in your ITR. This isn’t optional. Non-disclosure of foreign assets can attract penalties under the Black Money Act, so this is not a step to skip even if the amounts involved feel small.
For a full breakdown of how capital gains work for Indian investors generally, browse BusinessBuilts’ tax category. For the treaty text itself, refer to the official India-US DTAA on India Code.
TCS on Foreign Remittance: Current Rules Explained
Tax Collected at Source (TCS) is one of the most misunderstood parts of this entire process, largely because the rules have changed more than once in recent years and a lot of content online still reflects outdated thresholds.
Here is what matters practically. TCS is deducted by your bank at the time of remittance under LRS, above a certain threshold amount in a financial year. It is not an additional cost in the way brokerage or forex markup is. It is a credit. When you file your income tax return, this TCS amount gets adjusted against your total tax liability, and if it exceeds what you owe, you get it refunded.
Because TCS thresholds and rates have been revised by the government in recent budgets, always confirm the exact current threshold and rate on the Income Tax Department’s official TCS notification page before making a large remittance, rather than relying on any single article, this one included, since rules can shift with each budget cycle.
Best Platforms to Invest in US Stocks from India
Once you understand how to invest in US stocks from India, the next question is which platform to actually use. Rather than pushing one particular platform, here is how to think about your options across the practical routes.
| Route Type | Regulation | Typical Minimum | Best Suited For |
| GIFT City platforms | IFSCA (GIFT City) | As low as $1 | Beginners, SIP-style investors, fractional buyers |
| Domestic broker tie-ups | SEBI-linked partnerships with foreign brokers | Varies, often higher | Existing brokerage customers wanting a familiar interface |
| Direct foreign broker | Regulated in country of broker (US SEC/FINRA) | Often higher, more paperwork | Larger investors, active traders, advanced order types |
| Indian mutual funds/ETFs | SEBI | As low as an SIP amount | Passive investors avoiding remittance paperwork entirely |
When comparing platforms within any of these categories, look closely at four things: brokerage per trade, forex conversion markup (this is where most hidden cost lives, often 0.5% to 1.5% depending on the bank or platform), account opening and annual maintenance fees, and how fast fund transfers and withdrawals actually happen in practice.
A quick note on the two apps everyone asks about. If you’re searching how to invest in US stocks from India Groww, the direct answer is that Groww does not currently let you buy individual US stocks. It offers international ETFs and mutual funds with US exposure instead, which falls under Route 3 above. Similarly, if you’re wondering how to invest in US stocks from India Zerodha, Zerodha doesn’t offer direct US stock purchases either.
Zerodha Coin lets you invest in Indian mutual funds that hold US assets, again Route 3 rather than direct stock ownership. If direct ownership of individual stocks like Apple or NVIDIA matters to you, a GIFT City platform or a direct foreign broker is the route to take, not your existing Indian trading app.
Which Route Should You Choose? A Decision Framework,
If you are still unsure how to invest in US stocks from India based on your own situation, here is a simple way to think about it based on how you actually plan to invest.
Investing small amounts regularly (SIP-style)? A GIFT City platform is usually your best fit. Low minimums, fast digital onboarding, and fractional shares mean you can start with a few thousand rupees a month without friction.
Investing a large lump sum with active trading plans? A direct foreign broker gives you more advanced tools, wider instrument access, and often better pricing at scale, worth the extra paperwork if you are investing seriously.
Want diversification with zero remittance hassle? Indian mutual funds or ETFs with US exposure let you stay entirely within the INR ecosystem while still getting international exposure, ideal for passive, low-maintenance investors.
Somewhere in between, want dollar exposure but prefer a fund manager’s expertise? GIFT City mutual funds offer that middle ground.
Risks and Things to Know Before Investing
International investing isn’t riskier than domestic investing by default, but the risks are different, and worth understanding clearly before you commit money.
Currency risk works both ways. A weakening rupee boosts your INR returns, but a strengthening rupee eats into them. This cuts both directions and shouldn’t be treated as a guaranteed tailwind.
