ACAT transfer fees at 17 brokerages: what each charges to move an account out, and which reimburse the fee when you move in

An ACAT transfer moves your stocks, ETFs and cash from one brokerage to another without selling them. The fee is charged by the firm you are leaving. Across the 17 brokerages below, read October 17, 2026, that fee for a full account transfer runs from $0 to $125:

• $0: Fidelity and Interactive Brokers.
• $49.95 to $50: Merrill Edge ($49.95), Charles Schwab and Ally Invest ($50).
• $75: E*TRADE, Firstrade, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, tastytrade and Webull.
• $100: M1, moomoo, Public, Robinhood, SoFi Invest and Vanguard (Vanguard waives it at $5 million of qualifying assets).
• $125: TradeStation.

Partial transfers are free at Schwab, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers and Merrill, but cost the same as a full transfer or close to it at Ally, Firstrade, Robinhood, SoFi, moomoo and Webull. An IRA can cost more: M1 adds a $100 closing fee, tastytrade $60, TradeStation $50, Ally $25.

Reimbursement when you move in. Six firms say on their own pages that they will cover the fee your old firm charges: Firstrade (up to $250 on $2,500 or more), Public (up to $100 if the account is over $5,000), Robinhood (up to $75 on $7,500 or more), SoFi (up to $75 on $5,000 or more), tastytrade (up to $75 per $2,000 transferred) and Ally Invest ($75 on $2,500 or more, on a form dated 2022). At most of them you have to ask for it after the transfer. The SEC suggests asking: “Before you initiate your account transfer, you may want to approach your new firm and ask them to waive or reimburse you for any transfer fees.”

How an ACAT transfer works

“Most account transfers between firms are made using the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS).” The SEC's investor bulletin on account transfers (June 27, 2014) describes the steps:

1. You start at the new firm. “All transfers start and end with your new firm.” You fill in its transfer form; “Most account transfer delays occur because the TIF is either incorrect or incomplete.”
2. The old firm checks the request. “The old firm has one business day to validate or reject the transfer request.”
3. The account is frozen. “Once the transfer request is validated by the old firm, the account is frozen for transfer to the new firm.”
4. The assets move. The SEC: “If a transfer is made through ACATS, and there are no problems, the transfer should take approximately three to five business days to complete from the time the new firm enters the transfer form into ACATS”. The firms give their own estimates: Fidelity 3 to 5 business days, Robinhood 5 to 7, Vanguard as little as 5 to 7 days, tastytrade 7 to 10.

What may not transfer, in the SEC's list: securities sold only by your old firm, mutual funds or money market funds the new firm does not carry, private limited partnerships, “fractional shares of securities” and “bankrupt securities”. Fractional shares are usually sold and sent as cash (Robinhood and M1 say so). The SEC also notes that for a retirement account some firms charge a prorated custodial fee on top of the transfer fee. The fee usually comes out of the cash in the account you are leaving, so leave enough cash there; Firstrade, for one, requires it.

The SEC: “You should ask your old and new firms about their fees.”

Firm by firm

Each section quotes what the firm itself publishes and links the pages we read.

Ally Invest

Ally Invest's commissions and fees page lists an “ACAT Transfer Out (full or partial)” fee of $50 for self-directed trading and robo portfolio accounts (waived for its Personal Advice clients). Its IRA table lists an IRA transfer fee of $50 and an “IRA Closure Fee (charged for full distributions and full outgoing account transfers)” of $25; the page does not say whether both apply to the same transfer.

Moving in: Ally's transfer fee reimbursement request form says “You’re eligible to receive the transfer fee credit of $75 if you complete an account transfer of $2,500 or more.” “We’ll deposit this credit into your new Invest account within 30 days of receiving your reimbursement request form.” You fax or mail the form. The form is marked “UPDATED 4/2022” and adds that Ally “reserves the right at our sole discretion to modify or terminate this offer without prior notice”, so ask Ally whether it still applies before you count on it.

Sources: Ally Invest, Commissions and fees; Ally Invest, Account transfer fee reimbursement request (PDF, updated 4/2022).

Charles Schwab

Schwab's Pricing Guide for Individual Investors, dated April 2026, lists “Transfer (out) of assets” at $50 per account for a full transfer and $0 per account for a partial transfer. The guide says “Pricing information in this guide supersedes prior versions.” We found no separate IRA closing fee in it.

