Day trade calls
Day trade calls can be tricky and inconvenient, so it’s good to know how to prevent them, and what to do if you find yourself in one.
You’ll get a day trade call if you exceed your day trade limit. Your specific day trade limit is based on a specific start of day value, which you can find by using the steps in the next section.
Your day trade limit will remain constant throughout the day.
Your day trade limit is set at the start of each trading day. It’s based on the amount of cash in your brokerage account and the maintenance requirements on the stocks that you hold overnight. In general, your day trade limit will be higher if you have more cash than stocks, or if you hold mostly stocks with low maintenance requirements.
To check your day trade limit in the app:
You can increase your day trade limit by depositing funds, but not by selling stock.
Remember, you can only get a day trade call if you’ve been flagged as a pattern day trader in the past 90 days and have exceeded your day trade limit.
To resolve a day trade call, you need to deposit the amount shown in the day trade call email, in the in-app card, and in your account menu.
You get 5 trading days from when the day call was issued to deposit the necessary amount and will be restricted from day trading during that time.
If you don’t resolve the day trade call by the due date, you’ll remain restricted from day trading for 90 days unless you resolve the call.
If a day trade call is past due, you’re still able to deposit funds to resolve the call at any point, but the 90-day restriction on day trading still applies.
You can withdraw what you deposited after the standard 5-day settlement period, but if you withdraw cash while in an active day trade call it will increase the call amount. If you day trade while in a day trade call, you’ll be prevented from purchasing anything for 90 calendar days.
Once you’ve resolved your day trade call, you can resume day trading on the very next trading day.