RSU holders in India: why Rovia was built for you (and what it actually does)

Every year, thousands of Indian employees at Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Infosys, Wipro, and dozens of other companies receive RSU grants that eventually vest into shares. The vesting event triggers a perquisite tax, your employer deducts TDS, and suddenly you own shares — sitting at Fidelity NetBenefits, E*TRADE at Morgan Stanley, Schwab Equity Award Center, or Morgan Stanley StockPlan Connect.

Then what?

For most Indian tech employees, this is where the tools run out. The employer broker is US-centric. Your Indian tax situation is not its problem. You either hold the shares indefinitely at a US platform designed for US residents, sell everything immediately (the default for many, who call it "sell to cover and hold nothing"), or try to wire cash elsewhere and rebuild a position.

None of these outcomes are optimal. Rovia was built to address exactly this gap.

The RSU lifecycle: the problem no other platform solves

Understanding why Rovia matters requires understanding the full RSU lifecycle for an Indian resident.

Grant — your employer grants you X RSUs with a 4-year vesting schedule. You owe no tax at this point.

Vesting — every quarter or year, a portion of those RSUs vests. The shares have a fair market value on vest day. Under Indian tax law, that fair market value is a perquisite — employment income — taxed at your slab rate. Your employer's payroll system deducts TDS accordingly. After vesting, you own shares.

The shares sit at your employer broker. If you work at Google, this is Fidelity. At Microsoft, it is E*TRADE (now a division of Morgan Stanley). At Amazon, it is Schwab. The shares are in your name, at a US institution, in a US account.

What happens next is the problem. Most Indian investors have four options:

1. Sell everything on vest day and wire cash to India or to an Indian platform
2. Hold at the employer broker indefinitely (US tax forms, no Indian tax tools, complex FEMA compliance)
3. Wire cash from the sale to another Indian platform and lose all lot-level history
4. Transfer the shares in-kind via ACATS

Only option 4 preserves your lot history, your cost basis, and your ability to make informed sell decisions. Only Rovia, among Indian investing platforms, supports it.

ACATS: what it is and why it changes everything

ACATS stands for Automated Customer Account Transfer Service. It is the US financial system's standardised mechanism — maintained by DTCC — for moving securities between broker-dealers. When you initiate an ACATS transfer, your shares move in-kind from the sending broker to the receiving broker without being sold. Your original purchase lots, with their original cost bases, travel with the transfer.

Rovia supports inbound ACATS from the four major employer brokers:

• Fidelity (used by Google, many PE-backed companies)
• E*TRADE / Morgan Stanley StockPlan (used by Microsoft, Salesforce, many others)
• Schwab (used by Amazon, Intel, many others)
• Morgan Stanley (used by Meta and others)

What this means for you: you initiate the transfer request inside Rovia. Rovia submits the ACATS instruction to your employer broker. Within 3–6 business days, your shares move to your Rovia account with all lot information intact. You did not sell. You did not trigger US capital gains. You did not lose your cost basis history. You now have all your vested RSU lots inside a platform that understands Indian tax.

No other Indian investing platform currently does this.

Vest-date SBI TT rates: why they matter

When your RSUs vest, your employer values them in USD. But your Indian tax obligation — both the perquisite tax on vesting and the capital gains tax on any eventual sale — is computed in INR.

The conversion rate that Indian tax rules specify is the SBI TT (Telegraphic Transfer) buying rate on the vest date. This rate is published by State Bank of India and is used as the standard for valuing foreign currency income under Indian tax law.

The perquisite income on your vest is: (number of shares vesting) × (USD price on vest date) × (SBI TT buying rate on vest date).

Your capital gains cost basis per share is: (USD price on vest date) × (SBI TT buying rate on vest date).

Without Rovia, calculating this for every vest tranche — across potentially dozens of vesting events over multiple years — means manually looking up historical SBI TT rates and applying them to each lot. This is tedious and error-prone. Errors mean your capital gains calculations are wrong, which creates risk at ITR filing.

Rovia applies these rates automatically. Every lot in your Rovia account carries the correct INR cost basis computed using the SBI TT buying rate on its vest date. When you sell, your gain or loss in INR is computed correctly from the first calculation.

