You're in a serious relationship, both earning, and you want to start building something together — an emergency fund, a holiday corpus, a down payment for a flat. The natural question: can we invest jointly?
The short answer is yes — but the how depends on the instrument, and there are important tax and nomination considerations that married couples don't have to worry about but you do.
This guide covers every major investment product in India and what's actually possible for unmarried couples in 2026: joint mutual funds, fixed deposits, stocks, PPF, real estate, and more.
Can unmarried couples hold mutual funds jointly? Yes.
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) regulations allow any two adults to hold a mutual fund folio jointly. There is no requirement to be married or related. You simply need individual KYC (PAN + Aadhaar) for each person.
What to do about the tax asymmetry: Consider alternating who is first holder across different folios, or maintain separate folios in proportion to each person's contribution.
Nomination: You can nominate your partner in a jointly-held folio. Nomination in mutual funds means the nominee receives the units on the death of all holders, subject to verification and legal formalities.
Can unmarried couples hold FDs jointly? Yes — if the bank will open the account.
Fixed deposits at banks can be held jointly by any two individuals, but you run into the same problem as joint savings accounts: most bank branches are reluctant to open any joint account for unmarried couples, even an FD.
Workarounds: 1. Separate FDs: Each person holds their own FD, contributing whatever amount they choose. Less elegant but fully functional. 2. NBFC FDs: Non-banking financial companies like Bajaj Finance, Mahindra Finance, and Shriram Finance offer fixed deposits without the same restrictions on joint holders as banks. Check specific NBFC policies. 3. Online banks and small finance banks: Some digital-first banks and small finance banks (Equitas, AU Small Finance Bank) have more flexible joint account policies.
Interest taxation: FD interest is added to each holder's income based on their ownership share. If you hold it 50/50, each of you reports 50% of the interest income. Banks typically deduct TDS on the full interest and report it to the first holder's PAN — you need to sort out the split in your income tax returns.
Can unmarried couples hold a joint demat account? Yes.
SEBI and CDSL/NSDL rules allow joint demat accounts between any two individuals. Most brokers (Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, ICICI Direct) will open a joint demat account without any proof of relationship between the holders.
Practical note: Joint demat accounts are more straightforward to open than joint savings accounts because they are regulated by SEBI (not RBI), and SEBI has no marriage requirement embedded in its norms.
What to watch: If you contribute unequally to the investment but hold it jointly, there can be a "deemed gift" issue for the portion contributed by one person but held in both names — particularly for amounts exceeding ₹50,000 in a year. Keeping records of who invested how much reduces this risk.
Can you hold PPF jointly? No.
PPF accounts are strictly individual. You cannot open a joint PPF account with anyone, married or unmarried.
PPF's 15-year lock-in and EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) tax status make it worth maintaining separately for each partner even if you can't hold it jointly.
Like PPF, NPS accounts are individual. Each person holds their own account identified by a PRAN (Permanent Retirement Account Number).
You can, however, name your live-in partner as a nominee in your NPS account. The nomination process requires the nominee's Aadhaar and relationship — if the relationship is not formally recognised, "other" can be used as the relationship type, which is accepted by the NPS system.
The additional tax deduction of ₹50,000 under Section 80CCD(1B) is available to each individual, so a couple investing in NPS can save up to ₹1 lakh in additional tax benefits combined.
Can unmarried couples buy property jointly? Yes — there is no legal barrier.
The Registration Act and the Transfer of Property Act do not require co-buyers to be married. Any two adults can jointly purchase immovable property in India, and the ownership share is defined in the sale deed.
Important caveats: 1. Banks may query the relationship: Most banks that provide home loans to joint applicants expect the applicants to be related. In practice, some lenders (especially private banks and HFCs) are more flexible — "co-applicant" rather than "joint owner" is sometimes used. 2. No automatic survivorship: Unlike some countries, joint property in India does not automatically pass to the surviving owner on death. A will is essential. 3. Partition dispute risk: If you separate, dividing the property requires either agreement or a civil suit.
Practical step: Consult a property lawyer before making any joint real estate purchase to structure the agreement correctly.
Physical gold: Can be held jointly or separately — no documentation required.
Sovereign Gold Bonds: Can be held jointly by any two individuals. The application form allows for a joint holder, and interest/redemption is credited to the first holder's account. No proof of relationship required.
SGBs offer 2.5% annual interest (taxable) plus gold price appreciation, with 8-year maturity and capital gains exemption on redemption. For couples looking for a low-maintenance, inflation-hedged investment, SGBs in joint name are a clean option.
When one partner funds an investment held in the other partner's name, the Income Tax Act treats this as a gift. Gifts exceeding ₹50,000 from non-relatives in a year are taxable as "income from other sources" in the recipient's hands.
Live-in partners are not "relatives" under Section 56(2) of the Income Tax Act (unlike spouses, who are exempt from gift tax for this purpose).
The married-couple advantage: A married person can gift unlimited money to their spouse without gift tax — a significant financial planning advantage that live-in couples do not currently have.
Unmarried couples can invest together in India — the barriers are fewer than most people assume. Joint mutual fund folios, joint demat accounts, and jointly-owned property are all possible without a marriage certificate.
The key differences to manage: tax is attributed to the first holder in joint investments (plan accordingly), the gift tax rules are unfavourable compared to married couples, and inheritance requires explicit planning through nominations and wills.
The financial gap between married and unmarried couples in India is real — but for the purposes of building wealth together, the practical tools are mostly available. Use them intentionally.
Coupl is the shared wallet for all couples. Open in 60 seconds, no paperwork.
Written by the Coupl Team
Coupl is India's first zero-balance digital joint account for couples. This article was last reviewed on April 2026.