Rovia vs Dhan for US stocks: LRS vs GIFT City, RSU tools vs TCS savings

Rovia and Dhan are doing fundamentally different things for Indian US stock investors. The comparison is not primarily about brokerage rates — it is about route, use case, and what problem each platform actually solves.

Rovia is built for Indian residents with RSU compensation. Dhan is built for high-income investors who want to bypass LRS's TCS and annual cap via the GIFT City IFSC route. These are different audiences with different primary problems, and for most investors, one platform is clearly more relevant than the other.

Full disclosure: Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia. This comparison reflects our honest assessment of both platforms.

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The structural difference: LRS vs GIFT City

This is the most important thing to understand before anything else.

Rovia uses the standard LRS (Liberalised Remittance Scheme) route. When you fund your Rovia account, your money leaves India as a foreign remittance. This means:

• TCS applies: 0% on the first ₹7 lakh in aggregate LRS remittances per financial year, 20% on amounts above ₹7 lakh (reclaimable at ITR but capital is blocked until refund)
• The $250,000 annual LRS cap counts your Rovia remittances
• Schedule FA disclosure is required for your Alpaca account as a foreign financial account

Dhan uses the GIFT City IFSC route via Raise IFSC Pvt. Ltd. When you fund your Dhan US stocks account, the money goes to an IFSCA-regulated entity inside India's GIFT City special economic zone. Under the prevailing market interpretation:

• TCS may not apply — the transfer is to a domestic IFSC entity, not a foreign account
• The $250,000 LRS cap may not count — for the same reason
• Schedule FA disclosure status is evolving — the prudent position is to disclose until there is explicit guidance

The caveat on Dhan's GIFT City advantages: explicit RBI and CBDT circulars confirming this position for GIFT City equity investments are limited as of mid-2026. The interpretation is widely used by the industry and by tax practitioners, but it rests on framework analysis rather than a direct government circular. Verify with your CA before committing large amounts on the assumption that TCS does not apply.

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The TCS math: who cares about the route difference

The GIFT City advantage is largest for high-income investors sending significant annual amounts.

Scenario: ₹25 lakh invested in US stocks in a financial year

	Rovia (LRS)	Dhan (GIFT City, prevailing interpretation)
TCS-free threshold	₹7L	₹0 or full amount (GIFT City)
Amount attracting TCS	₹18L	₹0
TCS at 20%	₹3.6L blocked until ITR	₹0
Capital deployed on day one	₹21.4L	₹25L

On ₹25 lakh per year, Dhan's TCS advantage means ₹3.6 lakh more is deployed and compounding rather than waiting for an ITR refund. Over five years, if US markets return 12% annualised, the compounding on that ₹3.6L is meaningful.

At ₹10 lakh per year: TCS above ₹7L threshold = ₹60,000 blocked. Still real, but smaller. The brokerage saving from Rovia (₹10,000/year) partially offsets this.

At ₹5 lakh per year: Below the ₹7L threshold, TCS is zero on either route. The GIFT City advantage disappears entirely. Rovia's lower brokerage (0.15% vs 0.25%) becomes the more relevant cost difference.

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Brokerage: Rovia wins

Rovia charges 0.15% per trade. Dhan charges 0.25% per trade.

Annual investment	Rovia brokerage	Dhan brokerage	Difference
₹5 lakh	₹750	₹1,250	₹500
₹10 lakh	₹1,500	₹2,500	₹1,000
₹25 lakh	₹3,750	₹6,250	₹2,500
₹50 lakh	₹7,500	₹12,500	₹5,000

At ₹25 lakh per year, Rovia's brokerage advantage is ₹2,500 annually. Dhan's TCS advantage (if it holds) is ₹3.6 lakh. The TCS advantage dominates at that investment level — which is the correct way to think about this trade-off.

At ₹5 lakh per year (below the TCS threshold), Rovia's brokerage advantage of ₹500 is the main cost difference.

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RSU consolidation: Rovia only

This is the clearest dimension where the platforms are not comparable.

Rovia supports inbound ACATS transfers from Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley. You can move vested RSU shares from your employer broker to Rovia without selling — preserving cost basis, lot dates, and holding period. The shares arrive at Rovia's Alpaca-clearing account with the original vest dates intact.

Dhan does not support inbound ACATS transfers. If your RSU shares are at Fidelity or E*TRADE, your options on Dhan are: (a) sell on the employer platform, repatriate cash, reinvest in Dhan — which triggers capital gains and destroys lot-level history, or (b) keep the RSU shares at the employer platform and use Dhan only for new investing. Neither is the consolidation that RSU holders typically want.

