Which IBKR entity carries my account?

Account holders may confirm the IBKR entity through which their account is carried by reviewing the information located at the top of their Activity Statement.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. conducts business through a number of broker subsidiaries as outlined below. The IBKR entity through which an account is carried is generally based upon the account holder's country of legal residency or, in the case of an entity, its country of formation. Note that certain entities maintain relationships with others for the purpose of providing services such as clearing and execution and this information is disclosed in the Customer Agreement.

Trading Access to the Indian Financial Markets for Non-Residents

By regulation, trading access to the Indian financial markets for individuals residing outside India is currently restricted to "Non-Resident Indians" ("NRIs") and "Financial Institution Intermediaries" ("FIIs") only.

NRI

NRIs are defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 and the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.

In short, to qualify for NRI status you must:

a. Reside outside of India for more than 182 days per year, and;

b. Hold Indian citizenship, or;

c. Be a Person of Indian Origin as defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.

Please note that applicants must satisfy criteria (a) and criteria (b) or (c) and will be prompted to review the aforementioned legislation and confirm their status at the point of application.  To trade Indian products as an NRI, new or existing clients may apply for an account through the IBKR website.

FII
Currently not supported.

What is the minimum applicant age requirement?

In the case of an account requesting 'Cash' trading permissions the minimum age requirement is 18 (for joint accounts, both parties must be at least 18 years of age). For clients of IB-Japan, the minimum age requirement for a 'Cash' account is 20 years of age.

In the case of an account requesting 'Margin' trading permissions the minimum age requirement is 21 (for joint accounts, both parties must be at least 21 years of age).

An individual or entity who would like to manage an account for a minor may do so using the UGMA/UTMA account structure.

 

 

Does IB offer managed accounts?

 

IB, itself, does not provide advisory services to customers, but we do clear for a rather large number of Financial Advisors who do carry and clear their customer accounts with IB.  As we are not in a position to provide personal recommendations as to Financial Advisors, you would need to research for an advisor on your own and if they are not already affiliated with IB, request that they open an account on your behalf with IB. 

 

You may also wish to  review the website of a US industry regulator such as FINRA (www.finra.org) which provides information regarding selecting investment professionals  along with  a tool referred to as FINRA BrokerCheck which allows investors to check the professional background of individual brokers.

Can I open a paper trading account for practice purposes before opening a live account?

 

IB does offer a paper trading account which allows one to use the full range of IB trading facilities in a simulated environment using real market conditions.  This account, however, is made available only after the regular trading account has been approved and funded. Until that time, we recommend that you try the online demos made available to prospective customers through our website to get an overview of system functionality.   A demo of both the TraderWorkstation or WebTrader trading platforms may be found by visiting our website at www.interactivebrokers.com and selecting the Individuals page.  There you will be presented with a series of links including one titled 'Demos'.

IRA: Understanding Rollovers

Interactive Brokers offers three IRA account types for US persons:  Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and Simplified Employee Pension plan IRA (a.k.a. SEP-IRA). Rollover transaction options may be available into or out of each account type.

The term IRA Rollover refers to several different movements of funds between US retirement accounts. Select from the list below for a brief description of each rollover type available, as well as the their guidelines.

 

IRA to IRA Rollover

Direct Rollover

IRA to Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan Rollover

12-Month Rule

60-Day Period

 

Rollover Types

1. IRA to IRA Rollover

Funds withdrawn from an IRA and re-deposited into an IRA within 60 days may be eligible for treatment as a 60-day rollover contribution. If eligible, this movement of funds may qualify as an IRA withdrawal of funds without any penalty or taxes.   

Tax Reporting - IBKR will report the withdrawal of funds as an IRA distribution and the re-deposit of funds as an IRA rollover contribution to the IRS. The IRS receives Form 5498 (IRA Contributions) and Form 1099-R (IRA Distributions). US investors do not include the Form 5498 with their tax filing, but do include the 1099-R. Click IRA Tax Reporting for details.

