Canada FAQs

Under our bundled (all-in) commissions structure:
Unlike most Canadians brokers who charge a flat fee, our commissions for US stocks are 0.005 USD/share and 0.01 CAD/share for CAD stocks. Minimum commission is 1$.

For example, 500 shares of a US stock would be charged 2.50 USD commission, and 500 shares of a Canadian stock would cost 5 CAD commission. For a large number of shares, the maximum is .5% of the trade value, plus exchange fees in some cases.

Under our unbundled commissions structure:
For those who trade a large number of shares each month, or who usually add liquidity when placing trades, our unbundled structure may reduce your commissions even further.

For example, a liquidity-adding order for 500 shares of a CAD stock trading at a price greater than 1$ executed on TSE would cost 2.79 CAD commission under our unbundled structure.

All our commissions and fees are listed in the Fees section of our website. There are no “hidden” fees. There is a minimum activity fee of 10 USD commissions per month. If you do not spend 10 USD, you will be charged the difference. In order to get real-time quotes through the Traderworkstation or Webtrader at IB, you will need to subscribe to market data. A typical Canadian individual trader will subscribe to the US Securities and Commodities bundle (10 USD/month, free if monthly commissions are over 30 USD) and the TSE Level 1 (6 CAD/month, always charged).

Simply click on “Open an Account” on the main page of our website and complete an online application.

Approval generally takes 1-2 business days after you have completed the necessary on-line account registration and application tasks, and after we receive the required identification document.

Yes, you may obtain a letter from your bank confirming that you have an account there in good standing, on bank letterhead paper with the banker’s name and signature, their phone number and the date.

You are required to complete and file a United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-8 since you have the ability to trade US products and earn US-source income (e.g. interest and dividends). The IRS requires that IB Canada customers file a Form W-8 so that IB Canada can avoid withholding funds from your account for US taxes at a higher penalty rate.

IB offers RRSP; including Spousal RRSP, and TFSA accounts. Other types of registered accounts would not be made available.

The acceptable funding methods are explained here.

IB Canada customers can transfer funds electronically from a Canadian bank account denominated in Canadian or US dollars. You may create an EFT instruction during the account application, or at any time after your account is opened in Account Management.
An EFT instructions video is available here.
Deposit requests entered before 10:00 EST will be processed on the same day, and the funds will be available for trading four business days later.
Note that you only need to create an EFT instruction once. Once confirmed, this instruction will then be available to transfer funds to and from your bank account.
You may create multiple EFT instructions. Please click here for hold periods information.

You must use the deposit notification form so that we have advance notice that you are depositing funds. This will allow us to ensure that your funds are credited to your account. If you do not use the deposit notification form, you will experience delays in having the funds credited.

The most common reason for a rejected account transfers is an invalid or incomplete account number. Please make sure to read the information shown at the bottom of the screen when entering the delivering institution name and account number. To avoid any delay in processing, customers should also check with their existing broker to confirm this information. For assistance, please contact the IB Canada helpdesk.

A withdrawal request will be rejected if the amount requested exceeds the amount available for withdrawal. Please see this page for more information on hold periods. EFT deposits may only be withdrawn using the originating EFT instruction for 60 business days.

You may trade using Trader Workstation, WebTrader or using one of our mobile platforms.
New users should refer to the User’s Guide, instructions videos and previously recorded webinars available online to learn the platform.

IB does not automatically convert currencies for you. You may convert currencies anytime by placing a forex trade. See below instructions for currency conversions with TWS/Webtrader.

How to convert funds using the Traders Workstation

On a trading page, enter a symbol and choose Forex.

In the contract selection window, choose the exchange, and choose the other currency.

Click OK to get a quote. Say 'No' when prompted to add the pair to FXTrader.

Click on the bid price or ask price to create an order. Choose the quantity and order details. Click T to transmit.