Specific lot identification: the most important tool you have probably never used

If you have held RSUs across multiple vesting events, you have multiple lots of the same stock at different cost bases. NVIDIA shares that vested in January 2023 have a different cost basis than shares that vested in July 2024.

When you want to sell some shares, which lot should you sell? This is not a trivial question.

Consider a simplified example. You hold 100 shares of MSFT across three lots:

• Lot A: 40 shares, cost basis ₹8,000/share (vested when MSFT was lower)
• Lot B: 35 shares, cost basis ₹12,000/share
• Lot C: 25 shares, cost basis ₹15,000/share

MSFT is now trading at ₹14,000/share. You want to sell 20 shares.

If you sell from Lot A: your gain is (₹14,000 - ₹8,000) × 20 = ₹1,20,000. Tax at 20% (long-term) = ₹24,000.

If you sell from Lot C: your gain is (₹14,000 - ₹15,000) × 20 = -₹20,000. You have realised a loss of ₹20,000 that you can use to offset other capital gains.

The difference in outcome between these two choices is ₹24,000 in tax, plus the value of ₹20,000 in capital loss carryforward. For an investor with multiple lots across multiple stocks, this choice — made systematically — can save lakhs in tax annually.

Rovia supports specific lot selection: you choose which lot to sell for each transaction. It also supports HIFO (highest-cost-first) as a default, which automatically minimises gains across all your sales. Most Indian platforms default to FIFO (first-in-first-out), which tends to generate the largest gains because your oldest lots typically have the lowest cost bases.

Read our detailed guide on RSU lot selection and tax-loss harvesting.

Schedule FA and tax reporting

Rovia generates automated Schedule FA values — peak balance during the financial year (from daily portfolio snapshots at SBI TT rates), closing balance, and income credited. These feed directly into Schedule FA of ITR-2 or ITR-3. The SBI TT conversion is done automatically; your CA gets a filled-in schedule rather than a USD statement to reconstruct.

For Indian RSU holders at Fidelity, E*TRADE, Morgan Stanley, or Schwab who have not yet moved to Rovia, Rovia also offers a free Schedule FA generator on their website — no account required. This is the first tool built specifically for Indian residents at US employer brokers who otherwise receive no Schedule FA support from their platform.

Tax-loss harvesting schedules

Rovia generates reports showing which of your current lots, if sold, would generate a realised loss. These losses can be used to offset capital gains from other sales — either in the same financial year or carried forward.

A practical example: you have sold some Indian equity MF units earlier in the year and realised ₹3,00,000 in long-term capital gains. You also hold some US stock lots at a loss. By selling those loss lots before March 31, you can offset the ₹3,00,000 gain, potentially saving ₹60,000 in tax (at 20% long-term capital gains rate).

Tax-loss harvesting is standard practice for sophisticated investors in developed markets. Among Indian platforms, Rovia is the first to surface this systematically rather than leaving you to identify the opportunities yourself.

See our guide on what to do with your vested RSUs — the diversification playbook.

Brokerage: the 0.15% advantage

Rovia charges 0.15% brokerage on US stock trades, capped at $15 per order. Vested Basic and INDmoney charge 0.25%; Vested Premium charges 0.15% for ₹4,500/year. On paper this is 0.1 percentage points, which sounds small.

At ₹1 crore of annual trading volume:

• 0.25% = ₹25,000 brokerage
• 0.15% = ₹15,000 brokerage
• Saving: ₹10,000

For an RSU holder who receives vesting events quarterly and diversifies regularly, annual trading volumes of ₹50L–2Cr are common. At ₹2 crore, the brokerage saving is ₹20,000. Compounded over 10 years of working and vesting, this is not trivial.

The brokerage advantage compounds with the tax savings from specific lot identification and tax-loss harvesting. The right platform choice does not just save fees — it saves taxes.

ACATS transfer: step-by-step from Fidelity or E*TRADE to Rovia

The ACATS process takes 3–7 business days and requires no selling. Here is the exact workflow:

Step 1: Open your Rovia account Complete Rovia's KYC (PAN, Aadhaar, video verification). This is a US brokerage account opened via Rovia's partnership with Alpaca Securities LLC (420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA) — the US broker-dealer that holds custody of your securities. Rovia is the Indian-facing platform; Alpaca is the SEC-registered custodian.

