Tax is where most of the confusion around US investing sits, and it is worth separating two questions that often get merged: what the United States takes, and what India takes.
The United States does not tax an Indian resident's capital gains on US shares. It does withhold tax on dividends. India taxes both — capital gains at rates that depend on how long the holding was held, and dividends at your slab rate, with credit available for the tax already withheld in the US under the India–US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
Alongside the tax itself sit two obligations people miss: TCS collected by your bank when money leaves India, which is a cashflow item rather than a cost because it is creditable against your tax liability; and Schedule FA disclosure, which applies to every overseas holding regardless of whether you made a profit.
Every article in this section states the rules with the date they take effect, because several changed recently and more change from FY 2026-27.