Margin and leverage calculator

How this is calculated

No hidden model and nothing fitted to data. Every figure on this page comes out of these lines, applied to the numbers you typed.

position value   = price × units
initial margin   = position value × initial %
leverage         = position value ÷ initial margin
── Reg T long ────────────────────────────────
loan             = max( 0, position value − equity )
call price       = loan ÷ ( units × ( 1 − maint % ) )
── posted margin ─────────────────────────────
loss absorbed    = equity − maintenance margin
call price       = price ∓ ( loss absorbed ÷ units )

The other three

Frequently asked questions

How is margin calculated?

Initial margin is the position's total value multiplied by the initial margin rate your venue applies. A $100,000 position at a 50% rate ties up $50,000 of collateral. What differs between markets is not that formula but the rate, and whether the remainder is a loan from the broker or collateral posted against a derivative.

What is the difference between Reg T and posted margin?

Under Reg T the broker lends you the difference and the loan stays fixed while the position's value floats, so a call arrives when position equity falls below a maintenance fraction of current value. With posted margin — futures, F&O, forex — collateral sits with the broker and losses are drawn from account equity until it reaches the maintenance requirement. The two produce genuinely different call prices from the same inputs, and the calculator applies whichever matches the market you selected.

How far can price move before a margin call?

That depends on which model applies. For a Reg T long, the call price is the loan divided by units times one minus the maintenance rate. For a posted-margin position, the account absorbs the difference between its equity and the maintenance requirement, so divide that by the number of units to get the price move it covers. Both are shown as a price and as a percentage move.

Are the margin percentages accurate for my broker?

They are seeds, not authority, and every one of them is editable. Reg T's 50% initial and FINRA's 25% maintenance minimum are regulatory floors that most brokers exceed. Futures margin is set by the exchange as a fixed amount per contract and revised with volatility. Indian derivative margin is SPAN plus exposure, recomputed daily per underlying. Take the real figure from your broker and type it in.

Does this calculator work for Indian F&O margin?

It does the arithmetic, using the posted-margin model that Indian derivatives follow, but it does not compute SPAN. SPAN is a portfolio risk model recalculated daily by the exchange and it accounts for hedges across your positions. Enter the margin your broker's file quotes for the contract and the tool handles leverage, free capital and the distance to maintenance from there.

Why does a fully paid position show no margin call?

Because there isn't one. If nothing is borrowed and no collateral is posted against a derivative, there is no maintenance level to fall below — the floor is simply zero, and the most that can be lost is the amount paid. Showing a call price of zero would read as an imminent call, which is the opposite of what is true.