If you have meaningful employer equity at a US broker, Rovia is the relevant platform. Dhan is not designed for this use case.

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Tax tooling: Rovia significantly ahead

Rovia provides:

• Lot-level INR cost basis with vest-date SBI TT rates pre-applied per lot
• Specific-lot identification at sell (HIFO, LIFO, FIFO, or manual)
• Automated Schedule FA with SBI TT-rate converted peak balance from daily snapshots
• Realized-loss schedule with tax-loss harvesting carry-forward tracker
• Form 67 / Form 44 prep for dividend foreign tax credits
• India 24-month LTCG countdown per lot (vs the US 12-month rule)

Dhan provides:

• Standard account statements with transaction history
• No specific-lot identification at sell
• No INR cost basis per lot
• No Schedule FA helper
• No tax-loss harvesting reports
• Under GIFT City, the Schedule FA requirement itself is evolving — but that means more uncertainty, not less work

For investors with multiple vest tranches who need to manage lot-level capital gains in INR, Rovia's tax tooling is substantially more capable. For investors making a small number of regular purchases into an ETF and not managing RSU lots, the tooling difference matters less — though Dhan's absence of Schedule FA support means more manual work at filing time regardless.

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Platform maturity

Both platforms are relatively new in their current form:

• Dhan launched its US stocks via GIFT City product in June 2026
• Rovia was founded in 2025

Neither has a decade of track record on the US investing side. Dhan has more established infrastructure on the Indian equity side (it is well-known for options trading and Indian markets). Rovia was purpose-built for the US-investing use case from the start.

The GIFT City regulatory framework Dhan uses is itself relatively new — IFSCA was established in 2020 and the rules around retail investors in GIFT City continue to evolve. Edge cases in repatriation, dispute resolution, and tax treatment have not yet been stress-tested at scale.

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Full comparison table

Dimension	Rovia	Dhan
Remittance route	LRS	GIFT City IFSC (Raise IFSC Pvt. Ltd.)
TCS on investments	0% up to ₹7L; 20% above	Potentially none (verify with CA)
LRS $250K annual cap	Counts	May not count (verify with CA)
Brokerage	0.15% per trade	0.25% per trade
Outbound repatriation	Flat $5 fee	FX markup (verify current rate with Dhan)
Inbound ACATS (RSU transfer)	Yes — via Alpaca	No
Lot-level INR cost basis	Yes — vest-date SBI TT per lot	No
Specific-lot identification at sell	Yes	No
Tax-loss harvesting report	Yes	No
Schedule FA helper	Yes — automated	No
Form 67 / Form 44 prep	Yes	No
US stock SIP / recurring	No (at launch)	Yes
Single app with Indian equity	No	Yes
Section 10(4D) exemption potential	No	Possible (verify with CA)
Platform launched	2025	Indian equity established; US stocks June 2026
Underlying custodian	Alpaca Securities LLC	Raise IFSC / ViewTrade International
SIPC / investor protection	SIPC up to $500K	IFSCA-regulated (different framework from SIPC)

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Who should use which

Rovia is the right choice if you:

• Have RSU or ESPP shares at Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, or Morgan Stanley and want to consolidate via ACATS
• Are managing multiple vest tranches and need lot-level INR tax tooling
• Are investing below ₹7 lakh per year where the GIFT City TCS advantage is zero
• Want the lowest per-trade brokerage among Indian-facing platforms (0.15%)
• Want Schedule FA automation, loss-harvesting reports, and Form 67 prep

Dhan is the right choice if you:

• Are a high-income investor remitting ₹15 lakh+ per year to US stocks, where the TCS saving is substantial
• Already use Dhan for Indian equity and F&O and want US stocks in the same app
• Do not have RSU shares to consolidate
• Want US stock SIP for automated recurring investing
• Are comfortable verifying the GIFT City TCS position with your CA before committing

Consider both only if you want to run parallel accounts — Dhan for new cash investments (GIFT City TCS benefit), Rovia for managing consolidated RSU shares (lot-level tax tooling). Some investors with large RSU positions and high annual new investment do exactly this.

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Related reading

• Dhan US stocks via GIFT City: what it means and how it differs
• Rovia vs Vested for US stock investing
• GIFT City vs LRS: the complete guide for Indian investors
• RSU lot selection and tax-loss harvesting

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Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia.