Selling stock on Robinhood takes three steps: tap the stock, choose how many shares to sell, and confirm the sale
When you sell a stock on Robinhood, the app walks you through the process on the same screen where you normally buy. You pick the stock you own, enter the number of shares you want to sell, review the price, and tap to confirm. The sale executes during market hours (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern on weekdays), and the cash lands in your Robinhood account when ready — though it takes a few more days to move to your bank.
The money doesn't disappear after you sell. It sits in your Robinhood cash balance, where you can use it to buy other stocks, or you can transfer it out to your linked bank account. That transfer is where most people get confused, because the cash arrives in your account right away, but the money doesn't actually leave Robinhood's system for two business days.
Key Takeaways
- Open the stock in your Robinhood portfolio, tap the sell button, enter the number of shares, and confirm the price before the sale goes through.
- Cash from a stock sale lands in your Robinhood account when ready during market hours, but you cannot withdraw it for two business days due to settlement rules.
- To move money out of Robinhood to your bank, go to Account, tap Transfers, choose Withdraw, and select your linked bank account.
- If you sell a stock and buy another within two business days, Robinhood may flag it as a pattern day trade if your account is under $25,000.
- Selling at a loss or gain affects your taxes, and Robinhood sends you a tax form (1099-B) at the end of the year showing all your trades.
How to sell shares step by step
Open the Robinhood app and go to your portfolio. Find the stock you want to sell and tap it. On the stock detail page, you will see a green "Sell" button at the bottom. Tap it.
A screen will appear asking how many shares you want to sell. Type the number. If you want to sell all your shares of that stock, Robinhood shows a "Sell All" option. Once you enter the number, the app shows you the current bid price — the price you will actually receive per share — and the total dollar amount you will get. Review this carefully, because the bid price can be slightly lower than the last price you saw, especially if the market is moving fast.
Tap the "Review Order" button. A final confirmation screen appears showing the number of shares, the price per share, and your total proceeds. If everything looks right, tap "Sell" to execute the trade. The sale is now live. During market hours, it usually fills within seconds. After 4 p.m. on weekdays or on weekends, your order waits until the market opens the next trading day.
When the cash arrives and why you cannot withdraw it when ready
The moment your sale executes, the cash shows up in your Robinhood account balance. You can see it right away in the app under your account value. However, you cannot move that money to your bank account for two business days. This is not a Robinhood rule — it is a federal settlement requirement called T+2, which means trades settle two business days after they execute.
Here is what that means in practice: if you sell stock on a Monday, the settlement date is Wednesday. You can use the cash to buy other stocks on Monday, but you cannot withdraw it to your bank until Wednesday at the earliest. If you sell on a Friday, settlement is Monday, and you cannot withdraw until Monday. Weekends and market holidays do not count as business days, so a Friday sale might not settle until Tuesday.
During those two days, the cash is yours to use inside Robinhood, but it is still technically in the settlement process. Robinhood calls this unsettled cash, and it shows separately from your settled cash in some parts of the app.
How to transfer cash from Robinhood to your bank account
Once your sale has settled (two business days after you sold), you can move the money to your bank. Go to the Account tab at the bottom of the app. Tap "Transfers." You will see two options: "Deposit" (to add money from your bank to Robinhood) and "Withdraw" (to send money from Robinhood to your bank). Tap "Withdraw."
Select the bank account you want the money to go to. If you have not linked a bank account yet, you will need to do that first — Robinhood will ask for your routing number and account number. Enter the amount you want to withdraw. You can withdraw all your cash or just part of it. Tap "Withdraw" to confirm.
The money leaves Robinhood when ready, but it takes one to three business days to show up in your bank account, depending on your bank. Some banks are faster than others. You will get a notification in the app when the transfer is complete.
