Though Tastytrade is a U.S. π½ based broker, it’s perfectly possible for European/U.K. residents to open an account as well. Tastytrade offers many advantages over European alternatives, such as $0 fees for buying and selling stocks and ETFs, a unique π» trading platform, andβmost importantβone can use Tastytrade to access US domiciled ETFs, otherwise unavailable to Europeans.
On our homepage π you will find a quick guide on how to buy such ETFs. This blog post, however, will provide more detailed steps on how to open a Tastytrade account while residing in Europe.
Already have an account? Continue on to the next blog post to register a CurrencyFair account and deposit your funds.
Registering an account
Currently, you can open an account from most European countries, including e.g. the U.K, Germany, France, Netherlands… To be sure, check the up to date list of supported countries here. Alternatively, check out the guide on using eToro for unsupported countries.
Some U.S. citizens have experienced trouble opening an account from Europe, though it isn’t clear whether this applies to all European countries. If you are a U.S. citizen and want to be sure, you can contact Tastytrade beforehand to confirm.
First of all, head over to the Tastytrade account registration page by clicking this link. Fill in your email address, username, and desired password. π
After clicking ‘Continue’, an email π§ will be sent. Be sure to open the email in a new tab, and click the link to verify your email address within 72 hours β²οΈ or the link will expire. For me, the email ended up in the spam folder, so be sure to check there as well!
Head back over to the registration tab, choose your account type, and whether you want margin access or not. Click on the account types to read a description of what they offer.
Margin will allow you to borrow cash to buy equities. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, you could opt for a cash π° account, which does not offer this feature. For this guide we’ll choose an individual cash account.
Personal details
Click to continue and provide your contact details in the form that follows.
A warning β οΈ will also pop up, explaining that additional documentation will be required for π international clients. This is fine; we’ll address this step later on.
In step 3, a tax number will requested. This numberβalso known as a TIN or Taxpayer Identification Numberβwill look different depending on your country of citizenship. π For an easy guide on where to obtain it per country, take a look here.
Step 4 will ask whether you are subject to backup withholding.
As long as your tax number is correctly provided in the earlier step, the answer will almost always be ‘No’. Note that this website does not provide tax advice so check elsewhere if you aren’t sure.
Step 5 will ask some questions regarding any affiliations you might have. It has no bearing on the ability to open an account, but depending on the answers, some more information might be requested.
Security
Provide a trusted π± contact, who would be contacted in cases where fraud would be suspected (to verify your identity). For example, your spouse or a good friend. They will not be notified of being a trusted contact, and wouldn’t be contacted under any normal circumstances. Also, trusted contacts have no ability to place orders or request withdrawals.
In the next step, put in an estimate of your first deposit amount. Because we will be using CurrencyFair to make the deposit (more on this here), list the Primary Bank Name as being CurrencyFair. Note: you will be using your own bank for the deposits, we only use π± CurrencyFair to process the wire transfers for us, as this is the best and cheapest way of transferring funds to Tastytrade.
If you want to make use of the β¬50 free bonus π from CurrencyFair (explained in the next blog post), you’ll have to transfer at least β¬2,000.
Continue on to the next tab and provide your trading experience, objectives, and financial information. π΅
On the next tab you are offered to enable two factor authentication (2FA), should you like to do so. Additionally, you can provide a security question and answer.
Verification
On the final tab, we need to upload some documents. Upload a scan or photograph of your passport’s photo page. For the proof of address, Tastytrade accepts the following π documents:
- Government-issued photo ID (with the address listed)
- Utility bill
- Bank statement
- Credit card bill π³
Note that the full document has to be provided and it cannot be more than a year old when submitted.
If you ordinarily do not receive bank statements via mail, many banks offer to to provide just one for verification purposes when asked. Alternatively, you can request a ‘balance letter’ to be mailed, proving ownership of the account.
Only landline bills are considered a utility bill in this instance, mobile phone bills are not. Gas, π electricity, or water bills are fine as well.
Scroll down to confirm that you have read the listed documents and click ‘Review your application’ to continue.
Sign the box using your mouse or screen, click to βοΈ sign, and submit your application.
Because international account require a manual π review, it typically takes 3-5 business days for your account to be approved.
In the meanwhile, feel free to leave a comment below if you got any more questions or suggestions!
Fund the account and use Tastytrade to access US domiciled ETFs
Once you have created your account, the next step will be to fund it, before you can use Tastytrade to access US domiciled ETFs. Funding an account from Europe is possible via a specific method to save costs: CurrencyFair. Click here to read the next blog post for detailed instructions on how to open such an account, including a free β¬50 bonus. πΆ Should you already have an account, click here for funding instructions.
Looking to diversify your portfolio?
Why not add a little crypto? Sign up with Coinbaseβone of the world’s largest and most reliable exchangesβand receive $10 worth of Bitcoin for free, when buying at least $100 worth of crypto.
