The questions traders ask us, answered straight.
Timing, tax, who is eligible, and the conflict of interest every rebate arrangement has. If yours isn't here, ask it.
Payments
When is a rebate paid?
Each broker settles our commission on its own cycle, weekly or monthly; the broker page shows which. We pay your share within x business days of receiving the broker's statement.
Rebates below the minimum payout of $xx roll forward to the next cycle. Nothing expires.
Where does the money go?
To the trading account the rebate was earned on, as a balance credit labelled "Clearback rebate". We do not hold your money and we never ask for card or bank details.
Can a rebate be taken back?
Only if the broker reverses its commission to us, for example when trades are cancelled for an error or the account is closed for breaching the broker's terms. We show any reversal as its own line on your statement.
Tax
Do I pay tax on a rebate?
Possibly. In many countries a rebate is treated as a reduction in your trading costs; in others it is treated as income. We cannot tell you which applies to you.
Your monthly statement lists every rebate by date, broker and account, so whoever prepares your tax return has what they need. If in doubt, ask a qualified tax adviser.
Eligibility
Who can receive a rebate?
Anyone with an account opened through Clearback at one of the brokers we work with, who is accepted by that broker under its own rules. The broker decides who can open an account; we cannot change that.
Some brokers do not allow rebates for residents of certain countries or for certain account types. Ask before you open an account and we will check.
I already have an account. Can I get a rebate on it?
Sometimes. Some brokers let an existing client move to an introducing broker; others only allow it for new accounts. Ask us with the broker's name and we will tell you plainly whether it can be done.
Does a rebate change my spread or my commission?
No. You pay the broker's published prices, the same as a client who joined directly. The rebate is paid afterwards, from what the broker pays us.
Conflicts of interest
How does Clearback make money?
The broker pays us a commission on every lot you trade. We return part of it to you as a rebate and keep the rest. Both figures are on the brokers page, for every account type.
Doesn't that mean you want me to trade more?
Our income rises with your trading volume, so yes, that is a conflict of interest and we want you to know it. A rebate returns part of a cost you have already paid; it does not make a losing trade profitable.
Trading more to earn more rebates is not a reason to trade. We do not give trade ideas, signals or volume targets, and we never pay bonuses for trading more.
Do brokers pay you to list them?
No broker pays to appear on this site. Brokers that pay us a higher commission are not shown first, and we show the rate we keep next to the rate we return.