US estate tax is a real, underdiscussed risk. Here is something most guides skip entirely. If you hold US-situated assets, including US stocks, worth more than $60,000 at the time of your death, your estate can be subject to US estate tax, which can run as high as 40% on the value above that threshold.
This applies to non-resident aliens, which includes Indian investors who are not US citizens or residents. It is a genuine consideration for anyone planning to build a substantial US stock portfolio over time, and it is worth discussing with a tax advisor if your holdings are likely to grow well beyond that threshold. You can read more directly from the IRS guidance on estate tax for non-resident aliens.
No derivatives access. Indian residents cannot trade futures and options on US exchanges under current LRS regulations. This route is for equity investing only, not trading strategies involving leverage or derivatives.
Settlement and transfer delays. US markets typically settle on a T+1 or T+2 cycle, and cross-border fund transfers can take longer than domestic transactions. Don’t expect the same instant settlement you’re used to with Indian trading accounts.
Resident Indian vs NRI: Key Differences When Investing in US Stocks
Most articles treat “Indian investor” as one uniform category, but Resident Indians and NRIs face genuinely different rules.
Resident Indians invest under the LRS framework described throughout this guide, with the $250,000 annual limit and standard KYC through PAN.
NRIs generally do not use the LRS route the same way, since LRS applies specifically to persons resident in India under FEMA. NRIs typically invest using funds held in NRE or NRO accounts, and the applicable rules, repatriation process, and reporting requirements differ from those governing resident investors.
Tax residency matters too. Your tax obligations on US stock gains depend on your residential status for tax purposes in a given financial year, not just your citizenship. If your residential status changes, from resident to NRI or vice versa, your tax treatment on existing holdings can change as well, which is worth reviewing with a tax professional during any transition.
How to Withdraw Money from Your US Stocks Account
Getting money out follows a fairly consistent pattern across most platforms. You initiate a withdrawal request specifying the USD amount you want to convert back to INR, the platform processes the currency conversion at the prevailing exchange rate, and funds are transferred to your linked Indian bank account.
Timelines vary by platform, but typically range from a few hours to a couple of business days, factoring in both the currency conversion step and standard cross-border settlement processes. Always check whether your specific platform charges a withdrawal fee, some genuinely don’t, while others build a small markup into the exchange rate itself rather than charging a separate fee.
Common Mistakes First-Time US Stock Investors Make
Forgetting to claim TCS credit at tax filing time. TCS deducted during remittance isn’t lost money, but if you don’t account for it properly while filing your ITR, you end up paying tax you didn’t actually owe.
Ignoring estate tax exposure as holdings grow. Many investors start small and don’t revisit their US stock allocation as it compounds over years. Once you’re approaching or past the $60,000 threshold, it is worth actively planning around this rather than discovering it as a surprise later.
Chasing single popular stocks instead of diversifying. It is tempting to put everything into whichever stock is trending, but the same diversification principles that apply to Indian equity investing apply here too. A single-stock bet carries more risk than a diversified basket via ETFs.
Underestimating total cost. Brokerage fees look small in isolation, but combined with forex conversion markup and any platform fees, the real cost of a transaction can add up meaningfully, especially for frequent smaller trades.
FAQs
Can Indians legally invest in US stocks?
Yes, completely legal. Indian residents can invest in US stocks and other foreign securities under RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, up to $250,000 per financial year.
Is there a minimum investment amount to start?
It depends on the platform, but many GIFT City platforms allow you to start with as little as $1 through fractional shares, making it accessible even for beginners with modest amounts.
How to invest in US stocks from India through Groww?
Groww does not offer direct purchase of individual US stocks. It provides exposure through international mutual funds and ETFs, so if you’re set on how to invest in US stocks from India Groww, understand you’ll be buying fund units, not direct shares, and this falls under the mutual fund route covered earlier in this guide.
How to invest in US stocks from India through Zerodha?
