Apps make US stocks look one-tap easy. The cost stack is not: forex spread, platform fees, TCS on remittances, and tax reporting. At 22 with a small SIP, an India index fund is usually the saner flex.
Cost stack to understand
- LRS route and any TCS on foreign outward remittances (rules change — verify current rates).
- Forex conversion spread every time you move money.
- Platform / brokerage fees.
- US withholding on dividends and Indian tax on global income for residents.
When it can make sense
Larger portfolio, long horizon, and you already maxed a simple India equity core. Not because a finfluencer said “Apple is inevitable.”
The takeaway
Declare foreign assets correctly in ITR when required. “I did not know” ages poorly with AIS-era compliance.