Calculator
US investing cost calculator
Stack the first-year and recurring cost of investing in US stocks from India: TCS by purpose, forex markup, brokerage model, account charges and dividend withholding — every rate sourced, nothing quoted live.
First-year cost
₹15,000
1% of the amount remitted · invested ₹14,85,000 (≈ $16,875)
- Forex markup₹15,000
- Brokerage, first year₹0
- Annual account charge₹0
- Recurring every year₹0 (0% of corpus)
- TCS collected — adjustable, not a cost₹1,00,000at 20%
- Dividend withholding at 25%₹7,425
Hover a segment for value and share of the first-year cost.
What these numbers do not include
- 20% of the amount above ₹10 lakh. TCS is adjustable against your income-tax liability — a cash-flow cost, not a final tax.
- Forex markup is charged on conversion and is a permanent cost. TCS is not part of the cost figures above — it is adjustable against your income tax.
- US dividends are withheld at 25% (25% under the India–US treaty with a valid W-8BEN claim; 30% statutory without one). A foreign-tax-credit claim may offset it in India, subject to limits.
- US-situs holdings above USD 60,000 can trigger US estate tax on death for a nonresident non-citizen; US-domiciled funds and Indian mutual funds/ETFs that hold US stocks differ in exposure. This tool does not model estate tax.
- No route is recommended. Compare the numbers you enter, then verify fees on the provider's own pricing page before you remit.
Compare this against the flat estimator logic in the LRS guide, or run the NRI side in the NRI workflow tool if money is leaving an NRO balance rather than an LRS remittance.
The rates behind this calculator
Reviewed 24 Sept 2026. TCS and the forms were renumbered from 1 April 2026 — the table below follows the current rules, not the retired ones.
TCS — investing / any other LRS purpose
Static-verified · 2026-09-24NIL up to ₹10 lakh; 20% above
₹10 lakh is a combined per-PAN, per-financial-year limit across all purposes, payment modes and authorised dealers.
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- NIL up to ₹10 lakh; education funded by a loan from a specified institution stays NIL; other education and medical treatment 2% above ₹10 lakh; any other purpose 20% above ₹10 lakh; and the ₹10 lakh threshold is a combined per-PAN, per-financial-year limit across all purposes, payment modes and authorised dealers.
TCS — education (not loan-funded) or medical treatment
Static-verified · 2026-09-24NIL up to ₹10 lakh; 2% above
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- NIL up to ₹10 lakh; education funded by a loan from a specified institution stays NIL; other education and medical treatment 2% above ₹10 lakh; any other purpose 20% above ₹10 lakh; and the ₹10 lakh threshold is a combined per-PAN, per-financial-year limit across all purposes, payment modes and authorised dealers.
TCS — education funded by a loan from a specified institution
Static-verified · 2026-09-24NIL
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- NIL up to ₹10 lakh; education funded by a loan from a specified institution stays NIL; other education and medical treatment 2% above ₹10 lakh; any other purpose 20% above ₹10 lakh; and the ₹10 lakh threshold is a combined per-PAN, per-financial-year limit across all purposes, payment modes and authorised dealers.
LRS remittance cap (residents)
Static-verified · 2026-09-24USD 250,000 per financial year
Not available to NRIs — their money moves under FEMA rules instead.
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- USD 250,000 per financial year for resident individuals, and that the Scheme is not available to corporates, firms, HUFs or trusts.
US dividend withholding
Static-verified · 2026-09-2425% with a valid W-8BEN treaty claim; 30% statutory otherwise
Article 10 of the India–US treaty: 15% only where the holder is a company owning at least 10% of the voting stock.
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- Article 10 dividend rates: 15% where the beneficial owner is a company holding at least 10% of the voting stock, 25% in all other cases — the rate an individual Indian-resident investor claims.
US estate tax filing threshold
Static-verified · 2026-09-24USD 60,000 of US-situs property (Form 706-NA)
Disclosure only — this calculator does not model estate tax.
