Investing Margin Funds Kite

Margin available, used and cash on the Kite funds page

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~4 min.

The Kite funds page is the canonical surface for monitoring trading account liquidity. It surfaces three core fields: margin available, margin used, and cash. Active F&O traders and intraday traders watch these throughout the session.

The three fields

FieldWhat it shows
Margin availableThe total margin you can deploy on new trades
Margin usedThe margin already locked against open positions
CashThe cash-equivalent component of your margin

Margin available

Margin available is the sum of:

  • Free cash in the trading account.
  • Pledged equity collateral (after haircut) usable for margin.
  • Pledged liquid fund collateral (after smaller haircut) usable for margin.

Less:

  • Margin used (locked against open positions).
  • Premium received on short option positions (counted into margin available in some Kite builds).

The exact formula varies by segment but the headline figure is what you would have available to place a new order.

Margin used

Margin used aggregates the SPAN + exposure margin held against your open F&O positions, plus any equity intraday margin held against open MIS positions, plus settlement margin on T1 holdings (rare, only if specific risk rules apply).

For F&O option sellers: the margin used can be substantial relative to the premium received.

Cash

The Cash field is the actual rupee balance in your trading account (excluding pledged collateral). SEBI’s framework requires at least 50% of the F&O margin to be in cash or cash-equivalent (T-bills, very short-term debt, certain liquid fund collateral classed as cash-equivalent).

If your portfolio is mostly pledged equity, the cash field tells you whether you meet the 50:50 cash component requirement. Failing this requirement incurs an interest charge on the shortfall.

Worked example

A user with:

  • Rs 1 lakh free cash.
  • Rs 5 lakh of NIFTYBEES pledged (after 10% haircut: Rs 4.5 lakh collateral value).
  • No open positions.

The funds page shows:

  • Cash: Rs 1,00,000.
  • Margin available: Rs 5,50,000 (cash + collateral value).
  • Margin used: Rs 0.

If the user opens a NIFTY short option position consuming Rs 2 lakh SPAN + exposure margin:

  • Margin used: Rs 2,00,000.
  • Margin available: Rs 3,50,000 (free margin remaining).
  • Cash: Rs 1,00,000 (unchanged unless premium credited).

To check 50:50: required cash component = 50% of Rs 2,00,000 = Rs 1,00,000. The user has Rs 1,00,000 cash. Just meets the requirement.

What happens when margin used exceeds available

If MTM losses erode margin available below margin used, you face a margin shortfall . Consequences:

  • SEBI / exchange penalty (0.5% to 1% of shortfall per day).
  • Risk of auto-square-off by Zerodha if shortfall persists.

To avoid: maintain a buffer in cash, or close positions before margin used eats into available.

Premium credit treatment

When you sell an option, the premium received is credited to your account. The treatment differs:

  • Indian exchanges (NSE / BSE) F&O: Premium credited; counts into cash margin (in most cases) and the underlying short option position requires SPAN + exposure margin separately.
  • Closing a short option: Premium paid (buy-back) debits your cash.

See Option premium credit on Kite funds for the full treatment.

Refreshing during the session

The funds page updates after every trade. For active traders, the page is frequently in a second browser tab so they can monitor margin usage in real time. The funds available figure is also surfaced on the order ticket just before order submission.

See also

External references

References

  1. SEBI, Cash collateral requirement for F&O, sebi.gov.in.
  2. NSE Clearing, SPAN margin computation, nseclearing.com.
  3. Zerodha Support, Funds page on Kite, support.zerodha.com.
  4. Zerodha margin policies, Cash and collateral split, zerodha.com.

Related articles

  • Dashboard and funds calculation flow on Kite

    The order in which Kite computes the funds-page values: starts from cash and pledged collateral, subtracts margin used, accounts for premium …

  • Margin on exit calculation on Kite

    How Kite calculates the margin released when you close an open position. Explains the SPAN recalculation, partial-close handling, and the …

  • Margin required on the Kite order window

    The margin-required field on the Kite order ticket shows the SPAN + exposure margin a trade will consume before you place it. Explains the …

  • Pay-in funds explained on Kite

    Pay-in is the process of adding funds to your Zerodha trading account. Explains the funding methods (UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS), settlement …

  • Positions P&L vs funds gains differences on Kite

    Why the P&L shown on the Kite Positions tab can differ from the gain reflected in the funds account balance. Covers settlement timing, …

  • 20-level market depth on Kite

    The 20-level market depth feature on Kite shows 20 bid and 20 ask levels of the NSE order book, expanding the default 5-level view. Explains …

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed
Conflicts of interest
WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.