Pros and cons of the Robinhood transfer bonus
- No dollar limit on bonus amount ever
- Gold subscribers get 3% on all annual contributions
- Everyone now gets 1% on all IRA transfers permanently
- Bonus deposited within one week of transfer settlement
- Must hold funds in IRA for 5 years
- Gold subscription costs $5 per month
What is the Robinhood transfer bonus?
Robinhood pays you a percentage of the money you move into your account from another financial institution. You bring your existing investments or retirement savings over to Robinhood, and Robinhood rewards you for doing it.
The first offer was the ACATS brokerage account transfer bonus. ACATS stands for Automated Customer Account Transfer Service, and it is the standard system used to move investments from one brokerage to another. This offer applies to taxable individual and joint brokerage accounts. The second offer was the IRA transfer bonus. This one applies to retirement accounts, including both IRA-to-IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers into a Robinhood IRA.
Both offered the same bonus rate of 2%, and both required an active Robinhood Gold subscription. This is separate from Robinhood event contracts, where you trade on the outcome of future events. Both promotions have ended, but below we will show you what is currently available and how to position yourself for any future offers.
What are the two types of Robinhood transfer bonuses?
| Feature | Past ACATS Brokerage Bonus | Past IRA Transfer Bonus | |
| Offer Status | Limited-time brokerage transfer promotion that has ended | Limited-time IRA transfer promotion that has ended | |
| Account Type | Taxable brokerage account | Robinhood IRA | |
| Bonus Rate | 2% of net transferred assets | 2% of net IRA deposits | |
| Eligible Transfer Types | ACATS transfers from external brokerages | IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers | |
| Gold Subscription Required | Yes, active during initiation and completion | Yes, active when the transfer settles | |
| Gold Monthly Cost | Gold monthly fee applies | Gold monthly fee applies | |
| Bonus Cap | No cap listed | No limit listed | |
| Hold Requirement | 5 years | 5 years | |
| Gold Maintenance Requirement | 1 year minimum | 1 year minimum | |
| Bonus Deposit Timeline | Usually about 2 weeks after settlement | Usually within about 1 week after settlement | |
| IRA Transfer Settlement | Not applicable | Usually 5 to 7 business days | |
| 401(k) Rollover Settlement | Not applicable | Usually 2 to 4 weeks | |
| Tax Treatment | May be reported on 1099 forms | Interest income inside the IRA; usually no 1099-INT |
The two bonus offers are different in an important way. Let us walk through each one.
The ACATS brokerage account bonus: 2% on taxable account transfers
The ACATS bonus applied to your regular investment account, not retirement accounts or Robinhood election markets. If you had stocks, ETFs, or other assets sitting at a competitor brokerage like Fidelity, Schwab, or TD Ameritrade, you could transfer them to your Robinhood brokerage account using ACATS and collect a 2% bonus on the total value you moved over.
So if you transferred $100,000 in stocks from an external brokerage to Robinhood and you were a Robinhood Gold subscriber, Robinhood deposited $2,000 into your brokerage account approximately two weeks after the transfer settled. There was no limit. Transfer $500,000 and you received $10,000. Transfer $1,000,000 and you received $20,000. The bonus was calculated using the national market system closing price of each position transferred on the trading day before settlement.
The IRA transfer bonus: 2% on retirement account transfers
Unlike the ACATS brokerage bonus, the IRA transfer bonus applied specifically to retirement accounts, not standard taxable brokerage accounts or Robinhood sports markets. You could transfer an existing IRA from another provider into your Robinhood IRA or roll over an old 401(k) from a former employer into your Robinhood IRA during this window and collect a 2% bonus on every dollar you moved, with no maximum.
The difference from the brokerage bonus is the tax treatment. Robinhood does not issue a 1099-INT for this bonus because of the special tax status of IRAs. This means the bonus compound inside the retirement account without an immediate tax event, which is a favourable treatment compared to the taxable brokerage version.
A rollover from an old 401(k) specifically means taking the assets from a previous employer's retirement plan and moving them into your own IRA. You do not lose access to the money. You do not trigger a taxable event if you do it correctly as a direct rollover. And under the now-expired promotion, you would have received 2% on top of whatever you rolled over. For the cost, you can check our Robinhood fees explained guide before starting a transfer.
