Stocks and shares ISA for US citizens
Of 47 providers checked, 29 refuse you outright. The 17 that do not are the harder problem, because most will open the wrapper and then sell you nothing but investments the US taxes punitively. And the tax break you opened it for does not cross the Atlantic at all.
A stocks and shares ISA is the standard way to invest in Britain, and its whole point is the tax break: no UK tax on growth or income inside it. For a US citizen that break is half a break, because the US taxes its citizens wherever they live and the US-UK tax treaty does not recognise an ISA. HMRC honours the wrapper and the IRS looks straight through it.
You do not have to take our word for that. Rathbones, which manages money for US taxpayers, lists among the key facts of its service that ISA income and capital gains are included in your US reports and are not tax exempt under US law. Canaccord Wealth goes further and files it under mistakes, naming "assuming UK tax-free wrappers like ISAs are also tax-free in the US" as a common error. Both will run an ISA for you. Neither pretends it does what it does for everyone else.
The second problem, which outlasts the first
US tax treats non-US pooled funds as PFICs, passive foreign investment companies, and taxes them punitively with onerous annual reporting on top. Nearly every ordinary UK fund and UCITS ETF is one. You cannot swap into US funds instead, because UK rules require a key information document that US-domiciled ETFs do not produce, and Lightyear states that plainly on its own pages. Inside an ISA, with no treaty protection, that combination is at its most expensive.
So the useful question is not who will open one, it is who will let you hold individual shares, which are not PFICs however many you own. Several providers that accept you fail on exactly this point. NatWest Invest offers five ready-made funds and nothing else. Sidekick's ISA holds two ETFs, even though its taxable account holds index constituents directly. An open wrapper full of PFICs is not a result.
Who refuses, and who is not who you think
Twenty-nine providers bar you, mostly on citizenship or birthplace rather than residence, so living in Britain helps at none of them. Bestinvest's test is the widest, turning on where you were born. Halifax, Lloyds and Scottish Widows all run on one platform and share one exclusion, so shopping between them achieves nothing. eToro's ISA is a Moneyfarm product, and Moneyfarm is closed to new US persons, so the brand on the app is not the firm deciding about you. IG will open the wrapper and then not sell you US-incorporated stock inside it, which is what most people wanted it for.
HSBC is the sharpest reminder to ask about the product rather than the bank. Its InvestDirect ISA carries no citizenship test at all, while its Global Investment Centre ISA says HSBC cannot open or maintain an account for a US person. One bank, two ISAs, opposite answers.
Do not check this by reading the terms
That advice sounds wrong and is not. At Moneyfarm, True Potential, Wealthify, InvestEngine and Chip the contract sets a plain UK residence test and never mentions America, while the refusal sits in an FAQ, a help centre article or the application form. Reading the document you would actually sign gives you the wrong answer at all five. Where a provider below is marked as not yet verified, it is usually because its terms are silent rather than welcoming, and silence is not an offer.
Before opening one, read how the US taxes your ISA and what the PFIC rules do to UK funds. If you want a wrapper the treaty actually respects, the pension page is the one place on this site where the answer is straightforwardly good.
We checked 47 providers. 46 offer a stocks and shares ISA and 1 no longer does. Of those 46, 17 will open an account worth having and 29 will not take you. Last checked 17 August 2026.
The accounts you can open
Read the "what you can hold" column before the fees. A US person is taxed punitively on non-US pooled funds, which the IRS calls PFICs, and nearly every ordinary UK fund and UCITS ETF is one. Unlike a pension, none of this is protected by the US-UK tax treaty, so an account offering only ready-made fund portfolios is open to you and close to useless to you.
Annual fee is shown as each provider charges it. Percentage charges and flat fees sort separately because they are not the same measurement: a percentage grows with your holdings and a flat fee does not, so above a certain balance the flat fee wins.