Step 2: Initiate the transfer inside Rovia Go to the Transfer section in the Rovia app. Select "Transfer from another broker" → select your source broker (Fidelity, E*TRADE/Morgan Stanley, Schwab, or Morgan Stanley StockPlan). Enter your account number at the source broker exactly as it appears on your statement.

Step 3: Specify shares to transfer Choose full account transfer (all securities and cash) or partial transfer (specific securities or lot selections). For most RSU holders, a partial transfer of only the company stock to Rovia makes sense — keeping any other assets at the source broker.

Step 4: Rovia submits the ACATS instruction Rovia submits an ACATS transfer request through DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) to your employer broker. The source broker has 3 business days to validate the transfer, then 2–3 more business days for settlement. Total: 3–7 business days in most cases.

Step 5: No capital gains event The shares move in-kind. No sale occurs. Your original lot information — vest date, shares per lot, USD price at vest — travels with the transfer. Rovia's system receives this lot data and applies SBI TTBR on each vest date to compute the INR cost basis automatically.

What does NOT happen:

• No US capital gains (no sale)
• No Indian capital gains (no sale)
• No impact on your LRS utilisation (ACATS is a securities transfer, not an outward remittance)
• No TCS

Fidelity-specific note: Fidelity NetBenefits accounts have two sub-accounts — the stock plan account (where RSUs sit) and, sometimes, a linked retail brokerage. ACATS from Fidelity NetBenefits will transfer the shares from the stock plan account. Confirm with Rovia support which account number to use.

E*TRADE (Morgan Stanley) note: Microsoft RSU holders at ETRADE should use the ETRADE Securities LLC account number (shown on your ETRADE statement header). The custodian for ETRADE accounts is E*TRADE Securities LLC, 671 N. Glebe Road, Arlington VA 22203.

Rovia's INR view: how lot-level STCG/LTCG works

After an ACATS transfer, every lot appears in Rovia with:

• Vest date
• Number of shares
• USD price at vest
• SBI TTBR on vest date (fetched from historical RBI/SBI data)
• INR cost basis per share (USD price × TTBR)
• INR cost basis total (cost per share × shares)
• Current INR value (live price × current SBI TTBR)
• Unrealised gain/loss in INR
• STCG or LTCG classification (Rovia tracks whether each lot has passed the 24-month threshold)

This means at any point you can see, for each lot: "If I sell this lot today, my taxable gain in INR is X, and it will be taxed as STCG at slab rate / LTCG at 12.5%."

For an RSU holder with 12 quarterly vest events over 3 years, this view replaces what would otherwise be 12 manual SBI TTBR lookups, 12 INR cost basis calculations, and 12 STCG/LTCG age checks — every time you want to evaluate a sell decision.

Sell workflow: limit vs market orders

When you decide to sell, Rovia offers:

Market order: Executes immediately at the best available price. Suitable when you need liquidity quickly (e.g., approaching a vest-date TDS settlement deadline, or rebalancing at financial year end). Risk: in illiquid after-hours sessions, market orders can fill at prices away from the last quoted price.

Limit order: You specify a minimum price you will accept. The order executes only if the market reaches that price. Suitable for RSU holders who want to sell at a target price — e.g., "sell my oldest lot if NVDA hits $160." Limit orders on US stocks on Rovia stay open during US market hours and can be set as Good-Till-Cancelled (GTC).

Tax-aware sell flow: Before confirming any sell, Rovia shows you:

1. Which lot(s) will be sold (based on your default method: HIFO, FIFO, or specific lot)
2. The cost basis of the lot being sold in INR
3. The estimated gain/loss in INR
4. Whether the gain is STCG (slab rate) or LTCG (12.5%)
5. The approximate Indian tax on the gain at your configured tax rate

This preview is the advance tax planning tool built into every transaction.

Repatriation to your Indian bank account

Rovia charges a flat $5 fee on outbound repatriation (moving funds from your Rovia account back to your Indian bank account). This matters for RSU holders who want to diversify by selling some shares and deploying the proceeds into Indian assets — home purchase, INDmoney MF SIPs, NPS, or simply a savings account.

