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US citizens in the UK · Institutions

Which Interactive Brokers UK accounts accept US citizens

Last checked

Interactive Brokers UK has been checked for US citizens across 5 account types. 3 are open to a US person (2 with strings), 1 is closed and 1 is not on offer, whatever your nationality.

If you already have an account with Interactive Brokers UK, a second one there is usually the easier application, because Interactive Brokers UK 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 US citizens 1
SIPPs Declines US citizens —
Junior stocks & shares ISAs Accepts with conditions 1
Junior SIPPs Not offered —

Stocks & shares ISAs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: a Form W-9 and a social security number at application

IBKR runs a stocks and shares ISA as an HMRC-approved ISA manager, and its terms set no citizenship test: you must be 18 or over and UK resident for tax. You must also hold an ordinary IBKR account alongside it, which IBKR opens for US citizens, and its tax page says every US person completes a Form W-9 with a social security number when applying. The ISA can hold only qualifying investments, and IBKR may refuse an ISA application at its discretion.

FSCS £85,000, though (as on the ordinary IBKR account) assets are custodied with Interactive Brokers LLC in the US, so SIPC $500,000 with a $250,000 cash sublimit is the more precise cover

Account Terms The catch
IBKR Stocks and Shares ISA
Annual fee
no custody fee; minimum monthly activity fee of £3
Dealing fee
commissions from £3/€3 per trade for UK and most European stocks; US stocks from USD 0.005 per share
Can hold
up to £20,000 a tax year in Qualifying Investments (as defined by ISA Regulations and made available by IBKR); cash only, funded in GBP, no minimum deposit to open
Individual shares
Yes
 —

Source: IBUK Investment ISA addendum (3 April 2025), IBKR ISA page and IBKR US tax information page, read 2026-09-26 Interactive Brokers UK's own page

Brokerage accounts

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Accepts US citizens
Updated

IBKR opens a general account for a US citizen living here and asks only for a Form W-9. Read the protection line carefully: the UK entity is FCA authorised but custodies your securities and cash with Interactive Brokers LLC in the US, so cover is SIPC at $500,000 with a $250,000 cash sublimit rather than the £85,000 FSCS you would get from a UK platform.

SIPC $500,000, not FSCS · FCA authorised but assets custodied with IBKR LLC in the US

Account Terms The catch
IBKR brokerage account
Annual fee
None. No account, custody or inactivity fee
Dealing fee
US shares from $0.005 a share, minimum $1.00 an order. UK shares 0.05%, minimum £3.00. FX 0.03% built into the automatic rate
Can hold
Individual shares, bonds, funds and options across global markets, US-listed stock included. UCITS ETFs are PFICs for US tax.
Individual shares
Yes
US-domiciled ETFs
No
 US-domiciled ETFs publish no UK key information document, so IBKR blocks them for retail clients. They open only if you are reclassified as an elective professional, which means giving up retail protections.

Source: IBKR US tax information page, 2026-08-17 Interactive Brokers UK's own page

SIPPs

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Declines US citizens
Updated

IBKR's SIPP account is reached only through a separate, pre-approved SIPP administrator acting as the master account holder, and IBKR states plainly that it does not accept US citizens or US residents trading through a SIPP.

Source: Interactive Brokers UK SIPP accounts page, read 2026-09-13 Interactive Brokers UK's own page

Junior stocks & shares ISAs

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Accepts with conditions
Updated

US persons: a US person completes an IRS Form W-9 at account opening

The published Junior ISA addendum sets no citizenship or US-person test on either the registered contact or the eligible child, only age, residency and parental responsibility. IBKR is unusual among UK brokers in taking US citizens at all, but its own tax page says any US person completes an IRS Form W-9 as part of account opening, and the ISA wrapper can only hold Qualifying Investments, which narrows what a US-linked holder can put in it.

Account Terms The catch
IBUK Junior Investment ISA (stocks and shares)
Annual fee
no custody fee; minimum monthly activity fee of £1
Dealing fee
commissions from £3/€3 per trade for UK and most European stocks; US stocks from USD 0.005 per share
Can hold
Qualifying Investments only (as defined by ISA Regulations and made available by IBUK); cash only, no margin
Individual shares
Yes
 —

Source: IBUK Junior Investment ISA addendum and IBKR US tax information page, 2026-09-11 Interactive Brokers UK's own page

Junior SIPPs

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Not offered
Updated

IBKR sells no junior pension. Its SIPP is an adult wrapper reached only through a separate, pre-approved SIPP Administrator acting as master account holder, and IBKR states plainly that it does not accept US citizens or US residents trading through a SIPP.

Source: Interactive Brokers UK SIPP accounts page, 2026-09-11 Interactive Brokers UK'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 .
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

SIPP US tax

The US Treasury reads the treaty as leaving UK SIPP growth untaxed until drawn; the treaty's wording is narrower. Contributions, growth and drawdown explained.

 Tax

US-UK tax treaty

The US-UK treaty stops most double taxation, but the saving clause lets the US tax its citizens almost as if it were not there. What survives the clause.

 Tax

Saving for a child

How the US taxes a Junior ISA, a junior pension and a Child Trust Fund held by a US citizen child in the UK, and how a 529 plan compares.