IBKR does support short sales in U.S. Corporate Bonds and U.S. Government Securities (e.g., Bills, Notes, Bonds) if the following conditions are met:
- You have a Margin account
- You have approved U.S. Bond trading permissions
- Your account has enough Available Funds to meet the change in the account's margin requirements
- U.S. Corporate Bonds have a minimum 100,000 USD face value short size, with 1,000 USD increments beyond the minimum size
- U.S. Government Securities have a minimum 250,000 USD face value short size with a minimum $250,000 increment
- IBKR can locate and borrow the security before the trade settles
To short U.S. Government Securities, contact IBKR Client Services providing details and face value (min 250,000 USD with min 250,000 USD increment) of the security that you want to short, and request a "U.S Treasuries Short Locate" before placing the order in the trading platform.
Please note, securities sold short are not actually borrowed until settlement, and a locate that satisfies the regulatory obligation is making a good-faith determination of a security's availability. If IBKR is unable to borrow the security by the trade settlement date then your open short position is subject to a forced close out. More information regarding buy-ins can be found in our Knowledge Base.
Short selling of U.S. Municipal Bonds and TIPS is not allowed.