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US citizens in the UK · Institutions

Which Hargreaves Lansdown accounts accept US citizens

Last checked

Hargreaves Lansdown has been checked for US citizens across 3 account types. All 3 are open to a US person (all with strings).

If you already have an account with Hargreaves Lansdown, a second one there is usually the easier application, because Hargreaves Lansdown has already checked who you are. Each account below carries its verdict, the evidence behind it and the date it was checked.

At a glance

Account Verdict Last checked
Stocks & shares ISAs With strings
Brokerage accounts With strings
SIPPs With strings

Stocks & shares ISAs

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With strings

US persons: you cannot apply or transfer online, so it has to be phone or post

The only mainstream platform here that will open an ISA for you, and it will not do it through the online door. HL sets a residence test alone, and its transfer page says plainly that a US citizen cannot transfer online and should contact them instead.

FSCS £85,000 investment cover · phone or post for US citizens

Account Terms The catch
HL Stocks and Shares ISA
Annual fee
0.35% a year on funds to £250,000, tapering to nothing above £2,000,000. Shares 0.35% capped at £12.50 a month
Dealing fee
£6.95 a share trade, £1.95 a one-off fund trade, free by monthly direct debit. FX from 0.99%
Can hold
Individual UK and overseas shares, investment trusts, gilts and bonds. UK funds and UCITS ETFs are open to you here, because HL's fund bar uses the Regulation S test of residence rather than citizenship, but they are PFICs for US tax, so the shares are the workable route.
Individual shares
Yes
US-domiciled ETFs
No
 US shares need a W-8BEN, a form designed for people who are not US persons, so expect to sort your position out with HL directly.

Source: HL ISA apply and transfer pages, 2026-08-17 Last checked Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

Brokerage accounts

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With strings

US persons: a paper W-9 instead of the online form, no treaty rate, and no transferring in online

HL sets no citizenship test and asks only that you are over 18 and UK resident for tax. The friction comes after: a US citizen files a paper W-9 rather than the online W-8BEN, gets no reduced treaty rate on US dividends, and cannot transfer an account in online.

FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online, app and phone

Account Terms The catch
Fund and Share Account
Annual fee
0.35% a year on funds to £250,000, then 0.25% to £1,000,000 and 0.10% to £2,000,000. Shares and ETFs 0.35% capped at £12.50 a month
Dealing fee
£6.95 a share trade, £3.95 after 20 trades last month, £1.95 a fund trade. FX 0.99% on the first £10,000, then less
Can hold
UK and overseas shares, investment trusts, ETFs, bonds and gilts across US, Canadian and 15 European markets, plus over 3,000 funds. The funds and UCITS ETFs are PFICs for US tax; the direct shares are not.
Individual shares
Yes
US-domiciled ETFs
No
 A US citizen files a W-9 on paper before dealing in US shares and gets no treaty reduction on the withholding.

Source: HL Fund and Share Account, charges and overseas dealing pages, 2026-08-17 Last checked Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

SIPPs

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With strings

US persons: deal on a paper form rather than online, and the fund range is restricted

HL sets no citizenship bar on opening a SIPP and ties eligibility to residence instead. Its fund restriction is written against Regulation S US persons, which catches US residents rather than a US citizen living in the UK, and its own dealing pages route a US citizen or taxpayer to a paper form.

FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online, app and phone

Account Terms The catch
HL SIPP
Annual fee
0.35% a year on funds to £250,000, then 0.25% to £1,000,000, 0.10% to £2,000,000 and nothing above. Shares, trusts and ETFs 0.35% capped at £12.50 a month
Dealing fee
£6.95 a share deal, £3.95 after 20 deals the previous month, £1.95 a fund deal, free on monthly direct debit
Can hold
Individual UK, US and European shares and investment trusts. UK funds and UCITS ETFs are PFICs for US tax, and US-domiciled ETFs are unavailable for want of a UK key information document.
 The fund charge is uncapped, so a large fund holding pays the most here.

Source: HL terms and conditions and dealing pages, 2026-08-17 Last checked Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

Account names link to the provider's own site. momo has no active affiliate partnerships; if that changes it will be disclosed and will never change a verdict. Every institution, A to Z.

Confirm your own position with a cross-border specialist. Acceptance policies and tax rules change, and your facts may differ from the general case. Rates and terms here are the provider's published figures rather than an offer, and the provider decides each application on its own criteria. Use this as a map, not a ruling. Last checked .
Tax

PFIC

Almost every UK-domiciled fund is a PFIC, taxed by the US at punitive rates with heavy filing. This is why US citizens hold individual shares, not UK funds.

 Tax

ISA US tax

The IRS does not recognise the ISA wrapper. Cash ISA interest and stocks ISA gains are taxable on your US return, and fund holdings drag in PFIC rules.

 Tax

FATCA

FATCA makes UK banks report accounts held by US persons to the IRS. It is not a tax; it is a reporting trail. Where it bites is access.

 Tax

SIPP US tax

The treaty generally lets a UK SIPP grow tax-deferred for US purposes, but the protection has limits. How the US treats contributions, growth and drawdown.