IBKR pays credit interest on positive settled cash balances and charges debit or margin interest on negative settled cash balances in securities accounts for each currency held. The interest rates and calculations depend on several factors:

Account Type and Net Asset Value (NAV):…

Interest can be charged to accounts for a few reasons, but it is most commonly charged when you are borrowing funds from IBKR. This is typically associated with carrying a debit settled cash balance. However, customers should also note that carrying a large credit balance in certain currencies may also be subject to paying credit interest fees due to the negative benchmark rates currently imposed by several central banking systems. Our current rates, including the applicable benchmarks, are available on the…

Background

In determining the interest that account holders are paid on cash credit balances and charged on debit balances, each currency is assigned to our Reference Benchmark rate. Our Reference Benchmark rate is determined from short-term market rates but capped above/below widely used external reference rates or, where appropriate, bank deposit rates. This page explains how our Reference Benchmark rates are determined…

Margin interest at Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is calculated and charged as follows:

Calculation Method…

IBKR calculates and pays interest on cash balances in accounts as follows:

Interest Eligibility and Rates:…

Negative Month-to-Date (MTD) interest can appear in your account for several reasons, primarily related to borrowing money or having negative cash balances. Here is a detailed explanation of why this occurs and how to understand it:

Causes of Negative MTD Interest…

An account will be subject to interest charges despite maintaining an overall net long or credit cash balance under the following circumstances:

1. The account maintains a short or debit balance in a given currency.…

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A client can request to disable interest earnings on positive settled cash balances in their Interactive Brokers account…

The interest rate as posted to the website is expressed as an annual percentage rate, however the rate for any one currency is based upon a benchmark that can change daily. As a result, the margin loan rate posted on any one day may not be the exact rate that an account holder would be charged if they were to maintain a loan for an entire year.  Similarly, the credit rate posted on any one day may not be the exact rate that an account holder would be receive if they were to maintain a credit, or long cash balance, for an entire year…

Interest on your Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account is handled as follows:

1. Calculation and Accrual:
   • Interest is calculated and accrued daily based on end-of-day settled cash balances for each currency in your account…

No, interest is calculated on settled cash balance on a daily basis and is paid on a monthly basis. You may withdraw your balance at any time.

Additional Information…

Your account may list both short and long balances as a result of the following:

• You maintain balances in multiple currencies - the IBKR Universal account allows you to hold cash balances and positions denominated in multiple currencies. Account holders maintaining a margin account are eligible to purchase a security denominated in a particular currency and borrow the funds necessary to settle that transaction with a loan secured by cash and/or securities denominated in another currency. Similarly, with a margin account, one may initiate a withdrawal of fund in a currency other than that they hold, and secure that loan with funds denominated in another currency. Both of these are instances where the account holder may hold both a long and short balance may be eligible to earn interest on the long balance and will be obligated to pay interest on the short balance…

Interest on US obligations is reported on Form 1099-INT in the year the Treasury bill or note matures or you sell it, which may not be the year it was purchased. Refer to IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and Expenses, and consult your tax advisor for more information on reporting interest on US government obligations…

You may be charged interest even with a positive cash balance due to several factors related to how Interactive Brokers calculates interest:

• Adjusted Cash Balance…