# Interactive Brokers: refer a friend

Canonical: https://dealaka.com/referrals/interactive-brokers-refer-a-friend

This is what an EXISTING customer earns for referring someone. For what a new customer gets for opening the account, see the offer entry linked below.

- Status: live
- Referrer earns: $200 per approved referral
- Referred person earns: Up to $1,000 in IBKR stock
- Cap: 15 per calendar year, per person
- Cap scope: per person
- Requirement: Deposit $10,000 within 30 days and maintain it one year
- Tax form: Not confirmed
- Link sharing: The terms do not say
- Institution: Interactive Brokers
- Verified: Jul 21, 2026 against interactivebrokers.com
- New-customer offer: https://dealaka.com/offers/interactive-brokers-individual-joint-account-referral-bonus
- Note: Dealaka links only the issuer's own program page and takes no share of any referral reward.

## Summary
Interactive Brokers pays the referrer a flat $200 in cash, while the person referred gets IBKR stock rather than cash, at $1 of shares per $300 deposited up to $1,000. The two sides are paid in different things, and the shares carry a one year transfer restriction before they can be sold.

## How the referrer gets their link
Your unique referral link comes from Client Portal. IBKR does not describe the path on a public page.

- Share your unique referral link

## Tax treatment
IBKR names a Form 1099-MISC only for the referred client's shares. It states no form for the referrer's $200, saying only that participants are responsible for their own tax obligations.

## When it pays
IBKR publishes no payout timeline. The one-year balance condition means it cannot be earned sooner.

## Fine print that matters
- The cap is two numbers, not one: up to 15 referrals in a calendar year and 30 in total, so the lifetime ceiling is $3,000.
- The referred client receives Class A common stock of Interactive Brokers Group, not cash, and cannot transfer it for one year.
- Referred clients domiciled in Canada receive no shares.
- The referred client must deposit $10,000 within 30 days and maintain at least that amount for one year after opening.
- IBKR names a 1099-MISC for the referred client's shares only. The tax form for the referrer's payment is not stated.
- IBKR publishes no payout timing for the referrer, and its terms do not address where a referral link may be shared.

## Sources
- interactivebrokers.com member to member referral page <https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/referral-member-to-member.php> (checked Jul 21, 2026)

_This entry is reference information, not financial or tax advice. Referral terms change without notice and the figure shown to you may differ from the one shown to someone else. Confirm on the issuer's own page._