How to Invest in US Stocks from India: LRS Limits, Tax and the Route That Works

No. The overall LRS ceiling is USD 250,000 per financial year for permitted purposes combined. The ₹10 lakh figure is only the point above which TCS starts getting collected on remittances for investment — you can still remit up to the full USD 250,000 limit, just with 20% TCS applying beyond ₹10 lakh.

Capital gains from selling US shares aren't taxed by the US for non-resident aliens in most cases, so double taxation mainly comes up on dividends, where the US withholds tax at source. India's tax treaty with the US and the Foreign Tax Credit mechanism (Form 67) are designed to prevent you from being taxed twice on that same dividend income — but you do need to actively claim the credit.

Yes. Schedule FA disclosure is based on holding foreign assets during the relevant calendar year, not on realising a gain or receiving income — it applies even to unrealised, unsold holdings.

Economically, yes — you get exposure to the same underlying US companies. Structurally, no — you hold rupee-denominated Indian mutual fund units, not US shares directly, so LRS, TCS, W-8BEN and Schedule FA simply don't apply the way they would with a direct broker.

This depends entirely on the specific platform's custody arrangement — some hold shares through SEC-regulated US brokers with standard investor protections (like SIPC coverage in the US), others use different structures. Confirm exactly who holds custody of your shares, and under which country's investor-protection regime, before committing significant capital to any single platform.

They can. A non-US person holding US-situs assets, such as shares of US companies or US-domiciled ETFs, worth more than US$60,000 at death can face US federal estate tax at rates up to 40%. India and the US have no estate-tax treaty. Indian mutual funds with US exposure do not create this exposure for the investor.

A resident holding US shares must file ITR-2, or ITR-3 if there is business income, even if total income is below the exemption limit. Report holdings in Schedule FA on a January-December basis, dividends and gains in Schedule FSI and the relevant schedules, and file Form 67 to claim credit for US tax withheld.