Bonus Professor

NOTES

• [Source: IBKR Refer-A-Friend Program Terms and Conditions, full text reviewed 2026-08-17] "the Referred Client will receive $1 worth of Class A common stock of Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (Shares) for each $300 (or its equivalent in another currency) in net deposits ... The maximum Net Value Awarded that a Referred Client may receive is $1,000 in Shares." That is $1 per $300, i.e. 0.33%, and the $1,000 cap needs $300,000 in net deposits.
• The terms' own worked example confirms the rate: a $30,000 deposit at a $50 share price awards 2 shares — "[($30,000 / 300) / $50 = 2]" — which is $100 on $30,000. Figure 1 row 1 records the same deposit as "Net Value Awarded $100".
• [CORRECTION 2026-08-17] We previously carried this as a 1% match maxing out at $100,000 in net deposits, citing "$1 ... for each $100" from doc 4051 dated 2026-05-29. The current terms read $300, and every worked example in them agrees. We cannot tell from the text alone whether IBKR cut the rate after May or whether the earlier reading was wrong, so the divisor was corrected rather than the history rewritten. Re-read the live terms before restoring any 1% figure.
• A referral link is required to open the account, but from the new customer side this behaves as an ordinary deposit bonus — you earn 0.33% of what you deposit, with no obligation to refer anyone.
• Withdrawals claw the award back while the Award Period is open: "$1 worth of prior awards removed for each $300 in Withdrawal Value", removed first-in-first-out. Net deposits, not gross, are what pay.
• Transfer restriction: “Shares awarded to the Referred Client may not be sold, exchanged, transferred, assigned or otherwise disposed of in any manner ... for one year from the Award Date.” Because deposits keep earning shares across the whole Award Period, money added late in that year stays committed for up to roughly two years from your first deposit.
• Clawback: “If, prior to the Anniversary Date, either the Referred Client account is closed for any reason or no longer in good standing, any unvested Shares in the Referred Client account are forfeited.” IBKR may also liquidate the Shares to meet margin obligations.
• You are paid in IBKR stock rather than cash, so the value moves with IBKR share price between the award and the date you are allowed to sell. You do receive dividends and can vote the Shares during the restriction.
• US tax: IBKR treats the fair market value on the date the restriction lapses as ordinary income and issues a 1099-MISC.
• The referring side earns a separate flat $200 per referral (up to 15 friends or family per calendar year, 30 total), and only if the referred client deposits at least $10,000 within 30 days and keeps it there for a year. No payment when both parties live at the same address.
• There is no public sign-up page — the program is reachable only through a referral link. The official link stored here is the current legal agreement (form 4841), not an application page.
• [Auto-update 2026-09-03] terms updated