You can hold individual shares
Direct holdings in single companies, which is the way round the PFIC problem: the tax penalty falls on pooled funds, and a share in one company is not one.
| What you can hold as a US person | The catch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMC Invest (opens in a new tab) FSCS £85,000 investment cover · client money in segregated accounts Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Stocks and Shares ISA, Core plan (opens in a new tab) | None on Core, £6.99 a month on Plus | No commission on in-app trades | More than 3,000 US shares, large UK shares, over 400 ETFs, investment trusts and REITs. The ETFs are UK listed, so PFICs; the direct shares are not. | Minimum deposit £1, and it is a flexible ISA on uninvested cash. |
| HSBC InvestDirect (opens in a new tab) FSCS £85,000 · needs an HSBC current account and online banking Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | InvestDirect Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | £42 a year, charged quarterly | £10.50 an online UK trade, falling to £7.95 after the ninth in a quarter. US shares $29.95, and only on InvestDirect Plus | UK shares, ETFs, investment trusts and gilts, plus US and euro shares through InvestDirect Plus. The ETFs are UK listed, so PFICs; the direct shares are not. | Needs an HSBC current account and online banking. US dealing requires extra IRS paperwork, and HSBC publishes no currency conversion rate. |
| Rathbones (opens in a new tab) FSCS £85,000 investment cover · minimum portfolio £300,000 | Bespoke management inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | 1.10% a year on the first £1,000,000 plus VAT | None | Direct shares and bonds plus selected US ETFs and other US-compliant vehicles, with PFICs avoided. | Minimum £300,000 a portfolio and a minimum fee of £1,000 a year. No entry, exit, transfer, custody or dealing fees. |
| Barclays Smart Investor (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: a restricted service range, and no trade without a signed W-9 FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online, app and phone | Investment ISA (opens in a new tab) | None. Barclays removed its customer fee across Direct Investing | £6 a trade in shares, ETFs, trusts, bonds and gilts, nothing on funds | Funds, UK and international shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts across ten global exchanges. The funds and UCITS ETFs are PFICs; the direct shares are not. | Currency conversion tapers from 1% on the first £5,000 to 0.1% above £250,000, plus an international brokerage fee. |
| Canaccord Wealth (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: it will run one, and its own guidance treats an ISA as a trap FSCS £85,000 investment cover · typically from £100,000 | Discretionary management inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | 0.25% a year on its US portfolios, or unpublished on bespoke management | — | Its published US portfolio holdings show the method rather than describing it: US-domiciled ETFs for the equities, including S&P 500, global quality and sector funds, paired with directly held UK gilts for the fixed interest. No UK pooled funds anywhere, which is what avoiding PFICs actually looks like. | Its US managed portfolios publish real numbers, unusually for this end of the market: 0.25% management and 0.45% to 0.59% all in, against a 1.00% standard rate. Bespoke management publishes nothing and is priced per client. Canaccord does not say whether the US portfolios can be held inside this wrapper, so ask, and note they are routed through intermediaries rather than sold direct. |
| Charles Stanley (bespoke management) (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: nothing published about US persons, bespoke management from £200,000 FSCS £85,000 · a trading name of Raymond James Wealth Management · from £200,000 Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Bespoke Investment Service inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | — | — | Direct shares, gilts, corporate bonds, funds and ETFs, with no published US-compliant portfolio. | No rate is published for bespoke management, which is typically for people with over £200,000. |
| Charles Stanley Direct (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: no published US citizen policy either way, so ring the desk before applying FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online and app Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Charles Stanley Direct stocks and shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | 0.30% a year, with a £5 a month minimum | £10 an online share trade, £4 an online fund trade, free on monthly fund investing | Individual UK shares, international shares as depository interests, funds, investment trusts, ETFs and bonds. The funds and UCITS ETFs are PFICs for US tax and US-domiciled ETFs carry no UK key information document, so individual shares are the workable route. | The £5 a month platform minimum is softened by £50 of trading credits every six months. |
| Evelyn Partners (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: its US material never mentions the ISA either way FSCS £85,000 investment cover · US-connected minimum £350,000, above its UK minimum Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Discretionary management inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | 1.25% a year on the first £250,000 | None, though overseas trades cost £50 each | Directly held shares and bonds, with US funds and ETFs in US-connected portfolios. | ISA allowance administration is included in the fee. Tiers fall to 0.90% on the next £250,000. |