What happens if you sell and buy again quickly
If your Robinhood account has less than $25,000 in it, you are subject to the pattern day trader rule. This rule says you cannot make more than three day trades in a rolling five-business-day period. A day trade means buying and selling the same stock on the same day. If you sell a stock and buy a different stock the same day, that does not count. But if you sell Apple and buy Apple again on the same day, that is one day trade.
If you hit the limit, Robinhood will restrict your account from buying for 90 days. You can still sell stocks, but you cannot buy. This is a federal rule, not something Robinhood invented, and it applies to all brokers. Once your account reaches $25,000, the restriction no longer applies.
The two-business-day settlement window also matters here: if you sell a stock on Monday and buy it again on Tuesday, you are using unsettled cash to make the purchase. Robinhood allows this, but it counts toward your day-trade limit if you sell it again before Wednesday.
How selling affects your taxes
When you sell a stock for more than you paid for it, you have a capital gain. When you sell for less, you have a capital loss. Both affect your taxes. Short-term gains (stocks held less than a year) are taxed as ordinary income. Long-term gains (stocks held a year or more) usually get a lower tax rate.
Robinhood tracks all your trades and sends you a form called a 1099-B at the end of the year if you sold anything. This form shows the date you bought, the date you sold, the price you paid, and the price you sold at. You use this to fill out your tax return. Robinhood also has a tax center in the app where you can see your gains and losses throughout the year.
If you sold at a loss, you can use that loss to offset gains from other investments, which can lower your tax bill. Keep records of all your trades, especially the dates and prices, because the IRS may ask for them.
Selling fractional shares and penny stocks
Robinhood lets you buy and sell fractional shares — meaning you can own 0.5 shares of a stock, not just whole numbers. When you sell, you can sell fractional shares the same way you sell whole shares. Just enter the number (like 2.75) in the share quantity field, and the app will calculate your proceeds.
Penny stocks — stocks that trade for less than $5 per share — can be sold on Robinhood, but they often have wider bid-ask spreads, meaning the price you receive might be noticeably lower than the last price you saw. This is because penny stocks trade less frequently and have fewer buyers. Always review the bid price before you confirm a penny stock sale.
What to do if your sale does not go through
If you place a sell order after 4 p.m. on a weekday or during the weekend, it will not execute until the market opens the next trading day. You will see the order in your "Orders" tab with a status of "Pending." If the market opens and the stock price has moved significantly, your order might not fill at the price you expected.
If you want to cancel a pending order, go to the Orders tab, find the order, and tap "Cancel." The order will be removed, and you can place a new one if you want. Once a sale executes during market hours, you cannot cancel it — the stock is sold and the cash is yours.
If you see an error message when you try to sell, it usually means one of three things: you do not own any shares of that stock, your account is restricted (often due to the day-trade rule), or there is a temporary technical issue. Check your portfolio to confirm you own the stock, and if you do, try again in a few minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell stock after the market closes?
You can place a sell order after 4 p.m., but it will not execute until the market opens the next trading day at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. The price you receive will be based on the opening price or the first price the stock trades at, not the price you saw when you placed the order.
What is the difference between the bid price and the last price?
The last price is what the stock traded at most recently. The bid price is what buyers are willing to pay right now. When you sell, you get the bid price, which is usually slightly lower. The difference is called the bid-ask spread, and it is wider for stocks that do not trade often.
Do I have to pay taxes on stock I sold at a loss?
No. A loss means you sold for less than you paid, so there is no gain to tax. You can actually use the loss to reduce taxes on other gains. Robinhood reports losses on your 1099-B form, and you can claim them on your tax return.
Why does Robinhood show two different cash balances?
One balance is settled cash (money that has completed the two-business-day settlement and is fully yours to withdraw). The other is unsettled cash (money from recent sales that is still settling). You can use both to buy stocks, but you can only withdraw settled cash to your bank.
Can I sell stock on weekends?
You can place a sell order on the weekend through the app, but it will not execute until the market opens Monday morning. The price you receive will be based on Monday's opening price, not the price you saw when you placed the order on Saturday or Sunday.