Vanguard Hidden Fees
Online brokerage firms often charge various types of fees. The most common are “trading fees” or “commission fees,” which are applied when buying or selling securities. These fees are typically either a flat rate or a percentage of the trade value.
Apart from trading fees, brokerage companies may also charge fees not directly related to buying or selling securities, such as account service fees or wire transfer charges.
Account Service Fee
Vanguard charges an annual “account service” fee of $20 for each brokerage account.
However, Vanguard waives this fee for the following types of accounts:
- Accounts with $1 million or more in qualifying Vanguard assets.
- Accounts that have signed up for electronic delivery of statements, reports, and updates.
- Accounts under an employee identification number (EIN), such as organizational or trust accounts.
- Brokerage accounts enrolled in an advisory program serviced by a Vanguard affiliate.
Wire Transfer Fee
Vanguard charges a $10 fee for each wire transfer.
This fee is waived for clients with $1 million or more in qualifying Vanguard assets.
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) Fees
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) allow U.S. investors to invest in foreign companies. Banks holding ADRs for investors may charge specific fees, as stated in the ADR prospectuses.
One such fee is a “pass-through” fee, which is collected from Vanguard by the Depository Trust Company (DTC). Vanguard deducts this fee directly from the client’s account.
Additionally, the DTC may impose other charges, such as dividend processing fees.
Foreign Securities Transactions Fees
For non-DTC-eligible securities (other than ADRs), Vanguard charges a $50 processing fee. This fee is separate from the commission.
Vanguard may also charge a commission fee if the trade takes multiple days to execute.
If the trade is executed on a local market rather than through an intermediary, additional fees may apply.
Tax Filing for Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) in an IRA
Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company (VFTC) is responsible for custodianship of any MLP held in an IRA. Due to IRS requirements, VFTC must file MLP tax forms. The fee for these tax filings is $300 per account.
Vanguard Trading Fees
Generally, Vanguard charges $0 to trade stocks and ETFs online. However, there are fees for trading mutual funds, options contracts, CDs, and bonds. Also, phone-based trades may incur extra charges.
Stocks
There are no transaction fees for stocks traded online. However, if you trade stocks by phone, there is a $25 fee. This fee is waived for clients with $1 million or more invested in Vanguard assets.
ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds)
Vanguard allows trading of its own ETFs as well as ETFs managed by other companies. There are no transaction fees for Vanguard’s ETFs traded online. For ETFs managed by other companies, there is a $25 fee when traded by phone. This fee is waived for clients with $1 million or more invested.
Mutual Funds
Vanguard offers its own mutual funds and allows trading of mutual funds from other companies.
There are no transaction fees for Vanguard-managed mutual funds. However, some Vanguard funds may have special purchase or redemption fees. These vary depending on the fund and can range from 0.25% to 1.00% of the transaction.
Vanguard’s mutual funds also have minimum investment requirements, which vary by fund, ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.
Vanguard offers three types of mutual funds from other companies:
- No-transaction-fee (NTF) mutual funds,
- Transaction-fee (TF) mutual funds, and
- Load mutual funds.
No-Transaction-Fee (NTF) Mutual Funds
NTF mutual funds can be traded online without fees. However, like Vanguard funds, there is a $25 fee for trades made by phone. This fee is waived for investors with more than $1 million in Vanguard funds.
Transaction-Fee (TF) Mutual Funds
The fees for TF mutual funds depend on the total amount invested in Vanguard funds and whether the trade is done online or by phone.
For clients with less than $1 million in Vanguard funds, there is a $20 fee for online trades and an additional $25 fee for phone-based trades.
Clients with $1 million to $5 million in Vanguard funds receive 25 free trades, and pay $8 per trade after that.
Clients with more than $5 million in Vanguard funds receive 100 free trades and are charged $8 per trade after that.
Load Mutual Funds
The fees for load mutual funds depend on the share class: A, B, or C.
Class A shares carry a front-end load, which can be as high as 5.75%.
Class B & C shares have a back-end load, which decreases to 0% over time.
All share classes may have sales charges and minimum purchase requirements that are specific to the fund.
Options Contracts
The fees for options trading depend on how much is invested in Vanguard funds.
For clients with less than $1 million in Vanguard funds, there is a $1 fee per contract.
For clients with $1 million to $5 million in assets, the first 25 trades are free, and each subsequent trade costs $1 per contract.
For clients with more than $5 million, they receive 100 free trades and are charged $1 per contract thereafter.
All option exercises and assignments are free of charge.
Fixed-Income Securities
The cost of trading CDs and bonds varies based on the type of instrument and whether it’s a new issue or traded on the secondary market.
There is no charge for new issues, except for mortgage-backed securities, which carry a $35 fee per trade.
Secondary market trades incur higher fees, except for U.S. Treasury securities, which are free.
The fee for CDs, U.S. government securities, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds is $1 per $1,000 face amount, with a maximum fee of $250.
Mortgage-backed securities and unit investment trusts (UITs) are subject to a $35 fee per trade.
If a trade is conducted via phone on the secondary market, a $25 fee applies. This fee is waived for clients with $1 million or more invested.
The minimum investment for fixed-income securities varies. For U.S. government agency securities, corporate bonds, CDs, and U.S. Treasury securities, it is $1,000. For municipal bonds, it’s $5,000.
All Vanguard fees are subject to change. Contact Vanguard for the latest updates.
Margin Rates
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Debit Balance
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Vanguard Margin Rates
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under $19,999
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12%
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$20,000 – $49,999
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11.5%
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$50,000 – $99,999
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11%
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$100,000–$249,999
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10.5%
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$250,000–$499,999
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10%
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$500,000+
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call 866-514-2805
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Vanguard Review
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Updated on 1/17/2026.
Arthur Chachuna is a professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of Brokerage-Review.com.
He has been an avid investor for 25 years, and has a background in both applied math and programming.
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