Choosing a broker in Lithuania is a different problem from choosing one anywhere else, because of one thing: the investicinė sąskaita — the investment account regime that lets you defer income tax until you withdraw. Which broker you pick determines how easy that is to run, and one popular option can't do it at all.
The short version
Trading 212 for most people — zero commission, €100 minimum, 7,500+ ETFs, and it supports the investment account regime.
Interactive Brokers if you have real money to move — the widest market coverage anywhere, but a €10,000 practical minimum and an interface that assumes you know what you're doing.
Freedom24 if you're starting with a lump sum — a broader platform than the zero-commission apps, but a €1,000 account minimum rules it out for monthly contributors.
A Lithuanian bank if you want it simple — Swedbank, SEB and Luminor all support the regime and give you a Lithuanian-language annual statement. You pay for that in commissions and a much narrower fund selection.
Not Revolut, if the investment account matters to you. Revolut Securities Europe UAB is a Lithuanian company but does not offer an investicinė sąskaita product. Fine as a broker; no tax deferral.
Before anything else: you must be a Lithuanian tax resident to use an investicinė sąskaita. The regime is for permanent residents of Lithuania only — it is not available to non-residents. If you have just arrived, you are probably not tax resident yet. Open the brokerage account whenever you like, but understand the tax wrapper may not apply to you for your first year. This is the single most common misunderstanding among people arriving from abroad, and no broker will warn you about it.
Table of Contents
All Seven Compared
Disclaimer. Investing in stocks, ETFs and other financial instruments carries the risk of loss of capital. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. HowToLithuania.com is an informational publisher, not a licensed broker or financial adviser. Some links on this page are affiliate links — we may earn a commission when you open an account through them, at no additional cost to you.
Trading 212 for most people — a Lithuanian bank if you want it simple
Trading 212 supports the investment account regime (investicinė sąskaita) with zero commission and a €100 practical minimum. Interactive Brokers makes sense above roughly €10,000, Freedom24 if you're starting with a lump sum, and Swedbank, SEB or Luminor if you'd rather bank with an institution you can visit in person.
Be a Lithuanian tax resident → compare brokers → open your account → fund it → register with GPM311 by 1 May → start investing
| Broker | Investment account | Stock commission | ETF range | Practical minimum | Statement language | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading 212 | ✓ | €0 · 0.15% FX on non-EUR | 7,500+ | €100 | English | Open |
| Interactive Brokers | ✓ | Tiered: ~$0.35 US · 0.05% Baltic (min €1.25) | 17,000+ | €10,000 | English | Open |
| Freedom24 | ✓ | Smart plan: €0.02/share, min €2 | 1,500+ | €1,000 | English | Open |
| eToro | ✓ | 0% · spread + FX costs | Medium | €500 | English | |
| Swedbank | ✓ | ~0.2–0.3%, min ~€7 | Limited (Robur funds) | Any | Lithuanian | Open |
| SEB | ✓ | ~0.25%, min ~€8 | Limited (SEB funds) | Any | Lithuanian | Open |
| Luminor | ✓ | ~0.2% LT · ~0.5% US, min ~$7 | Small, mostly Baltic | Any | Lithuanian | Open |
| Revolut | ✗ | Varies by plan | Limited | €1 | English |
Last updated: 31 July 2026. Requirements may vary — always confirm directly with the provider before proceeding.
Our recommendation for most foreigners:
One correction worth making early, because it catches people who've read American guides: IBKR Lite — the zero-commission tier — is available to US residents only. As a Lithuanian resident you're on IBKR Pro with tiered or fixed pricing. Budget accordingly.
Verify before relying on this: commission figures for the three Lithuanian banks are approximate and drawn from published price lists that change annually — check the current schedule before opening. XTB is deliberately absent from this table. It is a well-known broker in the region, but we could not confirm from a primary source whether it supports the investicinė sąskaita regime, so we have left it out rather than guess. If you are considering XTB, ask them directly in writing.
The Four We'd Actually Recommend
The default answer for someone putting a few hundred euros a month into a global ETF. No commission on stock and ETF trades, a €100 practical minimum, and a range wide enough that every mainstream UCITS ETF is there.
The cost that isn't zero is FX. Buying anything denominated in dollars costs 0.15% on the conversion. Buy EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs on a European exchange and you avoid it almost entirely.
Interactive Brokers
The most capable broker on this list by a distance — every major exchange, options, bonds, currencies, and the deepest ETF selection available to a European retail investor. The Irish entity means Irish regulation and the standard €20,000 investor compensation limit.
Two honest caveats. The interface is built for professionals and is genuinely intimidating at first. And while there's no hard account minimum, the fee structure and the platform only make sense above roughly €10,000 — below that, Trading 212 does the same job for less effort.
