Are you looking for ways to invest your money without having to worry about taxes or fees? Robinhood has become a popular way to invest in stocks because it offers free trades and no minimum balance.
Robinhood was founded in 2012 and allows customers to trade stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptos at zero commission.
The company also offers free stock splits and dividend reinvestments.
Robinhood does pay dividends to its investors, paying them monthly. You can even invest in dividend stocks of other companies using Robinhood.
It’s important to note that Robinhood does not offer tax services.
Instead, it only provides access to financial markets. If you want to save money on taxes, you should consider investing through a registered broker.
The best part is that Robinhood doesn’t charge any sort of maintenance fee.
You can easily keep track of all your investments by logging into the app whenever you need to check up on them.
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What is a Dividend?
A dividend is when a corporation pays out some of its earnings to shareholders. It’s basically like an automatic raise in pay for investors.
Dividends are usually paid once per quarter, but they can be paid more frequently depending on how profitable the company is.
Furthermore, dividends are typically taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gains. This means that dividends will reduce your overall taxable income.
How Does Robinhood Work?
If you’re interested in using Robinhood, simply open their app and start trading. They have apps available for both Android and iOS devices.
You’ll first need to sign up with Robinhood and create a user account. After this step, you’ll be ready to buy/sell shares.
To begin buying shares, click “Buy Stocks” under the “Account” tab. Then select the share symbol from the drop-down menu.
Next, choose between a market order (where you set the price) or limit order (which lets you specify a maximum price).
After selecting your desired method, enter the amount of funds you’d like to spend. Once you’ve entered the required information, hit “Place Order.”
To sell shares, click “Sell Stocks” under “Account” and then follow the same steps.
Is Robinhood Legit?
Yes! Robinhood is one of the most trusted names in online investing today. In fact, it has been featured on sites such as CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and many others.
They currently hold a 4.5-star rating on Trustpilot, which is higher than 99% of other brokers.
Robinhood is also accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
In addition, Robinhood is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, which is known for being a hotbed for tech startups.
In short, there aren’t many reasons why you shouldn’t use Robinhood.
How Does Robinhood Make Money?
Robinhood uses revenue generated from its premium service (which costs $10 per month) to pay out dividends to users who qualify each quarter.
If you have at least $2,000 in your account when you open it, then you will receive a $5 bonus after your first deposit.
You can use this bonus to buy more shares or add cash to your account.
There are no fees associated with opening an account with Robinhood. However, if you decide to upgrade to the premium service, you will incur a small fee.
Robinhood makes the majority of its own profits through transaction fees and the fees associated with its premium services.
How Much Do You Have to Deposit to Open an Account with Robinhood?
You don’t need to deposit anything to start trading on Robinhood — but if you’re interested in opening a cash-free brokerage account, you’ll need a certain amount of money to get started.
You may be wondering why they require so much capital when other brokers like Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (NYSE: SCHW) and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) don’t ask for such large amounts.
In fact, Robinhood’s minimum initial investment is just $2.
It’s possible to buy more shares once you’ve opened an account, but you won’t be able to withdraw funds until you reach a minimum of $1,000.
How Long Do You Have to Own a Stock to Get a Dividend from Robinhood?
Interestingly, you only have to own a stock for a minimum of one day before you can receive dividends for it through Robinhood.
However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be paid a dividend after owning a stock for a single day.
Most dividends are paid quarterly, so you’ll need to wait until the end of the current quarter to receive anything from your investment in terms of dividends.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that dividend amounts are based on how long the stock has been owned, meaning you’ll receive a higher cut if you hold onto it for longer.
Can You Live off of Dividends Alone?
While you might not be able to live off dividends alone, you could definitely make some serious money over time.
Dividends are usually reinvested back into the company, which means that you should see your return grow over time.
For example, let’s say you invest $100 in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). If you choose to sell all of your shares immediately, you’d make around $4.50.
However, if you held onto those shares for three years, you would have made $8.40 in total.
That said, you should keep in mind that dividends are taxed as ordinary income. So, while you might make a lot of money, you’ll still owe taxes on any earnings you earn.
However, if you extrapolate that example to cover a whole load more money, you could see returns every year as high as an average salary in the United States, meaning you could theoretically live entirely off of dividends.
Of course, the same risks of investing in stocks are associated here, so you’ll have to plan it very carefully and be able to handle the risks involved.
Conclusion
If you want to trade stocks without having to pay any commissions or fees, then Robinhood is probably the best option out there right now.
The platform is completely free to use and allows users to purchase stocks instantly at market prices.
There are no limits on what kind of trades you can execute, making it easy to buy and sell securities within minutes.
As mentioned earlier, you will need to open an account with Robinhood first, but you’ll be able to do so using a debit card, checking account, or even a credit card.
You’ll also be able to access your portfolio 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Robinhood is currently available in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Singapore. However, they’re planning to expand further, internationally.
So, if you’re looking for a way to get started trading stocks without paying any fees, then Robinhood may be the perfect choice for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Dividend Stocks on Robinhood:
BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT)
Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ:DOX)
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)
Yes – the IRS considers dividends to be income, so you usually need to pay taxes on them. Even if you reinvest all of your dividends directly back into the same company or fund that paid you the dividends, you will pay taxes as they technically still passed through your hands.
In general, trading on Robinhood is not more risky than trading on any other platform. However, Robinhood’s margin trading feature is risky for the average investor. Trading with money that is not yours is very risky. If you borrow money and the share goes up, and you sell in time, you can make a big profit.