momo
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 3 account types. 2 are open to a US person (1 with strings) and 1 is closed.

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 checked.

At a glance

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

Stocks & shares ISAs

Compare with other providers
With strings

Opens a stocks and shares ISA to US persons, but since April 2025 US-domiciled ETFs are non-qualifying inside the ISA and KID rules limit US funds; the wrapper is open, its contents are constrained.

Source: Bogleheads UK wiki, 2026-05 (secondary; general account confirmed direct with IBKR, ISA wrapper not yet) Last checked Interactive Brokers UK's own page

Brokerage accounts

Compare with other providers
Opens

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 Last checked Interactive Brokers UK's own page

SIPPs

Compare with other providers
Skip

Offers brokerage and an ISA to US persons but does not offer them a SIPP.

Source: Bogleheads UK wiki, 2026-05 Last checked Interactive Brokers UK'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.