Topstep Live Funded Account rules

How Topstep sizes, funds and limits a Live Funded Account, and how payouts work after the call-up.

Access: Call-up by Topstep only
Tradable at start: 20%, the rest in reserve
Loss floor: Balance above $1,000
Flat by: 3:10 p.m. CT

Rules checked on November 12, 2026 · Topstep's Live Funded Account rules · By helloweekends Editors

Topstep Live Funded Account rules start with how much you get to trade. Your account size is the average of your Express Funded Accounts (XFAs), rounded up to a tier. Your XFA balances transfer up to that size. Only 20% is tradable at first, with at least $10,000. The other 80% is a reserve that unlocks in four steps as you hit profit targets. The balance must stay above $1,000 and a daily loss limit (DLL) pauses trading.

The Live Funded Account (LFA) is the stage after the simulated XFA. You cannot buy it or apply for it: Topstep's Live team calls traders up at its discretion. Topstep says the traders it calls up average more than $40,000 in lifetime payouts first, and that all of them had taken a payout. For how the XFA works, see the Topstep rules; for a plain comparison of the two kinds of account, see simulated funded account.

Live Funded Account limits by size

Topstep lists five Live sizes. The profit target that unlocks each 25% of the reserve is the same as the Trading Combine target for that size.

Starting values. Source: Topstep help center (Live Funded Account Parameters, Dynamic Live Risk Expansion), checked November 12, 2026.
Live size	Minimum tradable at start	Profit to unlock each reserve step	Starting DLL	Starting max position
$25K	$5,000	$2,000	$1,000	3
$50K	$10,000	$3,000	$2,000	5
$100K	$10,000	$6,000	$3,000	10
$150K	$10,000	$9,000	$4,500	15
$250K	$10,000	$15,000	$5,000	15

How your Live size and starting balance are set

Account size. Topstep averages the funded tier of every active, eligible XFA that has had at least one payout ($50K, $100K or $150K, not the current balance) and rounds up to the next tier. If none of your XFAs has paid out yet, all of them are averaged. Topstep Labs accounts count in this average too. Topstep's own example: two 50K XFAs, one 100K and one 150K average $87.5K, which rounds up to a $100K Live account.
Cumulative balance. The balances of those XFAs are added together. XFAs start at $0, so this is the profit you have built up. Only up to the account size transfers; anything above it is forfeited.
Split. 20% of what transfers is tradable on day one, with a minimum of $10,000 ($5,000 on a $25K Live account). 80% is held in reserve.
Unlocks. Each time you make the profit target for your size, net since the last unlock, 25% of the reserve is released. One big day cannot release two steps. Topstep measures net profit after Friday's close, reviews it on Monday and usually applies the release by Tuesday. Unlocks can be delayed or refused for reckless risk.

When the call-up comes, all of your XFAs close. You can hold one Live account at a time, and setting it up takes 7 to 10 business days. You cannot decline and keep trading the XFA: the choice is to move to Live or close the XFA.

Worked example: a $150K Live account

Say you hold three 150K XFAs, each has paid out, and each has a $20,000 balance. The average tier is $150K, so the Live size is $150K. The cumulative balance is $60,000, which is under the $150K cap, so all of it transfers.

Illustrative arithmetic from Topstep's published rules, before payouts, profits and losses. Each step needs $9,000 of net profit since the last unlock.
Stage	Released	Tradable capital from Topstep	Still in reserve
Call-up	20% of $60,000	$12,000	$48,000
1st unlock	$12,000	$24,000	$36,000
2nd unlock	$12,000	$36,000	$24,000
3rd unlock	$12,000	$48,000	$12,000
4th unlock	$12,000	$60,000	$0

With the review cycle running weekly, the four unlocks take at least four weeks, which matches Topstep's own "as few as 4 weeks". If the same trader had one 50K XFA with a $30,000 balance instead, the size would be $50K, 20% would be $6,000, and Topstep would add funds to reach the $10,000 minimum.

Loss limits in the Live account

Maximum loss limit: $1,000. The balance must stay above $1,000. If it falls below, the account can be liquidated and closed at the end of the day. What is left is sent to you as a final payout, and the locked reserve is forfeited. Example: a balance of $800 is liquidated and the $800 is paid out.
Daily loss limit. Mandatory in Live, unlike the Trading Combine and XFA. Hitting it flattens your positions, cancels orders and locks you out until the next session at 5:00 p.m. CT. It is a pause, not a rule violation. See the daily loss limit explainer for how firms compare.
Safeguard on a small balance. At a tradable balance of $10,000 or less, the DLL drops to $2,000 and the position limit to 5 contracts. At $5,000 or less, the DLL is $1,000 and the limit 3. These levels update on Fridays and return to normal once the balance recovers.
Flat by 3:10 p.m. CT (4:10 p.m. ET) or the product's own close, whichever is sooner. Topstep flattens open positions about ten seconds before 3:10 p.m. CT. Holiday hours have their own flattening times.

