When you setup your IB account, please make sure you have applied for “margin”. Don’t worry, we won’t use the margin unless you consciously decide to do so. Given that we may execute multiple orders on the same day, we do need this margin to account for the fact that sometimes the “buy” order may go through before the “sell” order
See screen below. You should have either T-Margin or Portfolio Margin. Make sure you do not select Portfolio Margin unless your account size is greater than $120K. You should have T-Margin in your account.
If you already have margin in your account, but you are still getting an error, that could be because you have an IRA account and you are using more “margin” than allowed by law. Check the screen below to make sure you have applied the correct auto-scaling percentage.