| Hargreaves Lansdown (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: you cannot apply or transfer online, so it has to be phone or post FSCS £85,000 investment cover · phone or post for US citizens | HL Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | 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 | £6.95 a share trade, £1.95 a one-off fund trade, free by monthly direct debit. FX from 0.99% | 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. | 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. |
| IG (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: you can open it, but not buy US-incorporated stock inside it FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online and app | Share dealing ISA (opens in a new tab) | None | No commission on UK, US, EU and Australian shares on the default setting | Over 12,000 shares and ETFs across four regions, but not US-incorporated stock if you are a US citizen. The UCITS ETFs are PFICs. | Currency conversion 0.49%, a discretionary rate held until at least 4 September 2026. |
| Killik and Co (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: barred from its app service, and unanswered on the adviser route FSCS £85,000 investment cover · managed service from £100,000 | Managed Investment Service inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | 1.35% a year to £1,000,000, then 1.20% | None; the managed service charges one fee | Direct shares, bonds and funds, with no published US-compliant portfolio. | From £100,000. Its app-based service starts from £1 at 0.75% a year. Currency conversion costs 0.35%. |
| Quilter Cheviot (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: a £250,000 minimum, and expect to be asked for a W-9 FSCS £85,000 investment cover · minimum portfolio £250,000 | Discretionary Portfolio Service inside an ISA (opens in a new tab) | — | — | Discretionary multi-asset portfolios, with no published US-compliant variant, so ask how PFICs would be avoided. | No headline rate is published. The service is described as being for people investing more than £250,000. |
| Webull UK (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: nothing published about US persons, and the shares are not FSCS protected Shares not FSCS protected · account opened with its Australian entity · custody with Apex Clearing Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Flexible Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | None for the ISA, but it needs a Meridian subscription | No commission on US shares. UK shares free for 90 days, then 0.05% | UK and overseas shares plus ETFs, though fractional shares are not permitted inside the ISA. The ETFs are UK listed, so PFICs. | Currency conversion 0.35% on Meridian, 0.50% on Go. You need a general investment account first. |
| XTB (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: the ISA schedule is silent, while its promotion terms exclude US persons FSCS £85,000 investment cover · XTB Limited acts as ISA manager Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | None | No commission up to €100,000 of monthly turnover, then 0.2% with a £10 minimum | Over 9,100 shares and ETFs including fractions from £1. The ETFs are European listed, so PFICs; the direct shares are not. | Currency conversion of 0.5% may apply, and you need an XTB general investment account first. |
Ready-made funds only
These will open an account for you and then offer you nothing but pooled funds, which US tax treats as PFICs. Open to a US person, and of little use to one.
| What you can hold as a US person | The catch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NatWest Invest (opens in a new tab) FSCS £85,000 · needs a NatWest account and online banking Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | NatWest Invest Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | 0.55% a year in total | None | Five ready-made portfolio funds. No individual shares at all, so every holding is a pooled fund and a PFIC for a US citizen. | From £50 to start. The funds are managed by Coutts. |
| IG (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: you can open it, but not buy US-incorporated stock inside it FSCS £85,000 investment cover · online and app | Smart Portfolio ISA (opens in a new tab) | From 0.50%, capped at £250 a year | None | Managed portfolios of iShares ETFs. All pooled, so all PFICs. | Minimum £500 to start, with no exit or inactivity fees. |
| Sidekick (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: nothing published about US persons, but the ISA shelf holds only two funds FSCS £85,000 · app only · custody through a US firm Not yet verified · last checked 17 August 2026 | Stocks and Shares ISA (opens in a new tab) | 0.25% a year on core holdings, 0.50% on personalised ones | None to execute, hold or convert currency | Two holdings only: a global shares UCITS ETF and a global bond UCITS ETF. Both are PFICs for US tax, and the directly held index is general account only. | Platform fees are waived under £3,000, and it is currently running no platform fee on the ISA for six months. |
Also open to US persons, fees not listed here
Confirmed to accept US persons. Either their accounts are not in the table above yet, or the provider prices each case individually, so ask directly.
- Interactive Brokers UK (opens in a new tab) With strings
Institution and 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.
Who will not take you
Checked and confirmed to refuse US persons, so you can skip the application. The reason matters: some bar US citizenship outright, others require that you are tax resident in the UK and nowhere else.
