Margin Call Calculator
See how far your portfolio can fall before a margin call, how much you can safely borrow, and what your margin interest really costs. Free, no sign-up.
Your position
Estimate by asset type — verify your broker's actual requirement.
Drop before a margin call
Your portfolio can fall to about $21,429 before a margin call is triggered.
Equity
$35,000
70.0% of account
Margin-call price level
$21,429
Account value trigger
Borrowing headroom
$20,000
More you could borrow now
Margin utilization
42.9%
Of max at current prices
Annual interest
$1,950
$163 / month
Loan-to-value
30.0%
Borrowed vs account
Not financial advice. Estimates for educational use only; maintenance requirements, rates, and house rules vary by broker and security. Margin can lose you more than you invest. Verify everything with your broker before acting.
How a margin call works
When you borrow on margin, your broker requires your equity (account value minus your loan) to stay above a maintenance level — typically 25%–40% of the position's value. If the market falls far enough that your equity dips below that line, the broker issues a margin call: you must add cash or securities, or they sell your holdings, often at the worst possible time. This calculator finds the exact account value where that happens and how much cushion you have today.
How to avoid a margin call
- Keep your loan well below the maximum — a bigger cushion survives bigger drops.
- Favor lower-maintenance, less-volatile holdings if you borrow against them.
- Hold a cash buffer you can deposit quickly if markets fall.
- Watch utilization continuously — not just when the market is calm.
Frequently asked questions
What price triggers a margin call?
A call triggers when your equity falls below the maintenance requirement. With a loan of L and a maintenance fraction m, that happens once your account value drops to L ÷ (1 − m). This tool computes it for your numbers.
How much can I borrow on margin?
Initial (Reg T) rules generally let you borrow up to 50% of a marginable position's value. Day-to-day, the binding limit is the maintenance requirement — the "borrowing headroom" figure above shows how much more you could borrow at current prices.
Is using margin to live off dividends safe?
It can amplify both gains and losses, including losing more than you invested. The key is keeping a large cushion so a market drop can't force a sale. YieldLens monitors your margin health across brokers automatically so you see risk before it becomes a call.
Track your real margin health automatically
YieldLens monitors utilization, runs stress tests, and alerts you before a margin call — alongside your dividends, income forecasts, and FIRE plan.
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