Why do I have a Day Trades Left section in my Account Window when I have a Cash account?

In an IBKR Cash account, an investor must pay for the purchase of a security meaning, the trade must settle prior to selling that security.

A Broker can have rules that are more restrictive than required by regulators. IBKR's implementation of the free riding rule uses an end of day check to see if a position was closed prior to its trade settlement date. This IBKR end of day surveillance would still consider closing a position before settlement a Free Riding violation and would automatically put the account into "Cash Up Front" restriction for the next 90 days…

In a cash account, an investor must pay for the purchase of a security (meaning, the trade must settle) prior to selling that security. If an investor buys a security and then sells that same security without paying for the security in full by settlement date, the investor is considered to be “free riding.” Our implementation of the free riding rule uses an end of day check to see if a position was closed prior to its trade settlement date. Our end of day surveillance would still consider closing a position before settlement a Free Riding violation and automatically puts the account into "Cash Up Front" restriction for the next 90 days…

A Free Riding violation in an IBKR Cash account occurs when an investor sells a security before paying for its purchase with settled funds.  A Broker can have rules that are more restrictive than required by regulators and IBKR's implementation of the Free Riding rule uses an end of day check to see if a position was closed prior to its opening trade settlement date.  …

Free Riding in a Cash account means an investor did not pay for the purchase of a security prior to selling that same security. If an investor buys a security and then sells that same security without paying for the security in full by the settlement date, the investor is considered to be in violation of the…