Tastytrade

Tastytrade is a US brokerage built for active options and futures traders. It launched in 2017 as tastyworks, founded by Tom Sosnoff and Scott Sheridan, the pair behind thinkorswim before it was sold to TD Ameritrade. In 2021, UK-based IG Group acquired the company for $1 billion, and the brokerage rebranded from tastyworks to tastytrade in February 2023 to align with its sister media brand tastylive. Today it is a subsidiary of IG US Holdings, part of IG Group Holdings plc, headquartered in Chicago.

The firm is a registered broker-dealer regulated by the SEC and FINRA, and a member of SIPC, which covers up to $500,000 in client assets including $250,000 in cash, with excess-SIPC coverage through its clearing firm. The platform, order tools and pricing model are built for people who trade options and futures actively, not for buy-and-hold investors looking for hand-holding.

Tastytrade supports US-listed stocks, ETFs, equity and index options, options on futures, CME futures including micro contracts, and cryptocurrency trading in eligible accounts. Futures require the platform's highest trading-permission tier.

The pricing model is the brand's main selling point. Stock and ETF trades are commission-free. Options on stocks and ETFs cost $1 per contract to open and nothing to close, capped at $10 per leg regardless of how many contracts are in the order, which matters for traders running larger positions. Futures cost roughly $1 per contract each way, with micro futures priced lower. Exchange, clearing and regulatory pass-through fees apply on top, which is standard across US brokers. There is no account minimum and no inactivity fee.

Tastytrade's new-account offer for much of 2026 was the Double Commission Rebate. New customers, or existing customers who had never funded an account, got double the value of commissions paid on stock and ETF options trades during the first 30 days after funding, credited back as a rebate capped at $3,000 per customer, with the code DOUBLE2026 entered at account opening. The promotion started on April 7, 2026 and, after two extensions, ended on July 21, 2026.

The rebate was not a flat cash bonus. It only paid if you actually traded options and paid commissions during the 30-day window, and reaching the $3,000 maximum took about $1,500 in eligible commissions. The initial deposit had to stay in the account for the full 30 calendar days, IRA accounts were excluded, and payment landed as a lump sum within two weeks after the rebate period ended. Tastytrade runs new-account promotions in rolling windows, so check the official site for any successor offer before opening an account for a bonus.

Separately, tastytrade runs a standing referral program. Both the referrer and the new customer get $100 each when the referred person opens an account with a unique referral link and deposits at least $1,000 within 60 days of opening. Those funds then need to stay in the account for six months to keep the bonus. IRAs are excluded here too, and a referrer is capped at 24 referral bonuses per calendar year. The current referral window runs from June 1 to November 30, 2026.

Tastytrade has also run tiered account-opening promotions in the past, with bonus size scaled to the deposit or transfer amount, but that structure is not the live offer right now. Compare against whatever promotion is actually running on the official site, since these change on a rolling basis.

Tastytrade suits people who already trade options or futures with some regularity and care about per-contract cost. It is a weaker fit for beginners wanting advice, mutual funds or a simple long-term portfolio, since it offers none of those. International availability is limited: eligible clients in select countries can open individual or joint accounts, but the country list is short and changes over time.

Bonus and rebate payouts are taxable income, and 1099 treatment has been inconsistent: some payouts show up as fee reimbursements rather than clearly labeled income, and amounts under $600 may not generate a 1099 at all. The IRS still expects the income reported either way, so keep your own funding and payout records.