Where Does Your Money Actually Go When You Invest in US Stocks?
Investing in US stocks from India means FX markup on both ends, brokerage, platform fees, wire charges, and TCS — a dozen line items across two currencies. It's genuinely hard to tell how they add up, or which ones you actually lose versus temporarily hand to the government. This breaks it down, one line at a time.
₹50,000₹50,00,000
Friction — the cost you never get back
3.59%≈ ₹17,931
Vested Finance has no recurring platform fee, so this friction cost is the same whether you hold for 1 year or 3.
TCS collected at remittance
Recoverable — credited against your income tax when you file your ITR. Not a real cost.
₹0
Capital gains tax not shown — it only applies when you profit, and this model assumes 0% return (the honest floor). Coming in v2 with an expected-return slider.
Where the friction comes from
FX markup (INR → USD)₹7,500
Inbound wire fee₹0
Brokerage (buy)₹1,250
Platform fee (recurring)₹0
Brokerage (sell)₹1,250
US regulatory fees (SEC/FINRA)₹11
FX markup (USD → INR)₹7,500
Outbound wire fee₹420
Assumptions
- This is your first LRS remittance in the current financial year, so the full ₹10 lakh TCS threshold is available.
- 0% return assumed — this is the friction floor, not a return projection. No dividends modeled.
- Mid-market FX rate is used as the "true" reference; broker/bank markup is the spread over it.
- Defaults to each broker's non-premium tier unless you toggle a comparison.
- US regulatory fees (SEC/FINRA) and IBKR's per-share brokerage are estimated assuming a $100 average share price, since this calculator doesn't take a share count.