Here is an example,

Buying 50,000 USD using CAD:

1. Left-click on an empty cell under the underlying column.
2. Type USD, hit Enter key
3. Left-click on Forex
4. In the Contract Selection box, choose IDEALPRO, and CAD, click on OK
5. A quote is displayed for this pair: Bid 1.1508 Ask 1.1510
6. Click on the Ask Price to create a buy order of US dollars.
7. Click on the quantity field and change it to 50000
8. Select the desired order type (mkt, limit, etc), review the order, if correct, click T to transmit.

Click here for more details on IB's forex product offering.
Note that the instructions above work with default hotkeys.
You may wish to practice in a paper trading account first.

How to convert funds using Webtrader:

To access Webtrader, click here.

To convert funds, follow these simple steps:

1. Under the Order Management section at the bottom, click on the Forex tab.
2. Enter the symbol, click the Go button, and select the desired currency pair.
3. Set the desired action, quantity and order parameters.
4. Click Preview Order to review your order details, and Submit order when you are ready, or Modify Order to modify.

Example:

Buying 50,000 USD using CAD, at market price:

1. Under the Order Management section, click on the Forex tab.
2. Enter the symbol USD, click Go, and select USD CASH IDEALPRO CAD USD.CAD.
3. Under Action, choose Buy.
4. Under Quantity, enter 50000.
5. Under order type, choose MKT.
6. Click Preview Order, review the order details, click Submit Order.

Click here for more details on IB’s forex product offering.
You may wish to practice in a paper trading account first.

Your base currency only determines the currency of translation for your statements. It also is used for displaying combined margin requirements.

For cash accounts, base currency determines the currency of products you are allowed to trade. You can only trade in products of the base currency for cash accounts.

Base currency does not affect the actual cash balances in the various currencies.

The actual cash balances in an account are shown in the Market Value section of the Account page of TWS/WebTrader. They are also shown in the cash report section of your statements.

"Virtual" FX positions are created by the software when a conversion is made. These may differ from your actual cash balances, and should be ignored unless you are actively trading forex.

IB does not offer mutual funds trading for Canadian clients.

According to applicable Canadian rules, margin requirements on certain stocks may be as low as 30% if they are on published IIROC’s LSERM list.

The day trading rule doesn't affect IB Canada accounts.

Commissions are quoted in the currency of the exchange on which the trade took place. Exchange rates are subject to fluctuation.

Please contact Interactive Brokers by chat or telephone. Click here for contact information.

For general inquiries, send a webticket (secured email system) from the Message Center section in Account Management.

For trade problems or other time-sensitive issues, please contact us by chat or telephone at 877-745-4222.

The IB Canada helpdesk is available Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm ET. You may contact any of the IB offices outside of these hours. For contact information please see the Help & Contacts, customer service section.

Canadian residents will receive a form T5008 statement of your securities transactions.
If you received distributions from trust units, you will receive form(s) T3.
If you received dividends or interest, you will receive form T5.
Québec residents will also receive Relevé 18 and Relevé 3 forms.
You will also need your annual statement (available mid-February) to calculate your capital gains/losses.

All forms are available electronically at http://www.interactivebrokers.com under Account Management/Report Management/Tax Forms.

No, tax forms are only available electronically.

T5008 & T5 tax forms are generally available from mid-February. The T3 forms are generally available at end of March. Some T3s may be made available after this date if the information is received late. You should always try to match the available T3s with the distributions received as shown on your dividend report or account statements.

No.

Profits and losses shown on the annual or monthly statements is for information purposes only. Please consult your tax advisor for further information on reporting these items.

No, this information is available on your annual statement.

You must consult with your independent tax advisor regarding the tax implications of your Interactive Brokers Canada account. Neither Interactive Brokers Canada nor its personnel are authorized to provide you with tax, investment or other advice.

We encourage our customers to submit suggestions through our website, under Education/New Features Poll. You may also vote for other traders' suggestions.