Moving in: “Worried about transfer fees? We're not, because we don't have any.” “Schwab lets you transfer as many accounts as you want for free.” That is Schwab's own fee for incoming transfers. We found no statement on reimbursing the fee your old firm charges on that page, the pricing guide or Schwab's pricing page.

Sources: Schwab, Pricing Guide for Individual Investors (April 2026); Schwab, Transfer to Schwab; Schwab, Pricing.

E*TRADE (Morgan Stanley)

E*TRADE's pricing and rates page lists, under special request fees, account transfers (outgoing) at “$75 for full transfers”. It lists no fee for partial transfers and no separate IRA closing fee.

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's transfer fee on E*TRADE's pricing and rates page. E*TRADE's account-opening offers on the same page reward new money but are not fee reimbursements.

Source: E*TRADE, Pricing and rates.

Fidelity

Fidelity's commissions and fees page lists “Transfer of assets” at $0 per transfer and an “IRA closeout fee” of $0 per request. Its transfer page: “We don't charge a fee to move assets from another institution; however, your current firm may charge to transfer your assets to us.” “Most transfers take 3–5 business days to complete, however some requests may take longer.”

Does Fidelity reimburse the transfer fee? Its general transfer page and fee schedule do not offer it. One Fidelity page, written for the employees of a single company's workplace program, says “Customers may be reimbursed for account transfer fees (up to $150) for each eligible account moved to Fidelity.” “$25,000 minimum deposit required.” “Certain reimbursements are taxable- and may be reported on Form 1099·MISC.” Because that page is for one employer's group, ask Fidelity before a transfer whether the same applies to you.

Sources: Fidelity, Commissions, margin rates and fees; Fidelity, Transferring an account to Fidelity; Fidelity, workplace page for one employer's clients.

Firstrade

Firstrade's special services fee table lists ACAT Transfer Out at $75, Partial ACAT Transfer Out at $55 and an IRA Termination Fee of $0. Its help article, dated December 16, 2025: “Be aware that the ACAT transfer fee is $55 Partial Transfer fee and $75 Full ACAT Transfer fee.” After a partial transfer the account must keep at least $555 in total value, including $55 in cash, or a full transfer should be requested instead. “The funds must be available in your Firstrade account Cash Balance in order to complete the outgoing transfer.”

Moving in: “Firstrade will rebate the account transfer fee (ACATS only) up to $250 charged by another brokerage firm when completing a Full or Partial Account Transfer for $2,500 or more (excluding mutual funds & fixed income products).” You send a recent statement from the old firm that shows the charge; “Submissions must be received within 60 days of the transfer date.” “Credit will be deposited into your account within 30 days of receipt of evidence of charge.” IRAs count. The account must stay open for 12 months, and Firstrade may reverse the rebate if the account falls below $2,500 through withdrawals or outgoing transfers. The rebate terms are dated May 19, 2026.

Sources: Firstrade, Special services fees; Firstrade help, What is the ACAT transfer fee? (December 16, 2025); Firstrade help, Account transfer rebate (May 19, 2026).

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers' other fees page lists ACATS deposits and withdrawals at “None” and adds “While IBKR does not charge for incoming or outgoing ACATS transfers, customers should consult with their sending or receiving firm to determine if there will be any applicable fees for the transfers.” Other transfer methods carry fees there (for example, DWAC at USD 100 per settled transaction).

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's fee on that page.

Source: Interactive Brokers, Other fees.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

J.P. Morgan's pricing page lists a brokerage account transfer and termination fee: “$75 – applies when all assets are transferred out of the account”. For retirement accounts the fee is also $75, and it “applies when all assets are distributed or transferred out of the account”. Its fee and commission schedule adds “The retirement account termination fee will not be applied if the assets are moving to another internal investment account or annuity.”

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's transfer fee on the pricing page or the fee schedule.

Sources: J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, Pricing; J.P. Morgan, Self-directed fee and commission schedule (PDF).

M1

M1's help article on transferring out, dated July 10, 2026: “There is a $100 outgoing ACAT fee for all account types and an additional $100 closing fee for retirement accounts.” Its example: a Roth IRA transferred out costs $200. Only whole shares move; “Fractional shares will be liquidated to cash and swept to the receiving broker following the transfer of the full shares.” “Please wait at least 6 business days from the last deposit into an investment account before initiating an account transfer.”

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's fee on that article or on M1's promotions and referrals FAQ.

Sources: M1 help, How to transfer accounts out of M1 (July 10, 2026); M1 help, Promotions and referrals FAQ.