| Institution | Why | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell(opens in a new tab) | You cannot apply for an ISA if you are a US citizen or a US tax resident, and the same clause covers the lifetime and junior ISA. The very same document bars only Canadians from the SIPP, so a yes on the pension does not carry across to this. | 17 August 2026 |
| Bestinvest(opens in a new tab) | Three conditions to open anything at Bestinvest, and the third is to be a non-US citizen. It is unusually frank about why, saying its custodian does not comply with IRS reporting for US individuals. Citizenship is the test, so living in Britain does not get you round it. | 17 August 2026 |
| Chip(opens in a new tab) | Another split between documents. Chip's ISA key features ask only whether you are 18 and UK resident, while the platform terms carry the real test: it can provide the platform only if you are not a US person, and it reserves the right to close the account once you stop meeting that. No individual shares are offered, so the whole range is PFICs anyway. | 17 August 2026 |
| Dodl by AJ Bell(opens in a new tab) | Dodl cannot accept applications from US citizens or US tax residents, so citizenship stops you at the door even as a UK resident. Its terms also require you to say straightaway if you become one, and reserve the right to make you close the account. | 17 August 2026 |
| eToro UK(opens in a new tab) | Worth knowing who you are actually applying to. Both eToro ISAs, managed and do-it-yourself, are Moneyfarm products surfaced inside eToro, and eToro's own pages set eligibility only at 18 and UK resident. The refusal sits with Moneyfarm, which decided not to accept further US persons and counts dual nationals where one nationality is American. | 17 August 2026 |
| Fidelity UK(opens in a new tab) | Fidelity answers its own question about who can open an account with a residence test and a US person test, and its definition of a US person leads with any citizen of the United States. It also reserves the right to sell your investments and close the account if it merely suspects you are one. | 17 August 2026 |
| Freetrade(opens in a new tab) | Freetrade says it is not available to US citizens or to anyone holding dual US citizenship, and its terms make not being a US person under FATCA a condition of the account. A later clause requires you to tell it and sell any holdings you cease to be eligible for. | 17 August 2026 |
| Halifax Share Dealing(opens in a new tab) | To open any account you must not be a US person, a US citizen, or US tax resident by any other route. That is a citizenship test, so living here does not help. Note that Halifax, Lloyds and Scottish Widows all run on the same platform and share this exact clause, so shopping between them on price achieves nothing if you are American. | 17 August 2026 |
| Interactive Investor(opens in a new tab) | The terms governing the ISA require you to confirm that you are neither a Canadian resident nor a US person, which is a confirmation a US citizen cannot truthfully give, and a later clause lets ii sell your holdings if it believes you are one. | 17 August 2026 |
| InvestEngine(opens in a new tab) | InvestEngine lists US persons, including US citizens and US tax residents, among the accounts it cannot open. The refusal is close to moot in any case: the platform sells only ETFs and no individual shares, so every holding available here would be a PFIC for a US filer. | 17 August 2026 |
| iWeb (now Scottish Widows Share Dealing)(opens in a new tab) | iWeb is now Scottish Widows Share Dealing, and it states the bar on the apply page as well as in the contract: you must live in the UK and not be a US citizen or taxpayer. Its pricing is much the cheapest of the three Lloyds brands, at no annual fee and £5 a trade, which makes the refusal more annoying rather than less. | 17 August 2026 |
| Lightyear(opens in a new tab) | The ISA pages are silent on nationality and the eligibility FAQ is not: Lightyear cannot offer its products or services to a tax resident or citizen of the United States, and that bar sits at account level so it takes the ISA with it. It also states plainly that it cannot offer US-listed ETFs because of the rules restricting US-domiciled funds to European customers. | 17 August 2026 |
| Lloyds Bank(opens in a new tab) | Lloyds share dealing runs on the Halifax Share Dealing platform and carries the identical clause barring US persons, US citizens and US tax residents. Three brands, one platform, one answer, and the fees differ while the eligibility does not. | 17 August 2026 |
| Moneybox(opens in a new tab) | The eligibility line is over 18, UK tax resident and not a US citizen, and the declaration makes you confirm you are not a US person as the IRS defines one. Worth knowing what you are missing: this ISA does offer individual US shares, which would have been the workable half for a US person, so here the citizenship bar is the whole story. | 17 August 2026 |
| Moneyfarm(opens in a new tab) | Moneyfarm stopped taking US persons in 2021 and names the FATCA reporting burden as the reason, counting citizens, green card holders, people born in the US and dual nationals. Clients from before then are grandfathered only while they stay in the UK, and must close on leaving. | 17 August 2026 |