Repatriation mechanics:

1. Sell shares in Rovia → proceeds settle in your Rovia USD balance (T+2 after sale)
2. Initiate a repatriation request in the app (Withdraw → To Indian Bank)
3. Rovia converts USD to INR and initiates a wire to your linked Indian bank (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak, most major banks supported)
4. Funds arrive in your Indian account in 3–5 business days
5. $5 flat fee is deducted from the transfer amount

Repatriated funds are classified as inward remittance by your Indian bank and do not consume your LRS limit (LRS is outward-only). You may receive a FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) from your bank — useful for CA documentation.

Schedule FA custodian entry for Rovia accounts

Rovia's custody is through Alpaca Securities LLC. Use these exact details in your Schedule FA Table A2:

• Name of custodian: Alpaca Securities LLC
• Address: 420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
• Country: United States (country code 2)
• Account number: Your Rovia account number (shown in Account Settings)

Rovia generates a pre-filled Schedule FA worksheet with these details populated automatically, along with Dec 31 closing value and peak value in INR. Your CA receives a ready-to-file Schedule FA rather than a USD statement to reconstruct.

Advance tax planning using Rovia's tax preview

India requires advance tax payments quarterly (June 15, September 15, December 15, March 15) if your total tax liability exceeds ₹10,000 for the year. RSU holders frequently underestimate advance tax because:

• TDS is deducted by the employer at vest, but the rate may be lower than actual liability
• Capital gains from selling RSUs during the year are not captured in Form 16

Rovia's tax preview helps you:

1. Estimate capital gains for the financial year in real-time by summing realised gains across all sell transactions
2. Project remaining liability based on your configured income tax rate vs. what TDS has already been deducted
3. Model sell-before/sell-after decisions — selling a lot in March vs. April moves the tax liability by a full year, which affects when advance tax is due

For a Rovia user who has realised ₹10 lakh in capital gains by September, the December 15 advance tax installment should include tax on those gains. Without a tool that shows realised INR gains in real-time, this calculation requires a CA's manual work. Rovia surfaces it automatically.

Google and Amazon RSU holders: specific guides

If you work at Google or Amazon specifically, the RSU mechanics — the employer broker, the sell-to-cover default at vesting, and the Indian tax implications — differ in some details. We have guides for each:

• Google RSU guide for India
• Amazon RSU guide for India — external reference for comparison

Who Rovia is for

RSU holders at any level — from a mid-level engineer with a $50,000 RSU grant to a VP with $500,000 in unvested shares. The ACATS capability, vest-date SBI TT rates, and specific lot identification deliver the most value as the portfolio size grows, but even early-career employees with small grant sizes benefit from having the right cost basis calculated from day one.

Investors with multiple vest tranches — four-year vesting schedules with quarterly vesting events generate many lots. Managing these manually is where errors happen and tax savings are lost.

Tax-sensitive investors — anyone who thinks systematically about their Indian tax position (which everyone should, but relatively few do) will find the tax-loss harvesting reports and specific lot selection practically useful.

ESPP participants — Employee Stock Purchase Plans generate their own lot complexity. Rovia handles ESPP shares with the same tooling as RSUs.

Who should look elsewhere

Investors without RSU exposure. Rovia's tooling is purpose-built for the RSU use case. If you are a salaried investor putting a monthly surplus into US index ETFs with no employer stock exposure, the ACATS capability and lot-selection tools are irrelevant. INDmoney or Vested may be simpler choices.

Investors who want Indian + US in one consolidated app. Rovia is a US investing platform. Your Indian mutual funds, FDs, and equity are elsewhere. For the consolidated wealth view in a single app, INDmoney is purpose-built.

Investors wanting the GIFT City route to avoid TCS entirely and bypass LRS limits — look at Dhan's GIFT City product.

For a full comparison across all platforms, see Vested vs INDmoney vs Interactive Brokers and our Rovia vs Vested comparison.

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Disclosure: Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia. This article describes Rovia's product features factually. Readers should independently verify current product capabilities before making investing decisions.