Merrill Edge

Merrill Edge's pricing page lists, for self-directed investing accounts, a partial account transfer fee of $0 and a full account transfer fee of $49.95; “The fee is not charged when transferring to another internal account.” Retirement accounts show the same two fees plus a closeout fee of $49.95. Merrill's schedule of miscellaneous account and service fees, dated 11/2025, lists the full account transfer fee as “Not charged in addition to closeout fees”, so a full IRA transfer out costs $49.95, not $99.90.

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's fee on the pricing page or the fee schedule.

Sources: Merrill Edge, Pricing; Merrill Edge, Schedule of miscellaneous account and service fees (PDF, 11/2025).

moomoo

moomoo's fee schedule for U.S. residents, updated October 1, 2026, lists stock transfers in at $0, an ACATS outgoing stock transfer at $100 per transfer and an outgoing DTC free-of-payment transfer at $75 per transfer. moomoo has no IRAs: “Please note, Moomoo Financial Inc. does not offer individual retirement account (IRA) or joint account.”

Moving in: the fee schedule does not mention reimbursement. moomoo also has a Transfer Bonus promotion page; its terms are not quoted here.

Sources: moomoo, Fee schedule for U.S. residents (updated October 1, 2026); moomoo, Account types.

Public

Public's fee schedule, last updated October 13, 2026, lists ACAT transfers into and out of your account as “Incoming ACAT: $0” and “Outgoing ACAT: $100”.

Moving in: Public's transfer page says “If your current brokerage charges you on the way out, we’ll even cover up to $100 in fees if your incoming account value is over $5,000.” “The fee reimbursement will be added to your Public account once the transfer is completed.” The same page offers a percentage match on transferred assets; Public's 3% offer for transfers from Webull is on our Webull page.

Sources: Public, Fee schedule (October 13, 2026); Public help, Transfer account bonus.

Robinhood

“Robinhood charges a $100 fee for partial and full ACATS out of Robinhood.” “If your Robinhood cash balance is insufficient to cover this fee, it will instead be debited from your outside brokerage account, contingent on that firm’s policies.” “You will be charged an ACATS Out fee on every successful transfer you complete.” Fractional shares do not transfer; on a full transfer Robinhood sells them and sends the cash.

Moving in: “Robinhood will reimburse you for up to $75 of that fee for transfers of $7,500 or more in equity, options, and cash assets (per account type and brokerage firm) into your Robinhood account.” For an eligible transfer you contact Robinhood “with additional information to request a reimbursement”. Robinhood says “it typically takes 5-7 business days for the assets to be settled in your Robinhood account”. Robinhood's 3% offer for transfers from Webull ended October 16, 2026; see our Webull page.

Sources: Robinhood, Transfer your assets out; Robinhood, Transfer your assets in; Robinhood Financial, Fee schedule (PDF).

SoFi Invest

“Full or Partial outgoing account transfers (aka ACATs) from our Invest accounts are subject to a $100 ACAT fee.”

Moving in: “SoFi does not charge fees for incoming transfers.” If your old firm charges an ACAT fee, “SoFi will cover up to $75 of any ACAT Outgoing Fees you may incur from your current brokerage firm as long as the transfer is for $5,000 or more”. “Once the transfer is successfully completed, you can call us at 855-456-7634 or chat with us online to request a reimbursement.”

Source: SoFi help, Is there a charge for an ACAT transfer?.

tastytrade

tastytrade's commissions and fees schedule, last updated July 30, 2026, lists outgoing ACAT transfers at $75 and an IRA closing fee of $60.

Moving in: “We don’t charge an incoming ACATS fee, but the transferring firm may charge an outgoing ACATS fee.” “For each minimum transfer of $2,000, we will reimburse the transfer fees from your other broker, up to $75.” You ask its support team by email, and “You will receive reimbursement in your account within 2 weeks from the request.” tastytrade says “ACATS transfer will take 7-10 business days.”

Sources: tastytrade, Commissions and fees (July 30, 2026); tastytrade, How to fund your account.

TradeStation

TradeStation's pricing page lists an outgoing account transfer at $125 and an IRA account termination fee of $50. It does not list a separate fee for partial transfers.

Moving in: we found no statement on reimbursing another firm's fee on the pricing page. TradeStation's cash-back offers for new money are not fee reimbursements and are not covered here.

Source: TradeStation, Pricing.

