How to buy US stocks and ETFs from Italy

This page lists the investment platforms whose own pages say they accept residents of Italy, with their licences, fees and the deposit methods available here. We only count platforms that publish a list of the countries they accept: a company that does not say whom it accepts is left out, even if it might open an account for you. Being on the list is not a recommendation.

Some verified points for Italy:

• Interactive Brokers names Italy on its list of available countries and territories. Its pages do not say which of its companies opens accounts for residents of Italy, so check the company named in your client agreement; one of them is Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. IBKR charges no fee for bank transfer deposits (your bank may), and after two free withdrawals a calendar month it charges a fee per withdrawal.
• The Bank of Italy says its online registers (“Albi ed elenchi di vigilanza”) let anyone check whether a bank or a financial intermediary, such as a securities investment firm (SIM), is entered in the relevant register and which financial services it is authorised to offer. The registers also list foreign intermediaries authorised to operate in Italy, and the same page links to a list of entities not entitled to carry on banking and financial business in Italy.

Italy’s National Guarantee Fund (Fondo Nazionale di Garanzia) compensates investors of its member firms, up to €20,000 per investor, when a member goes into compulsory administrative liquidation, bankruptcy or a composition with creditors and does not return their money or financial instruments. Italian branches of EU investment firms belong to it for their business in Italy, to supplement the cover of their home country’s scheme. Deposits at banks that are members of the Interbank Deposit Protection Fund (FITD) are guaranteed up to €100,000 per depositor, per bank. No investor compensation scheme pays for falling prices.

For US shares, the platform will ask you for Form W-8BEN. The IRS says most US-source income of a foreign person, dividends included, is taxed at 30% through a withholding tax unless a tax treaty or the tax code sets a lower rate. Italy is on the IRS list of US income tax treaties, so a lower rate may apply. Italy may tax the same dividend too, so ask the tax authority or a qualified tax adviser.