2. Direct Rollover

Funds received or withdrawn from an employer-sponsored retirement plan and deposited directly into an IRA. The 20% tax withholding of funds by the plan sponsor is waived when funds are rolled directly into an IRA.

Tax Reporting - IBKR will report the deposit of funds from an employer-sponsored retirement plan as an IRA rollover contribution to the IRS. The IRS receives Form 5498 (IRA Contributions). US investors do not include the Form 5498 with their tax filing. Click IRA Tax Reporting for details.

3. IRA to Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan Rollover

Funds moved directly from an IRA into an employer's retirement plan are deemed rollover contributions. Not all retirement plans accept rollovers from IRAs. Investors should consult the plan sponsor to determine eligibility.

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Limitations & Guidelines 

12-Month Rule

Distributed funds from an IRA may be rolled into another IRA only once every 12-month period. The rule applies to funds withdrawn from each separate IRA. The 12-month period begins the date funds are received, not on the date funds are deposited into another IRA. (See IRS Publication 590 for limited exceptions to the rule.)

60-Day Period

Distributions from an IRA or Employer Sponsored Retirement plan may remain eligible for the tax-free rollover treatment only when contributed to another qualified plan within 60 days of receipt. Generally, funds re-deposited outside of 60 days are not tax-free.  The withdrawal of funds is taxable. The deposit into another IRA is treated as a regular contribution.  (See IRS Publication 590 for limited exceptions to the rule.)

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Click here to return to the Retirement Account Resource page.

Disclaimer: IBKR does not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a qualified tax advisor or refer to the US Internal Revenue Service.

Contacting IBKR Canada

Overview: 

General Contact Information of IBKR Canada

What is the best way to contact IBKR Canada if I have a question ?

For general inquiries, send a webticket (secured email system) from the Message Center section in Client Portal. For trade problems or other time-sensitive issues, please contact us by chat or telephone at 877-745-4222. The IBKR Canada helpdesk is available Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm ET. You may contact any of the IBKR offices outside of these hours. For contact information please see the Contact Us - Client Services section of our website. 

How do I convert my advisor client account to an Individual IB account?

Overview: 

Due to varying reasons, some clients of advisors no longer want their account to be managed by a Financial Advisor, but they wish to maintain an individual account at IB.

Information:

To transfer an FA Managed account to an Individual IB account, you must create a new Individual account where all aspects of the new account match those of the existing account (titles, tax ID's, trading permissions). Once the new account is approved, log into the old account's Account Management, select Funds Management -> Internal Transfers.

 

Note

  • Only Cash can be internally transferred from an FA managed account to an Individual IB account.  IB does not currently provide a facility for performing an internal account transfer when moving from an FA managed account to an individual account.

Can I upgrade my individual account to an advisor account?

Overview: 

Clients often request that their individual accounts be converted to advisor accounts so they can take advantage of the advisor account structure.

Information:

Unfortunately, we cannot upgrade an Individual account to an Advisor Account. You must complete a new application, which can be accessed from our home page, by selecting Accounts -> New Accounts -> Advisor.
 
During the Advisor Account application, you will be given the opportunity to open a Trading Sub Account for yourself. If you do, and if you make sure that all aspects of this new Sub account (titles, tax IDs, trading permissions,e,mail addresses) match those of your existing individual account, you will be able to request a Positions and Funds move to your new account.
 
Please bear in mind:
- The Advisor Master account is only a shell account that is used to place trades on behalf of Advisor Client accounts.

- The Advisor Master account cannot hold positions.

- In order to trade, you must allocate trades to an Advisor Client account.

Why can't I use the same email address on my client account that is on my advisor account?

Overview: 

When attempting to create sub accounts for themselves, many advisors cannot complete the process due to the client email address matching that of the advisor.

Information:

As a measure of client protection, IBKR will not allow the e-mail address of a client to match that of the Advisor.

A popular option is to create a new e-mail address for yourself, using a free service such as Gmail.

This will allow you to create the new sub account.

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