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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 5 account types. All 5 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 last updated.

At a glance

Account type Verdict Accounts Updated
Stocks & shares ISAs Accepts with conditions 1
Brokerage accounts Accepts with conditions 1
SIPPs Accepts with conditions 1
Junior stocks & shares ISAs Accepts with conditions 1
Junior SIPPs Accepts with conditions 1

Stocks & shares ISAs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: a paper W-9 instead of the online form, no treaty rate, and a funds bar written against US residents

HL sets a residence test rather than a citizenship one, so nothing shuts a US citizen out of the wrapper itself. Two frictions are documented on its own pages: a US citizen or taxpayer files a paper W-9 in place of the online W-8BEN and gets no reduced treaty rate on US dividends, and its terms bar a Regulation S US person from holding funds, a test that turns on US residence rather than citizenship, so a US citizen living in the UK is not caught by that wording. The US-citizen transfer restriction HL publishes is written against the Fund and Share Account, not the ISA.

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

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 overseas dealing page and online terms and conditions, 2026-09-12 Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

Brokerage accounts

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

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

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, which HL states in terms on its transfer page. Its terms also bar a Regulation S US person from holding funds, a test that turns on US residence rather than citizenship, so a US citizen living in the UK is not caught by that wording.

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 overseas dealing, transfer and online terms and conditions pages, 2026-09-12 Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

SIPPs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: deal on a paper form rather than online, and a funds bar written against US residents

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, 2026-09-12 Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

Junior stocks & shares ISAs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: a paper W-9 in place of the online W-8BEN before buying US shares

HL's Junior ISA terms test only that the child is UK resident, with no US person test on the child or on the parent who opens it as registered contact. The US step comes at dealing: a US citizen files a paper W-9 instead of the online W-8BEN before buying US shares, and HL's fund bar is written against Regulation S US persons, a test that turns on living in the US.

Account Terms The catch
HL Junior Stocks and Shares ISA
Annual fee
free to hold funds, UK shares, investment trusts, ETFs, bonds and gilts
Dealing fee
online dealing free (funds, UK and overseas shares, ETFs, bonds and gilts); £29 by phone or post; FX conversion fees on overseas shares
Can hold
funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts, ready-made options
Individual shares
Yes
 —

Source: HL terms and conditions (sections A2, A15 and C1) and overseas share dealing page, 2026-09-12 Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

Junior SIPPs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: a paper W-9 in place of the online W-8BEN before holding US shares

The HL terms let a parent or guardian open and manage a SIPP for a child and set no US person test on either of them; the application asks only for UK relevant individual status and notice of leaving UK residence. As with the Junior ISA, a US citizen must file a paper W-9 rather than the online W-8BEN before holding US shares, and the fund bar applies to Regulation S US persons, which turns on US residence.

Account Terms The catch
HL Junior SIPP
Annual fee
funds 0.35% up to £250,000, 0.25% £250,000 to £1mn, 0.10% £1mn to £2mn, nil over £2mn; shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts 0.35% capped at £12.50 a month; no charge on cash
Dealing fee
funds £1.95 online; shares and other equities £3.95 online; regular monthly investing free; extra charges for overseas shares
Can hold
funds (including LTAFs), shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds, gilts, VCTs, Ready-Made Pension Plan
Individual shares
Yes
 —

Source: HL terms and conditions (sections A2 and A15), Junior SIPP application declaration and overseas share dealing page, 2026-09-12 Hargreaves Lansdown's own page

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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 .
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