Claim free gift! π
Hello,
it is really possible to trade american ETF’s as a european citizen on TW, I Mean Di you have practical experiences with ETF i.e. SPY, VXX, ARKK, QQQ on TW (really no restriktions…)?
thanks
Torsten
Hi Torsten,
Yes, I wrote these instructions after doing it all myself because I was looking for a solution as well. I got experience buying ARK funds, leveraged funds like TQQQ, and many others. Any U.S. ETF should be available to buy via this method, even less well known ones. If you have any further questions, please do let me know.
Good luck!
hiοΌ
have just registerd using your referRAl. Do you know if they would fill out W8BEN for european resident or do we have to submit it later?
Hi Peipei, thank you for your comment. Tastyworks fills out the W-8 BEN for you automatically, based on the information provided during the sign-up process. Really convenient! The treaty tax rate of your country will then be applied automatically. Good luck!
Hi, it is possible to trade pink sheet stocks on TW ?
Hi Daryla, Tastyworks doesn’t offer any OTC stocks. Personally I can recommend Schwab for that, but it depends on where you live whether they’ll be able to open an account for you. They also require a 25k minimum deposit. Note that Schwab also blocks U.S. ETFs for Europeans, so you’ll still need Tastyworks for that. Good luck!
You write that “US citizensβeven those residing in Europeβwill not be eligible to open an account”. Can you elaborate on that point? US citizens cannot open an “international” account, is what I’m guessing you mean, but how did you discover the restriction? any hint of a workaround for US-citizen in EU?
Hi Matthew, sorry for the confusion, seems this was a leftover part from an earlier draft. I took it out now because you should be able to open the account just fine. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for the quick reply! I’ve written to TastyWorks support for their guidance on which type of account to open. Let’s see.
How to pay taxes in EU (Netherland)?
Hi, Tastyworks fills out your W-8 BEN automatically, so the treaty rate gets applied (15% tax on dividends). Tastyworks withholds these for you so no work required on your end.
I don’t advise on taxes, but the location of the account doesn’t change anything regarding the filing, except that your account details will not be pre-filled automatically as would be a Dutch account. So just file as you normally would but enter the balances manually.
Good luck!
Hi all. I opened an account in Tastyworks on February 9th but I’m still waiting for approval. They say this process takes between 3 and 5 labour days. The last week I contacted their support team asking about the delay and they answered they are currently experiencing higher than normal account opening requests and applications are being reviewed in the order that they were received. Do you have any similar experience? How much time did you wait until your account was ready to fund? Thank you!
Hi Rick, yes there is a huge influx of new clients for all major brokers at the moment (to do with the GME hype etc.). Last thing I heard it takes about 20 days now to have the account activated, so it shouldn’t be much longer for you. Hope you can start using the account soon!
Thanks for your comment. I’m still waiting. I’ll notice you all when they finally active my account. I really appreciate all the info you have collected and published here. It’s really useful. I’ve used all your referral links, I hope it could be a little reward for all your efforts.
Hi. I can confirm my account has been approved today. So it’s taken a little more than a month.
Hello,
I’ve tried to open account but they say ‘Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept your account based on a management decision’ what wrongs with my application although I own an IB Account since very long time. It’s couriers maybe you can explain why they don’t accept my application. Thanks
Hi Yuri, I’ve never heard of anyone being denied before, that’s really unfortunate… Unless your nationality is one of the few banned ones, I wouldn’t be able to guess what went wrong. Perhaps best to ask them directly. Wish you the best!
Hi again, I’ve asked them directly but get no answer they say management decision and like I’ve no idea why. My Nationality is German so Nationality isn’t the reasons. Thanks again
Hey, i have opend an account yesterday, lets see if the accept my account opening. (Also German)
Yes, very strange. Germans are ordinarily accepted for sure. It sounds to me like they might for some reason suspect something’s not right about your application. Perhaps you registered it to a PO box, for example, or anything else that might be suspicious and against the terms of service. Sorry, wish I could offer more help but there’s not much more I can think of… Hope you get to resolve it though.
hi im just wondering if you offer option trading on us stocks. ie contracts on stocks with strike prices like robinhood offer??????
Hi Niall, indeed, in addition to U.S. ETFs, Tastyworks also offers options trading on U.S. stocks in a similar way to Robinhood. Hope this will help you. π
firstrade also (iβm in Uk and use firstrade and tasty)
Hi Gez, I also have an account with them but found the wires to be more expensive as they don’t support CurrencyFair (or any other transfer service). Thanks for the suggestion though!
Great work!! I have to tell you big thanks man!! i was looking for a USA broker to trade with actions and good ETF’s, and i just found this!!
I started to create my account on tastyworks on sunday, i sent the documents and wednesday they said its all ok! i sent my passport and mi spanish id for proof or residence. rigth now i’m waiting for my currencyfair transfer (big thanks for that too, was very easy following your instructions).