Vanguard

Vanguard's investment fees page, effective July 10, 2026: “VBS may charge a $100 processing fee for each account closure and full transfer of account assets to another firm.” “The fee will not apply to any accounts of clients with a QA of at least $5 million or Wealth Management clients.” (QA is Vanguard's qualifying assets.) “It also will not be charged to any brokerage accounts enrolled in a Vanguard-affiliated advisory service.”

Moving in: “Other companies may charge a transfer fee to move assets to Vanguard.” “Check with the company currently holding your account to find out if it has any transfer fees or requirements.” We found no statement on reimbursing that fee on Vanguard's transfer page or fee page.

Sources: Vanguard, Investment fees (effective July 10, 2026); Vanguard, Account transfer.

Webull

Webull's pricing page lists stock transfers to Webull at $0.00 and transfers from Webull at “$75 per Outgoing Stock Transfer”, charged by its clearing firm, Apex. For moving out of Webull, and the 3% transfer offers other firms made to Webull customers in October 2026, see Moving out of Webull.

Moving in: the pricing page does not mention reimbursement. Webull also has a transfer fee promotion page; its terms are not quoted here.

Source: Webull, Pricing.

Quick answers

What is an ACAT transfer fee?

The fee your current brokerage charges to send your account to another firm through ACATS. On the 17 firms above it is $0 to $125 for a full transfer; the new firm usually charges nothing to receive it.

Does Fidelity charge a transfer fee?

No. Fidelity lists transfer of assets at $0 and an IRA closeout fee of $0, and says it does not charge to receive assets either.

Does Fidelity reimburse transfer fees?

Not on its general transfer page or fee schedule. A Fidelity page for one employer's workplace clients offers up to $150 per account with a $25,000 minimum; ask Fidelity whether that applies to you.

What is Schwab's ACAT transfer fee? Does Schwab reimburse transfer fees?

$50 per account for a full transfer out, $0 for a partial one (pricing guide, April 2026). Schwab charges nothing to receive a transfer; we found no reimbursement statement on its pages.

What is Robinhood's ACAT transfer fee?

$100 for a full or partial transfer out. Moving in, Robinhood repays up to $75 of the other firm's fee on transfers of $7,500 or more, per account type and firm.

What is E*TRADE's ACAT transfer fee?

$75 for a full transfer out. Its pricing page lists no partial-transfer fee.

What is Vanguard's ACAT transfer fee?

Vanguard may charge $100 per account for an account closure or a full transfer to another firm, unless you have at least $5 million in qualifying assets, are a Wealth Management client, or the account is in a Vanguard-affiliated advisory service.

What is Interactive Brokers' (IBKR) transfer fee?

None for ACATS transfers in or out.

What is SoFi's ACAT transfer fee?

$100 for a full or partial transfer out. Moving in, SoFi covers up to $75 of the other firm's fee on transfers of $5,000 or more; you call or chat after the transfer completes.

What is Webull's ACAT transfer fee?

$75 per outgoing stock transfer, charged by its clearing firm, Apex. See Moving out of Webull.

Which brokerage reimburses the most?

Of the firms here, Firstrade states the highest cap, up to $250, on transfers of $2,500 or more, with proof of the charge sent within 60 days.

Is a transfer fee reimbursement taxable?

The firms here mostly do not say. Fidelity's workplace page says certain reimbursements are taxable and may be reported on Form 1099-MISC. Ask the firm how it reports the credit.

What this page does not cover

• Which firm to move to. We report what each firm publishes, not which to use.
• Percentage bonuses for transferring assets in (for example, the 3% offers for Webull customers on our Webull page). They come with holding periods and change often.
• Transfers that do not go through ACATS: 401(k) rollovers, transfers from a bank or a fund company directly, DRS and DTC transfers of single positions, and crypto.
• Other costs of the move, such as margin interest at the new firm (see margin rates by broker) or the regulatory fees on sales (see the FINRA trading activity fee).

Rechecks and changes

We will recheck every firm at least every three months, and sooner when a firm changes its fees. Every change is listed here with its date. If something is wrong, tell us.

• October 20, 2026. First published.

Sources used on the whole page

• SEC, Investor Bulletin: Transferring Your Investment Account (June 27, 2014)
• Investor.gov, Transferring Your Brokerage Account

Dollars Ahead has no affiliate relationship with any firm on this page, and the page contains no affiliate links. This page reports what each firm publishes; it is not financial advice.