Brokerage Account: What It Is and How to Open One

A brokerage account is an investment account from which you can purchase investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. You can add money to a brokerage account similar to the way you deposit funds into a bank account. Brokerage accounts have no contribution limits or early withdrawal penalties. They offer flexibility but lack the tax benefits found in retirement accounts.

You can open a brokerage account quickly online. Many brokerage firms allow you to open an account with no up-front deposit. However, you will need to fund the account before you buy investments. You can do that by moving money from your checking or savings account, or from another brokerage account.

You own the money and investments in your brokerage account, and you can sell investments at any time. The broker holds your account and acts as a middleman between you and the investments you want to buy.

There is no limit on the number of brokerage accounts you can have, or the amount of money you can put into a taxable brokerage account each year. There should be no fee to open a brokerage account.

There are two main options for where to open a brokerage account: online brokers and robo-advisors. Both offer retirement accounts and taxable brokerage accounts.

“You want to be careful with which company you open your brokerage accounts with,” says Wendy Moyers, a certified financial planner at Chevy Chase Trust in Bethesda, Maryland. “And you should be walking in with an awareness of what you’re going to be investing in. You want to do a little research.”

If you want to purchase and manage your own investments, an online brokerage account is for you. An account with an online brokerage company enables you to buy and sell investments through the broker’s website. Discount brokers offer a range of investments, including stocks, mutual funds and bonds.

A managed brokerage account comes with investment management, either from a human investment advisor or a robo-advisor. A robo-advisor provides a low-cost alternative to hiring a human investment manager. These companies use computer programs to choose and manage your investments for you, based on your goals and timeline.

Robo-advisors may be a good fit for you if you’d like to be largely hands-off when it comes to your investments. We have a full list of the best robo-advisors.

Once you’ve opened the account, you’ll need to deposit or transfer funds. That sounds complicated, but these days, it’s pretty simple to link your bank account with a brokerage account online.

Some brokers make you verify a transaction. If that’s the case, you’ll have to wait until the broker deposits a small sum in your bank account — typically a few cents. Then you’ll confirm the transaction by telling the brokerage the exact amount that was deposited. If you have any questions, the broker can walk you through the process. After the transfer is complete and your brokerage account is funded, you can start investing.

You might be asked if you want a cash account or a margin account. A margin account allows you to borrow money from the broker in order to make trades, but you’ll pay interest and it’s risky. Generally, it’s best to stick with a cash account at first.

The act of opening a brokerage account doesn’t mean you’ll be on the hook for any additional taxes. But brokerage accounts are also called taxable accounts, because investment income within a brokerage account is subject to capital gains taxes. Retirement accounts (such as IRAs) have a different set of tax and withdrawal rules. They may be better for retirement savings and investing.

“A lot of people think that brokerage accounts are ‘non-tax advantaged,’ but there are tax advantages,” said Delyanne Barros, founder of Delyanne The Money Coach.

“The benefit of the brokerage account is leveraging the long-term capital gains tax,” she said in an email interview. “In order to do that you must be a long- term investor. That means you have to hold your investments for over a year. Not only will this help you capture the most favorable tax bracket, but it will likely result in better returns.” Depending on your taxable income and filing status, the long-term capital gains tax rate is 0%, 15% or 20%^[0]

The key to reaping a brokerage account’s advantages, Barros said, is to stay invested, ignore the day-to-day stock market noise, “and go live your life.” Here are five brokerage account tax tips to keep in mind.

1. If you buy stock through a brokerage account, you’ll probably have to pay capital gains tax if you sell it for a profit later. 

2. If you sell a stock a year or less after buying it, you may have to pay the the short-term capital gains tax. It’s usually your ordinary income tax rate, and often higher than the long-term capital gains rate.

3. If you sell an investment for a loss, then you can use that loss to offset some of your gains and reduce your capital gains tax burden.

4. If the stock or fund you buy through a brokerage account pays dividends, you’ll have to pay taxes on those dividends even if you choose to reinvest them. If this is the case, your brokerage will send the relatively uncomplicated DIV-1099 tax form to include in your tax return.

5. If you invest through a retirement account, you typically won’t have to worry about any of this.

In a standard brokerage account you’re contributing post-tax money. In most cases, your investment earnings will be taxed. On the plus side, there are very few rules for brokerage accounts. You can pull your money out at any time, for any reason, and invest as much as you’d like.

In a Roth IRA, you also contribute post-tax money. Once you reach 59½ and have held your account for at least five years, you can take withdrawals, including earnings, without paying additional taxes.^[0]

“Ideally, you should have both, but prioritizing the Roth IRA is best so you can grow your money tax-free,” said Barros.

Moyers also says the ideal situation is to have both, but it depends on your goals. An IRA is a good way to save money for retirement. But, she says, you are tying your money up for a long time.

“If you want to save money to buy a house, a brokerage account would be more appropriate,” she says.

If you want to invest for retirement, you might want to open a retirement account rather than a taxable brokerage account. (Here are our picks for the best IRA accounts.)

You might already be investing for retirement through your work. Many companies offer an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k) and match your contributions. You can still open an IRA, but we recommend contributing at least enough to your 401(k) to earn that match first.

The table below compares brokerage accounts with retirement accounts.