What are the eligibility requirements for the Robinhood transfer bonus?
Both transfer bonuses came with specific eligibility requirements, as you'll find below
You must be a Robinhood Gold subscriber
Both bonuses required an active Robinhood Gold subscription, and the subscription had to be active, not just when you started the transfer but when the transfer actually settled into your account. Gold costs $5 per month. If you cancelled Gold after initiating the transfer but before it settled, you would not receive the bonus at all. If you cancelled Gold within one year of receiving your first bonus, Robinhood would charge you a cancellation fee equal to the difference between the 2% bonus you received and the 1% bonus you would have received as a non-subscriber. The remaining 1% portion of the bonus would continue, but the extra 1% on top would be clawed back.
You must hold the funds for at least 5 years
This is the most significant requirement, and it applies to anyone who claimed either bonus. If you receive a transfer bonus and then withdraw or transfer out from your Robinhood account within 5 years, Robinhood will charge an early removal fee. For the brokerage account, the chargeback is proportional depending on how much time remains in the 5-year window.
Self-directed IRAs only
The IRA transfer bonus specifically excludes accounts managed by Robinhood Strategies, which is Robinhood's portfolio management service. Only self-directed IRAs, where you make your own investment decisions, are qualified. If you opened a Robinhood Strategies account thinking the bonus would apply, it did not. You needed a standard self-directed Robinhood IRA.
What is available right now after the promotions ended?
The 2% IRA transfer promotion ended on April 30, 2026. But the transfer match program at Robinhood did not disappear. This is separate from anything you might see in a Robinhood prediction markets review, focusing on event contracts and market outcomes. Here is what is available today and going forward.
Permanent 1% match on all IRA transfers
Everyone who has a Robinhood IRA now gets a permanent 1% match on all IRA transfers, regardless of whether they subscribe to Gold or not. Robinhood Gold subscribers additionally get a 3% match on all eligible annual IRA contributions throughout the year. The $5 per month Gold subscription is the only cost associated with the 3% contribution match.
So if you contribute $7,000 to a Robinhood Gold IRA this year and you are a Gold subscriber, Robinhood deposits $210 as a match. If you transfer $50,000 from an external IRA to Robinhood today as a non-subscriber, you receive a $500 match. If you do the same transfer as a Gold subscriber, you still receive $500 at the current 1% transfer rate but your annual contributions receive the 3% rate. The 5-year hold requirement and the 1-year Gold maintenance requirement still apply to any match you receive.
Ready to move your assets? Sign up on Robinhood
The Robinhood transfer bonus program has offered two of the most rewarding brokerage transfer deals we have seen. The 2% ACATS brokerage bonus and the 2% IRA transfer bonus both had no caps, no complex restrictions, and simple, clear terms.
The fact that there was never a limit on the bonus amount made both offers exceptional for anyone with substantial assets to move. The promotions have ended, but what remains is a permanent 1% match on IRA transfers for everyone and a 3% match on annual IRA contributions for Gold subscribers at $5 per month. Use our on-page banners to reach Robinhood right now, set up or open your IRA, and start earning the permanent match on your contributions and transfers today.
FAQs on Robinhood transfer bonus
What are the requirements to keep the Robinhood transfer bonus?
To keep the full bonus, you must do two things. First, you must maintain an active Robinhood Gold subscription for at least one continuous year from the date your first bonus-earning transfer settled. Second, you must keep the transferred funds in your Robinhood account for at least 5 years. Withdrawing before 5 years triggers a proportional early removal fee based on the time remaining in that window.
Can I roll over a 401(k) to get the Robinhood transfer bonus?
Yes. The IRA transfer bonus explicitly covered 401(k) rollovers from previous employer plans into a Robinhood IRA. A 401(k) rollover typically takes 2 to 4 weeks to complete. The 2% bonus was then deposited into the Robinhood IRA within approximately 5 to 7 business days of the rollover settling.
How long does it take to receive the Robinhood transfer bonus?
For IRA transfers, the bonus is deposited within approximately 1 week after the transfer settles into your Robinhood IRA. For 401(k) rollovers, the entire process typically takes 2 to 4 weeks, and the bonus is deposited upon settlement. For the brokerage ACATS bonus, the transfer settles when securities are posted and available to trade, and the bonus arrives within approximately 2 weeks of settlement.