Source & freshness
- Timeliness
- Static-verified · effective 2026-09-24
- Verified
- 24 Sept 2026
- Method
- Editorial research: official regulator/department page located and read, then quoted in the supports note
- Note
- US-situs property above the USD 60,000 filing threshold can trigger US estate tax for a nonresident non-citizen; the executor files Form 706-NA and a treaty credit may be available.
TCS applies to resident remittances under section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Section 394, Income-tax Act 2025 (TCS on foreign remittances)). It is collected by the remitting bank, and the rate depends on purpose: 20% / 2% / 0% by purpose above the threshold.
What each route discloses
Routes that let Indian residents buy US stocks, listed alphabetically. This is what each one publishes — not a cost ranking: fees change and depend on your pattern, which is why the calculator above takes your numbers.
| Route | What it discloses about US investing | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| INDmoney | Via partner brokerage | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Dhan | From $1, fractional shares, 10,000+ stocks & ETFs (IFSCA route) | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Vested Finance | From $1, 10,000+ US stocks & ETFs, fractional + SIPs (FINRA-regulated, SIPC-insured) | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Tickertape | From $1 (~Rs.90), 7,000+ US stocks & ETFs (GIFT City route) | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| HDFC Securities | Global Investing: 10,000+ US stocks/ETFs | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| HDFC Sky | Global Investing: US stocks/ETFs | Static-verifiedSource & freshness
|
| AxisDirect | Global investing via Vested | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| SAMCO | US-stock fee table disclosed | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Bajaj Broking | US stocks + bonds, single login | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Geojit | Geojit Global Investments access | Static-verified · 2026-09-17Source & freshness
|
| Kuvera | Via Vested partnership (0.2% commission, up to $20/trade) | Static-verified · 2026-09-13Source & freshness
|
What this calculator answers
Remitting ₹15,00,000 to invest, with a 1% forex markup and a free broker, costs about ₹15,000 in the first year — the markup — and nothing recurring if the broker charges no commission or account fee. Add a $5-per-order broker with 24 orders a year and the recurring cost becomes roughly ₹10,560. TCS of ₹1,00,000 is shown separately because it is adjustable against your income tax, not a cost. Change any input to see how the two numbers move.
How it is calculated
The amount above the ₹10,00,000 threshold is taxed at the TCS rate for the purpose you select, and TCS is reported separately because it is adjustable against income tax. The forex markup is charged on the amount remitted, and brokerage runs either as commission per order × orders per year or as a percentage of the traded value — both converted at the USD/INR rate you enter. Account charges are added once in the first year and every year thereafter, which is why first-year and recurring cost are shown as different numbers. Dividend withholding is applied to the invested USD value at the yield and rate you choose.
No live FX or fee feed: the USD/INR rate, forex markup, brokerage model, account charges and yield are all inputs, with defaults of ₹88, 1%, a free flat-rate broker, $0 and 2%. TCS rates follow section 394 as in force from 1 April 2026 (₹10 lakh is a combined per-PAN annual threshold), verified 24 September 2026. Estate tax is disclosed, never modelled, and no route is recommended — the route table is alphabetical and unranked.
Common questions
Is TCS money I lose?
No. TCS on a remittance is adjustable against your income-tax liability once the collector deposits it and files the statement — a cash-flow cost, not a final tax. That is why it sits outside the first-year cost figure rather than inside it.
Why show first-year and recurring cost separately?
Forex markup is charged when money moves, so it lands in year one. Brokerage and account charges repeat. A route with a cheap spread and a monthly fee can win year one and lose year five, and one number cannot show that.
Does my remittance attract 20% TCS or 2%?
It depends on purpose: investing and other LRS purposes are 20% above ₹10 lakh, education (not funded by a qualifying loan) and medical treatment are 2%, and an education loan from a specified institution is NIL. The ₹10 lakh threshold is combined per PAN per financial year across purposes and modes.
What about US estate tax?
US-situs holdings above USD 60,000 can trigger US estate tax on death for a nonresident non-citizen, with the executor filing Form 706-NA. This calculator discloses that risk but does not model it — the fund or broker domicile you choose is what moves it.
Source & freshness
- Source
- Deterministic formula in lib/calculators.ts
- Timeliness
- Static-verified
- Method
- calculated
- Note
- Illustrative projection from your inputs — not a market quote.