Is it legal for a resident Indian to buy US stocks?
Yes. The RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows a resident individual to remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permitted purposes, including investment in foreign securities. Part 3 walks through the six real constraints of the scheme, including the rule that exhausting the cap ends further remittances for the year even if your investments are sold and the money comes back.
Do I pay 20% tax just to invest abroad?
No. TCS of 20% applies only to the part of your LRS remittances above Rs 10 lakh in a financial year, and the threshold is an aggregate across every purpose, first come first served. It is advance tax, not a fee — it appears in Part VI of your Form 26AS and is adjusted or refunded when you file. Part 4 has four worked examples, the timing problem, and Form 12BAA for recovering it in the same year.
How long do I have to hold before the gain is long-term?
24 months. Foreign shares do not get the 12-month treatment reserved for securities listed on an Indian exchange, so a gain on a holding of 24 months or less is taxed at your slab rate, and beyond 24 months at 12.5% without indexation. The Rs 1.25 lakh annual exemption does not apply either, because it requires securities transaction tax. Part 8.1 explains why, and why that makes the 24-month line the biggest legal tax lever you have.
Do I really have to declare a foreign brokerage account in my return?
Yes, in Schedule FA, every year, even in a year when you earned nothing. The reporting period is the calendar year ending 31 December, not the financial year, and the form must be ITR-2 or ITR-3 because ITR-1 and ITR-4 do not contain the schedule at all. Non-disclosure carries a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh per year under the Black Money Act. Part 8.6 lists exactly which table takes which figure.
Is this book only for people using Groww or Zerodha?
No. Part 5 compares the GIFT City Global Access Provider route, a direct overseas brokerage account, and an Indian fund that invests abroad, with published fee schedules and foreign exchange markups as at October 2026. The rules in Parts 3, 4 and 8 apply whichever platform you use, and stay with you if you switch.
I have never filed Schedule FA. Is this book still useful?
That is Case C in Part 11, and it is the most common and most exposed position in the whole subject. The book explains the exposure, the relief available since 1 October 2024 for movable foreign assets up to Rs 20 lakh, and the route to correcting it through a revised or updated return — with a clear instruction to take it to a chartered accountant rather than a book.
How current is the information?
Every rule is stated as it stands on 1 November 2026 and cited to the authority that owns it: RBI master directions and LRS FAQs, the Income-tax Act 2025 in force from 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Department's own Schedule FA guidance and withholding tables, the IFSCA global access circular of August 2025, and the IRS for US estate tax and dividend withholding. Appendix C lists every source with its date so you can check any number yourself.
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