IBKR Trade Import: Step-by-Step Guide for Your Trading Journal

IBKR provides two main paths for exporting trade data:

**Activity Statement** — the standard report available directly in Client Portal and Trader Workstation. It is the fastest path and covers most use cases. Supports CSV and XML format. Good for importing full account history.

**Flex Query** — a custom report builder that lets you select exactly which fields to include. More complex to set up, but produces cleaner data for journals that need specific fields (e.g., commission breakdown, executions vs. orders, futures tick data).

For most traders, the Activity Statement is the right starting point. Use Flex Query if your journal requires specific fields that the Activity Statement does not include, or if you need to automate recurring imports.

Follow these steps in IBKR Client Portal:

1. Log in to Client Portal (clientportal.ibkr.com) 2. Navigate to **Performance & Reports → Statements** 3. Select **Activity** as the statement type 4. Set the date range to cover the period you want to import 5. Choose **CSV** as the format (XML also works; check what your journal accepts) 6. Click **Run** and download the file

The Activity Statement includes: executed trades, commissions, fees, dividends, and corporate actions all in a single file. Most trading journals parse the Trades section automatically and skip the other sections.

**Important:** If you have multiple accounts (e.g., individual + IRA), run a separate statement for each account. The combined all-accounts statement format is harder for journals to parse correctly.

Flex Query is available in Client Portal under Reports → Flex Queries. Create a new query:

1. Navigate to **Reports → Flex Queries → Create** 2. Select **Trade Confirmation** as the report type (not Activity — Trade Confirmation has more fill-level detail) 3. In the field selector, include at minimum: Symbol, Asset Class, Description, Strike, Expiry (for options/futures), Quantity, Trade Price, Commission, Currency, Open/Close indicator, Put/Call (for options) 4. For futures, also include: Multiplier, Underlying Symbol, Expiry 5. Set your preferred date range and format (CSV) 6. Save the query and run it

Flex Query output is cleaner than Activity Statement for multi-leg options because each leg appears as a separate row with its own fill details, rather than being summarized at the order level.

Once you have the CSV from IBKR:

1. In Tiltless, go to **Connections → Import → Broker Statement** 2. Select **Interactive Brokers** as the broker 3. Upload the CSV file 4. Tiltless will parse the file and preview the fills before committing the import 5. Review the preview — check that asset classes are correctly identified and multi-leg options are grouped 6. Confirm the import

After import, check for these common issues: - Options legs appearing as separate trades instead of grouped strategies — use the strategy merge tool if needed - Futures showing incorrect PnL due to missing multiplier — verify the multiplier in the trade details - Duplicate imports if you previously imported an overlapping date range — Tiltless deduplicates by fill ID, but verify the trade count

**'No trades found' after upload.** Most common cause: wrong report type selected. The Activity Statement and the Flex Query have different section structures. Confirm you are uploading the format your journal expects.

**Incorrect PnL for futures.** IBKR stores futures PnL in local currency before multiplier. If your journal shows PnL per contract rather than total PnL, the multiplier field is being ignored. Check your journal's futures settings to ensure the multiplier from the export is being applied.

**Missing options expiration.** If an option expired worthless, the Activity Statement may record it differently from a sold position. Look for a 'Trades - Expiration' row in the statement. Some journals require you to manually mark expired positions as closed at $0.

**Commissons not tracked.** Flex Query includes commission per fill; Activity Statement may consolidate commissions. If net PnL is not matching your broker confirmation, check whether the import is subtracting commissions.