Brokerage Balances
Your brokerage account tracks cash, holdings, and — when margin is enabled — margin debt. Cash and holdings are split between borrowed and personal funding where needed.
Cash balances
| Balance | Description |
|---|---|
| Borrowed Cash | Cash from borrowed funds, not yet invested. |
| Personal Cash | Cash that's yours — dividends, gains, deposits. Not tied to borrowed funds. |
Margin balance
When margin is enabled, the brokerage can enter margin state if an event exceeds available brokerage cash.
In margin state, the brokerage has margin debt instead of positive cash. Incoming cash normally repays margin before becoming brokerage cash.
Margin debt is tracked by purpose: investment-purpose margin debt, capitalized deductible margin interest, and non-deductible margin debt.
See Brokerage margin for details.
Holdings
Each security tracks:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Units | Number of shares held |
| Total Cost Base | Total adjusted cost base (ACB) |
| Borrowed Cost Base | Portion of cost funded with borrowed money |
| Personal Cost Base | Portion of cost funded with your own money |
The borrowed/personal ratio determines how sale proceeds and return of capital are allocated.
How balances change
- Borrows → increase borrowed cash, or repay/refinance existing margin debt if margin exists
- Deposits → increase personal cash, or repay margin first if margin exists
- Purchases → decrease borrowed and/or personal cash; if margin is enabled, a cash shortfall becomes investment-purpose margin debt
- Sales → in cash state, recovered borrowed cost returns to borrowed cash and personal proceeds go to personal cash; in margin state, proceeds repay margin first
- Distributions → in cash state, income goes to personal cash and RoC is split by the holding's borrowed/personal ratio; in margin state, cash distributions repay margin first
- Withdrawals → decrease borrowed and/or personal cash; if margin is enabled, a cash shortfall becomes non-deductible margin debt
Learn more
- Brokerage margin — details on cash state and margin state
- Setting up your first tracking — the basic event cycle
- Glossary — definitions of every balance term