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Selling covered calls and puts on Interactive Brokers, US and Canada

Interactive Brokers serves both US and Canadian traders, and its option tools are deep. The things to understand before selling there are its permissions system, its two account types, and how fast it acts when margin is breached.

Options guide · 7-minute read · Updated 2026-10-26

The short answer

Yes, in both countries. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) lets accounts with the right trading permissions sell covered calls and cash-secured puts. US clients use IBKR LLC; Canadians use IBKR Canada, which also offers TFSA and RRSP accounts. The wheel strategy fits in a cash account, a margin account, and, within the broker's rules, registered accounts.

This page covers what's generally true and stable. IBKR changes its platforms and fee tiers often, so for anything specific, check the current help pages. It isn't an endorsement.

Permissions, not levels

Where other brokers use numbered Options approval levels, IBKR uses trading permissions you request per product and country, with the options permission itself split into tiers that gate which strategies are allowed. The lower tier has generally included covered calls and cash-secured puts. You request permissions in account settings and answer experience questions; approval can take a day or so.

Two account types matter here:

• Cash account: every put is backed by the full strike value in cash. Settlement must clear before cash is reused.
• Margin account: the broker holds a margin requirement instead, often far less than the strike value. IBKR's requirements are calculated per position and can rise quickly on volatile stocks.

Our page on cash vs margin accounts for selling options shows what that difference does to a losing trade.

The ticket

IBKR has several front ends: the desktop platform (TWS), the web portal and the mobile app. The bones are the same:

1. Open the Options chain for the symbol and pick an expiry.
2. Click to sell a call above the price (covered call) or a put below the price (cash-secured put). The ticket shows "Sell" and the quantity in contracts.
3. Set a limit price near the mid. The ticket previews the commission and the margin or cash impact before you transmit.
4. Transmit.

The desktop platform can build a roll as one combination order from the position. The web and mobile versions have had simpler roll features; check what's current.

A worked example (an illustration, not a trade idea)

Your IBKR cash account holds $8,000. A made-up stock, XYZ, trades at $50.

You sell one 30-day put at the $45 strike for $1.00, collecting $100 less commission. IBKR holds $4,500.

In a cash account the first row is a loss and nothing more. In a margin account with four of these puts open, the same drop can bring a liquidation (next section). The cash-secured put guide covers the trade; the account type decides what the broker does to you afterwards.

How IBKR handles a margin breach

This is the part that surprises people. Many brokers issue a margin call and give you some time to add cash. IBKR is known for closing positions automatically, and quickly, when an account falls below its requirement, rather than waiting. The exact process is in its help pages and can change, so read the current version. The practical lesson is older than any version: in a margin account at IBKR, size every put by the full strike value. Then a drop can't put you below the line.

Canadian accounts: TFSA, RRSP and currency

IBKR Canada offers TFSA and RRSP accounts. Registered accounts can't use margin, so they're cash-backed by nature. Covered calls are widely allowed in them; whether cash-secured puts are permitted in a given registered account is up to the broker's current policy, so confirm it before you plan a trade. Our pages on the wheel in a TFSA and in an RRSP cover the account rules.

IBKR accounts can hold several currencies, which helps Canadians wheeling US stocks: US premiums land as US dollars and sit there, instead of being converted each time. Converting is done as its own trade when you choose. Canadian-listed options trade on the Montreal Exchange; US-listed ones on the US exchanges. Both are reachable from one account, with permissions for each.

Fees

IBKR has offered two pricing plans with a per-contract commission, minimums per order, and exchange and regulatory fees passed through. The amounts differ by plan, by exchange and by the option's price, and they change. Check the current commission page. For a seller of cheap options, the minimum per order can be a large share of the premium; options fees for sellers shows the math.

What to check before each trade

• Which account type you're in. Cash or margin changes what a loss does.
• Earnings and ex-dividend dates for the stock.
• The spread on your strike and the Open interest behind it.
• Your full put obligation added up across positions, in the same currency.

Questions