Freedom24
Sits between the zero-commission apps and the full professional platforms. A properly built broker with a Lithuanian-language interface, a wide European and US market range, and support for the investment account regime. The pricing quoted is the Smart plan — other tiers have different minimums.
The €1,000 account minimum is the deciding factor. If you're starting with a lump sum rather than drip-feeding, it's a serious option and the platform gives you more than Trading 212 does. If you're contributing €200 a month, you can't get in the door.
Worth knowing before you choose a long-term custodian. The Cyprus entity you'd actually hold an account with is CySEC-licensed and client assets are covered by the Cyprus investor compensation fund up to €20,000, as at any EU broker. It has previously settled with CySEC for €50,000 over potential anti-money-laundering shortcomings in customer due diligence.
Separately, the US-listed parent — Freedom Holding Corp (NASDAQ: FRHC) — has received SEC subpoenas concerning settlement practices, relationships with institutional market-maker customers of its non-US subsidiaries, and internal controls around the internalisation of US securities trades. The company and its chairman and chief executive have received Wells notices, meaning SEC staff have made a preliminary determination to recommend enforcement action. This is not a finding of wrongdoing and the matter is unresolved. We mention it because it is the sort of thing you would reasonably want to know before moving a portfolio somewhere for a decade — not as a reason to avoid the platform.
Your Lithuanian bank — Swedbank, SEB or Luminor
All three offer a proper investicinė sąskaita product, all three give you a Lithuanian-language annual statement, and all three notify the tax authority that the account carries investment-account status. The differences between them are under 0.1% in commissions — pick whichever you already bank with, because opening is faster.
What you're paying for is simplicity, and what you're giving up is real: commissions of roughly 0.2–0.3% with a €7–8 minimum per trade will eat a €200 monthly contribution, and the fund selection is largely the bank's own products rather than the cheap global trackers.
A Swedbank-specific warning. Some older Swedbank securities accounts cannot be declared as an investicinė sąskaita, even though they appear as active securities accounts to the customer. This is a widely discussed problem in the Lithuanian investing community. Check directly with Swedbank before filing your GPM311 — and if there's any doubt, open a fresh account rather than transferring existing holdings into it.
Why Revolut Is the Exception
We recommend Revolut throughout this site — for your first account before you have residence rights, for currency conversion, for travel. On investing, it's the one place we don't.
Revolut Securities Europe UAB is a Lithuanian company — registration number 305799582 — but it does not offer an investicinė sąskaita product and has not integrated with the tax authority the way Swedbank, SEB and Luminor have. A Revolut Stocks account is an ordinary brokerage account with no tax deferral.
There's a second consequence that catches people at filing time. Because Revolut's brokerage entity is Lithuanian, gains are declared as domestic income on your tax return, not foreign income — a different annex from the one you'd use for Trading 212, IBKR or Freedom24. Getting this wrong is a common filing error.
The Legal Names You Need for GPM311
This is the detail that costs people the most time, and almost nothing written in English mentions it.
To register an investment account you file a GPM311 form, and it demands the broker's exact registered legal name — not the brand. Entering "Trading 212" or "Freedom24" will be rejected. Copy these precisely:
| Broker | Legal name for GPM311 | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Swedbank | Swedbank, AB | Lithuania |
| SEB | AB SEB bankas | Lithuania |
| Luminor | Luminor Bank AS | Lithuania |
| Trading 212 — new accounts | Trading 212 Markets Ltd | Cyprus |
| Trading 212 — approx. 2024–25 | Trading 212 EU GmbH | Germany |
| Trading 212 — pre-2024 | Trading 212 Ltd | Bulgaria |
| Interactive Brokers | Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited | Ireland |
| Freedom24 | Freedom Finance Europe Ltd | Cyprus |
| eToro | eToro (Europe) Limited | Cyprus |
Trading 212 users need to check which entity holds their account, because it has changed twice. Look in the app under Settings → Account Information. Different entity, different GPM311 entry.
What the forms actually are
GPM311 registers the account. Filed once, by 1 May of the following year. An account opened in 2026 is declared by 1 May 2027.
GPM303, annex R is where the actual gains go, filed with your annual return.
No broker does this for you — not even the Lithuanian banks. They report that the account has investment-account status; they do not report your transactions or complete your return. The banks' advantage is a clearer statement in your own language, not automation. Anyone who tells you a Lithuanian bank "handles the tax" has misunderstood.
Four Mistakes That Void Your Investment Account
- Mixing the account. An investicinė sąskaita must be used only for investing. Receive your salary into it, or pay for anything from it, and you lose the status.