| Nutmeg (J.P. Morgan Personal Investing)(opens in a new tab) | The terms do not provide portfolios or services to US persons. The clause after it is the worse one: you must tell them if you become a US person, and they may then end the agreement and close your products. Everything here is a managed portfolio of pooled funds, so there would be no individual shares to fall back on. | 17 August 2026 |
| Plum(opens in a new tab) | Barred twice over. The general terms say you must not be a US citizen, resident or green card holder, and the ISA section says you may not open one as a US person and must tell Plum if you become one, at which point it will require you to close it. The ISA holds only mutual funds in any case. | 17 August 2026 |
| Prosper(opens in a new tab) | Prosper never writes the word citizen. Its terms require that you are not a tax resident of the United States, which sounds like a residence test and is not one in practice, because American citizenship-based taxation makes a US citizen in London a US tax resident. Expect it to catch you, and note the shelf is funds only regardless. | 17 August 2026 |
| Quilter Invest (formerly Wombat)(opens in a new tab) | Formerly Wombat, then NuWealth, now Quilter Invest, and the US bar survived every rename. The platform is offered only to people who are 18 or over, UK resident and not a US person, and you warrant that on an ongoing basis and must tell Quilter immediately if it changes. It does offer US shares, which is what makes the bar sting. | 17 August 2026 |
| RBC Brewin Dolphin(opens in a new tab) | The exclusion is firm-wide and the ISA sits inside it: the client terms say it may not provide services if you are or become a US person, defined as any citizen or resident of the States, and the ISA terms are a section of that same document. | 17 August 2026 |
| Redmayne Bentley(opens in a new tab) | The refusal reaches the ISA directly. Its own application and transfer form makes you declare that you are not a United States person as FATCA defines one, nor a Canadian resident, which is a declaration a US citizen cannot sign. | 17 August 2026 |
| Robinhood UK(opens in a new tab) | Explicit twice over: you can apply only if you are not a US person as the Internal Revenue Service defines one, and if you become one at any point you will be required to close the ISA. The account opening checklist repeats it in a single line. | 17 August 2026 |
| Santander UK(opens in a new tab) | Santander draws the line precisely, and the wording is worth quoting to yourself before assuming any bank is the same: you can be a non-UK national, but US citizens cannot open an Investment Hub account. It also asks you to tell it if you become a US citizen, which suggests it acts on the status after opening too. | 17 August 2026 |
| Saxo UK(opens in a new tab) | The ISA pages say nothing about nationality, and the help centre does: Saxo cannot offer services to anyone classified as a US person, and its definition expressly covers dual citizens who do not live in the States. The only route it names is a certificate of loss of nationality, which is not a route for anyone intending to stay American. | 17 August 2026 |
| Trading 212(opens in a new tab) | Trading 212 does not offer accounts to US persons, and defines those to include US citizens, anyone born in the US, green card holders and anyone with US tax obligations. The only way back in it names is a certificate of loss of nationality. | 17 August 2026 |
| True Potential(opens in a new tab) | A clear case of the bar living outside the contract. The ISA terms set a plain residence test and never mention America, while the FAQ answering who can open one says you must not be a United States person or citizen, reaching anyone born in the States, Puerto Rico, Guam or the US Virgin Islands, anyone with a US citizen parent, and anyone meeting the substantial presence test. | 17 August 2026 |
| Vanguard UK(opens in a new tab) | The accounts and the funds are both closed to US persons, defined to include any US citizen and any US passport holder wherever they live. Even without the bar this platform sells only Vanguard funds, so there would be no individual shares to fall back on. | 17 August 2026 |
| Wealthify(opens in a new tab) | The contract bars US passport holders, and the public FAQ puts it wider still, saying US citizens and anyone paying tax to the US cannot invest with Wealthify. A later clause lets it terminate if you stop meeting the conditions after opening, and it offers managed plans only, so there are no individual shares here either. | 17 August 2026 |
| Willis Owen(opens in a new tab) | The bar sits in the application form itself, which will not proceed until you confirm you are a UK resident and not a US person as the Internal Revenue Service defines one. A shame, because Willis Owen is one of the few here offering individual shares alongside funds, which is the route that would have worked. | 17 August 2026 |
No longer offering this, or never did
Nothing to do with your citizenship: these is one provider that does not offer a stocks and shares ISA to anyone in the UK. Several are still recommended in forums and guides, which is why they are listed rather than left out.
| Provider | Why not | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Nationwide(opens in a new tab) | Nationwide has no stocks and shares ISA to open. It answers the question directly, saying it does not offer investments directly, and points customers at Aegon Financial Planning for advised investing instead. | 17 August 2026 |
Why this is the rule
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.
TaxISA 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.