How do I roll a 401(k) into a SoFi IRA, and what does SoFi charge?

By Kaz · Published 6 October 2026 · How this site checks figures

Summary

SoFi and Capitalize charge nothing to process a 401(k) rollover into a SoFi IRA, and the self-directed IRA has no opening or annual fee on SoFi's fee schedule last updated October 1, 2026. The charges are elsewhere: $100 for an outgoing ACAT transfer, an IRA closing fee of $100 that may apply when the balance drops below $100, and an inactivity fee of $25 per account for every six months without a login. A rollover paid in by check can also earn a 1% match, and SoFi takes the whole match back if the IRA leaves by ACAT transfer within five years of the deposit settling. You start the rollover in the SoFi app, either through Capitalize or by asking the old plan to mail a rollover check yourself.

What a SoFi IRA costs, by stage

Stage	Fee on SoFi's schedule (last updated October 1, 2026)
Opening a self-directed IRA	$0, with a $5 minimum to begin investing
Opening a robo-advisor IRA	$0, with a $50 minimum; 0.25% annual advisory fee
Processing the 401(k) rollover	$0 from SoFi and Capitalize, per SoFi's rollover page
Holding the IRA	$0 annual fee; $25 per account for every 6 months of login inactivity
Moving it out by ACAT	$100
Closing the IRA	$100, "may be assessed when the account's balance drops below $100"

The inactivity fee is the one that matters for a rollover IRA, because a lot of rollover IRAs are opened once and left alone. Example: an account nobody logs into for five years would collect ten six-month charges, $250 in all. SoFi's schedule says it may waive any of its fees "at its sole discretion"; it doesn't say it will. The fee is tied to logins, not to trades or deposits, so an account someone logs into at least once in each six-month period does not trigger it.

SoFi's rollover page also tells you to check with the old 401(k) provider "for any fees or costs associated with the rollover." Those come out of the old plan, not SoFi.

Starting the rollover in the app

SoFi's help article on rolling over with Capitalize lays out the path: Invest, then Trade and Transfer Assets, then Roll over 401(k)s, then the 401(k), 403(b) or 457 button. At that point you pick Capitalize or the self-submission instructions. With Capitalize, you confirm the types of money in the old account, choose the SoFi IRA it goes to (the app prompts you to open a Roth IRA if the old plan held Roth money and you don't have one), and are sent to Capitalize's site to give the old employer's name and the date you left. If you don't know where the old account is, you answer No and Capitalize looks for it. The last step is booking a call to confirm.

Self-submission is the older route: you call the old plan, it mails a rollover check, and SoFi's separate deposit-information article gives the payee and mailing address. Either way, SoFi accepts traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs, and money has to stay the same type; Roth goes to Roth.

The match, and how it is taken back

SoFi's IRA match terms pay 1% on rollovers from a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) "made by check deposit," for rollovers on or after August 26, 2026; ACAT transfers don't qualify. The match has to stay five years from the settlement date. Before choosing the Capitalize route, ask how the money will reach SoFi, since the match terms are written around a check deposit.

Leaving early is handled two ways, depending on how the money leaves. For a withdrawal, SoFi removes "a proportional amount of the Match," and the terms add that the proportion is "based on the breach in retention value, not retention period," so a balance that has grown past the deposit plus the match can absorb a withdrawal. For a transfer to another broker, the terms are blunter: "In the event of an ACAT transfer out, there will be an early withdrawal fee for the entire match amount." SoFi's help article on ACAT transfers says the same and adds that "a separate ACAT transfer-out fee will also apply."

Example: a $40,000 rollover earns a $400 match. Two years later you move the full IRA by ACAT. The cost is the $400 match plus the $100 transfer fee, and the $100 closing fee if SoFi charges it once the balance is below $100: $500 to $600, or 1.25% to 1.5% of the original $40,000. The transfer-out fees at ten brokers puts SoFi's $100 next to the others.

Self-directed or robo

Unlike Robinhood's, SoFi's match terms name both kinds of account: the self-directed SoFi Invest account and the robo SoFi Invest account run by SoFi Wealth. The robo account's 0.25% fee is $100 a year on $40,000. Over five years that's $500, more than the $400 match, before any growth. The robo-advisor IRA fees in dollars compares SoFi's 0.25% with six other services, and the match against a lower expense ratio shows the break-even years for a 1% match. To try your own balance, use the fee calculator.

The rollover steps and current terms are on SoFi's rollover IRA page.

Sources

Written by Kaz, an independent publisher.
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