- Linking a card. If a debit or credit card is attached to the account, the status is void. Some brokers offer cards — make sure yours isn't tied to the investment account.
- Letting the combined balance go below zero. Totalled across all your investment accounts, not each one separately.
- Using the brand name on GPM311 instead of the registered legal name. See the table above.
You may hold multiple investment accounts — one at a Lithuanian bank, one at Trading 212, one at IBKR — and they're assessed together. There is no annual contribution limit.
Two things about dividends and exemptions
The €500 annual capital gains exemption does not apply to withdrawals from an investment account. Confirmed with an accountant. If you're used to relying on it, it doesn't carry over into the IS regime.
Hold accumulating ETFs and the dividend question disappears. Accumulating funds — VWCE, CSPX, IWDA and similar — reinvest dividends internally at fund level, so nothing ever lands in your account as a distribution. No foreign withholding to reclaim, no manual tracking, nothing extra to declare. Sources genuinely conflict on how dividends received into an investment account are treated, and if you plan to hold distributing funds you should ask an accountant. Everyone else can sidestep it entirely.
Things That Only Affect Foreigners
Everything above applies to any Lithuanian resident. These four are specific to arriving from somewhere else.
Tax residency comes first. Covered at the top, and it bears repeating because it's the one that actually bites: the investment account regime is for Lithuanian tax residents. Establish residency, then worry about the wrapper.
English-language statements are an advantage for you, not a drawback. Lithuanian guides rank the local banks highly partly because they issue statements in Lithuanian, which is easier to transcribe onto a Lithuanian tax form. If you don't read Lithuanian, that logic inverts completely — an English statement from Trading 212 or IBKR is the one you'll actually be able to check.
Opening a bank brokerage account may cost you before you have residence rights. Traditional Lithuanian banks charge non-residents from outside the EEA substantial account fees — around €250 plus €10/month at SEB, €200 plus €15/month at Luminor. That's a real reason to start with an international broker and move later if you want to. More on that here →
US citizens and green card holders: this affects you and almost nothing written in Europe mentions it. The cheap UCITS ETFs that make sense for everyone else are generally treated by the IRS as PFICs (passive foreign investment companies), which carry punitive tax treatment and heavy reporting requirements. Meanwhile EU rules make US-domiciled ETFs hard for European residents to buy. Americans abroad sit awkwardly between two systems. Get advice from someone who handles US expat tax before you buy anything — this is not a situation to work out from a comparison table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which broker is best for a beginner in Lithuania?
Trading 212 for most people — no commission, a €100 minimum, and a straightforward app. If you'd rather deal with an institution you can visit and you're comfortable paying more, use whichever of Swedbank, SEB or Luminor you already bank with.
Can I use more than one broker with an investment account?
Yes. There's no limit on how many investment accounts you hold, and no annual contribution cap. They're assessed together for tax, so a gain in one and a loss in another net off.
Do I have to use a Lithuanian broker?
No. Trading 212 (Cyprus), Interactive Brokers (Ireland), Freedom24 and eToro (both Cyprus) all work with the regime. You self-declare the account on GPM311 using the broker's exact legal name.
Does any broker file my taxes for me?
No — including the Lithuanian banks. Every Lithuanian investor completes GPM303 annex R themselves from the broker's statement. The banks report that the account has investment-account status, nothing more.
Is Revolut usable for investing in Lithuania?
Yes as a broker, but Revolut Securities Europe UAB doesn't offer an investicinė sąskaita, so there's no tax deferral. Gains are also declared as domestic rather than foreign income, which is a different annex.
What about crypto?
Cryptocurrency does not qualify for the investment account regime. Neither do unlisted shares, deposits, or third-pillar pension products.
Next Steps
- How investing in Lithuania works — the investicinė sąskaita explained in full
- Investment calculator — what the deferral is actually worth over 20 years
- Filing your Lithuanian tax return
- Opening a bank account — including the non-resident fees
Disclaimer. Investing in stocks, ETFs and other financial instruments carries the risk of loss of capital. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. HowToLithuania.com is an informational publisher, not a licensed broker or financial adviser, and nothing here is personal investment advice. For anything involving significant sums, or if you are a US person, speak to a licensed adviser or accountant.
Disclosure. Some links on this page are affiliate links and may earn us a commission at no cost to you. It does not affect what we recommend or how we rank. Three things on this page demonstrate that better than the promise does: we recommend against Revolut here while recommending it elsewhere on the site; the three Lithuanian banks pay us nothing and are listed anyway; and we have published the SEC position of a broker we may earn from. We also excluded a broker entirely rather than guess at whether it supports the investment account regime.