Zerodha does not currently offer direct US stock investing either. Through Zerodha Coin, you can invest in Indian mutual funds with international exposure. If your goal with how to invest in US stocks from India Zerodha is direct ownership of a specific stock, you’ll need a GIFT City platform or a direct foreign broker instead.
Is investing through mutual funds better than buying stocks directly?
It depends on your goal. How to invest in US stocks from India through mutual funds is the simpler, lower-effort path since there’s no remittance or foreign KYC involved, but you don’t get to pick individual stocks. Direct routes give you stock-picking control but involve more setup.
Kya main bina demat account ke US stocks mein invest kar sakta hoon?
Haan, US stocks ke liye aapko alag se ek US stocks wallet ya account chahiye hota hai, aapka existing Indian demat account US stocks hold nahi karta. Zyada tar platforms digital KYC ke through kuch hi minutes mein ye account bana dete hain.
US stocks par kitna tax lagta hai India mein?
Capital gains aapke income tax slab rate ke hisaab se taxed hote hain, chahe aapne stock kitne bhi saal hold kiya ho. Dividends par US mein 25% withholding tax lagta hai, jiska credit aap DTAA ke through India mein claim kar sakte hain, Form 67 file karke.
Kya Groww ya Zerodha se seedha US stocks khareed sakte hain?
Nahi, Groww aur Zerodha dono hi direct US stocks nahi bechte. Ye dono international mutual funds ya ETFs ke through hi US market exposure dete hain. Agar aapko individual stock jaise Apple ya Tesla direct chahiye, toh GIFT City platform ya foreign broker use karna hoga.
LRS limit kya hai aur ek saal mein kitna bhej sakte hain?
RBI ki Liberalised Remittance Scheme ke under, har Indian resident $250,000 per financial year tak bhej sakta hai. Ye limit sirf stocks ke liye nahi, balki travel, education aur gifts jaise saare outward remittances milakar hai.
Kya minimum investment ke saath US stocks shuru kar sakte hain?
Bilkul, kai GIFT City platforms $1 se shuru karne dete hain fractional shares ke through. Matlab aap Apple ya Amazon ka poora share kharide bina bhi invest kar sakte hain, chhote amount se bhi.
Agar main NRI ban jaaun toh mere existing US stocks ka kya hoga?
Aapka residential status change hone par tax aur repatriation rules bhi change ho sakte hain. LRS route resident Indians ke liye hai, NRIs typically NRE/NRO accounts use karte hain. Status change hone par ek tax advisor se consult karna best rahega.
What happens to my US stocks if I move abroad or become an NRI?
Your applicable rules change once your residential status changes. NRIs typically don’t use the LRS route the same way, and repatriation and tax treatment can differ. It is worth consulting a tax advisor at the point your status changes to understand how your existing holdings are affected.
Ready to Start Investing in US Stocks?
You now know how to invest in US stocks from India, the routes available, the taxes involved, and the risks worth watching. The next step is simply picking the platform that matches your investment style, whether that’s a GIFT City app for a small monthly SIP, or a mutual fund route if you’d rather stay fully within INR.
For more practical, no-fluff guides on building your investment portfolio, explore BusinessBuilts’ investment category, or head to BusinessBuilts’ stocks and trading section for more on direct equity investing, both Indian and global.
Conclusion
Investing in US stocks from India isn’t the complicated, paperwork-heavy process it used to be. Between GIFT City platforms, direct foreign brokers, and Indian mutual funds, there is a route suited to almost every kind of investor, whether you’re starting with ₹2,000 a month like Priya or planning a larger, more active allocation like Rohit.
The part that actually matters is getting the fundamentals right before you start, understanding the LRS limit, knowing your real tax obligations, and being aware of risks like estate tax exposure that rarely get discussed. Get that foundation right, and the rest is just picking the platform that fits how you want to invest.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment or tax advice. Investments in securities, including foreign equities, are subject to market risks. Please consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor and a qualified tax professional before making investment decisions or filing returns involving foreign assets.
Written by Ashish Kumar, Founder of BusinessBuilts. Read more from Ashish.
