What is the fee for maintaining an Interactive Brokers account?

Interactive Brokers is one of the trading and exchange platforms with a relatively complex fee structure, which we’ll attempt to clarify in this short text. The maintenance fee for active accounts is the lower amount of just under $15 per transaction (on average) or 3% of trade value. If the commissions you generate are lower than $20 and your account balance is less than $2,000, the fee is relatively high: $20 per month. Accounts with $2,000 or more are charged $10 a month. Customers in the US who choose the broker’s IBKR Lite plan are not charged an inactivity fee.

More information about fees and account minimums

This broker has two plans: Pro and Lite. The account minimums for both are zero. As mentioned, there is no fee for the Lite. The fee for the Pro can reach a maximum of $10. If the net liquidation value of your account is more than or equal to $100,000 or the equivalent in another currency, you won’t be charged a fee. this will also be the case if you’ve generated $10 in commissions over one month.

In addition, if you don’t meet a monthly threshold, there is a monthly activity fee. During the first eight months of using Interactive Brokers, they will require an upfront deposit of $10,000. This will be applied against commission fees. If you pay less in commissions over this period of time, you’ll be charged the difference as a maintenance fee. Let’s say you paid $5,000 in commissions during these eight months. You’ll be charged a maintenance fee of $5,000 because that’s how much will be left over.

As you enter your ninth month with the broker, the required minimum commission drops to $2,000 a month. If you pay less in commissions in any given month after the ninth month, you’ll be charged the difference as a maintenance fee. Let’s say you paid $1,000 in commissions that month. You’ll be charged a maintenance fee of $1,000.

Finally, there is a minimum balance requirement that applies to proprietary trading group accounts. The category is called Masters Trading Group. To become a member, you need to deposit at least $10,000 or its equivalent in another currency.