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Margin / Capital Requirement Estimator
Illustrate cash funding and basic US equity-option strategy-margin formulas.
Use an estimate as an input to a funding review
For one cash-secured $60 put, gross exercise cash is $6,000. A $250 premium reduces the net economic outlay to $5,750 before costs, but does not change the strike payment. The broker’s method of reserving cash and recognizing the premium determines the displayed buying-power impact.
An uncovered put can have a lower initial requirement while retaining substantial downside risk. If a broker’s requirement rises from an illustrative $1,200 to $2,100, the extra $900 must be funded or exposure reduced under the account terms. Those numbers are a scenario, not a universal margin schedule.
Portfolio offsets, concentration, volatility and house policies can change the result. A matched spread’s bounded expiration loss is not necessarily the largest cash movement after one-leg assignment. Ask for an account-specific preview of both the intended position and the assigned-stock alternative.
The estimator cannot confirm approval, an intraday framework transition or a broker’s real-time liquidation policy. Review the dated margin guide and keep a reserve appropriate to the scenarios being evaluated rather than interpreting an estimated reserve as the maximum possible loss.
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Reviewed . Examples are illustrative; verify exact contract and broker terms.
References: FINRA Rule 4210; FINRA: intraday margin transition.
About this calculator
How to use this tool
Long options use the full premium cash cost here. Cash-Secured Puts reserve the full strike obligation. A same-expiration defined-risk Credit Spread uses width less credit, assuming equal quantities and no uncovered legs.
Uncovered US equity-option illustrations use premium plus the greater of 20% of spot minus OTM amount, or a 10% floor (spot for calls; strike for puts). This is a simplified strategy-margin illustration, not a broker buying-power quote.
Broker house rules, portfolio margin, concentrated positions, non-US contracts, index rules, long-dated options and account permissions can differ. Margin can rise and is not a maximum loss. A naked call has unlimited upside loss even with a finite deposit.
Worked example
At spot and put strike $100 with $3 premium, one uncovered equity put gives an illustrative $2,300 requirement at multiplier 100; fully securing assignment requires $10,000 before fees.
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Model references and conventions
365 calendar days per year. Continuous rates for theoretical pricing. All examples are illustrative.