Daily loss limit and position size as you grow

Topstep raises the DLL in tiers based on profit made in the Live account only. XFA balances and payouts do not count toward a tier. You must spend 10 active trading days in a tier before its higher DLL applies, an active day being any day with at least one trade. If profit falls back below a tier, the DLL drops the same day.

DLL after 10 active trading days in each tier. Source: Topstep help center (Dynamic Live Risk Expansion), checked November 12, 2026.
Live size	Start	$15K profit	$20K profit	$50K profit
$25K	$1,000	$1,500	$2,000	$2,500
$50K	$2,000	$2,500	$3,000	$3,500
$100K	$3,000	$3,500	$4,000	$4,500
$150K	$4,500	$5,000	$5,500	$6,000

Position limits stay at the starting maximum until $100,000 of Live profit, when you can ask Topstep's Trade Desk for more contracts. These increases are at the Live team's discretion.

Live payout rules

First 30 winning days: one payout after every 5 winning days of $150 or more in net P&L. Winning days from the XFA do not count. Each request can be up to 50%, with no dollar cap.
After 30 winning days in Live: one payout per business day, up to 100% of your unlocked balance, minimum $125.
Split: 90/10, the same as the XFA.
Reserve: you can take payouts before the reserve is fully unlocked, but only from the unlocked balance.
Overall limit: Topstep keeps total payouts at or below 90% of the starting balance plus net trading profits, and may deduct to stay within it.
Closing by payout: a 100% payout takes the balance to the loss limit and closes the account.
While it processes: Topstep asks Live traders to pause trading until the payout has been deducted.

Topstep's two pages word the 50% limit differently. The Payout Policy says up to 50% of your account balance; the Live Funded Account rules say 50% of your share of trading profits until 30 benchmark days. Read both before a large request. Methods, fees and XFA caps are on the Topstep payout rules page.

What else changes in Live

No automation. Topstep's API Gateway works only in the simulated environment, so automated strategies cannot run in the LFA.
Inactivity. A Live account with no trades for more than 30 days may be closed, and it cannot be put on hold. Compare other firms on the inactivity rule page.
Combines but no new XFA. You can trade Trading Combines while you hold an LFA, but you cannot activate a passed Combine into an XFA until the LFA is gone.
Market data. Data fees are not prorated for holiday months. To skip a month's data fee when you will not trade at all, Topstep asks you to email it before the 26th of the month before.
Monthly bonus. Topstep runs a performance bonus program for Live traders, the Topstep Octagon, paid into the LFA and based on net P&L for each calendar month. It is separate from payouts and unlocks.

The call-down: Shoulder Tap

Topstep can move a Live trader back to a simulated account without warning. It says it looks for patterns, not a single bad day: repeated DLL hits, oversized or revenge trades, large swings in position size or a large drawdown of the capital it put in. You then get one Shoulder Tap XFA, with a balance equal to your remaining Live capital, under the standard XFA rules and payout policy. Back2Funded is available on it.

If Topstep calls you back up, you return to the same Live account with the balance you had when you were called down, and the reserve still unlocks at the same targets. If the Shoulder Tap XFA reaches $0, the remaining reserve is forfeited. If you lose a Live account, you start again with a new Trading Combine.

Recent changes

July 1, 2026: Topstep's Live Funded Account rules were last updated.
As of November 12, 2026: the parameters page lists $25K and $250K Live sizes beside $50K, $100K and $150K, and says Topstep Labs accounts are averaged into your Live size.

See the rule change log for logged changes across firms.

Know the riskMost people who buy a Trading Combine never reach an XFA payout, and far fewer are called up to Live. A Live account trades real money and can be closed or called down at the firm's discretion. Not investment advice.

Questions

How much do you start with in a Topstep Live Funded Account?

20% of your combined XFA balance, capped at your Live account size, with a minimum of $10,000 ($5,000 on a $25K account). The other 80% is a reserve released in four 25% steps as you hit profit targets.

What is the maximum loss limit in Topstep's Live account?

$1,000. The balance must stay above it. Below $1,000 the account can be liquidated and closed at the end of the day, the rest is paid out to you and the locked reserve is forfeited.

Does the Topstep Live account have a daily loss limit?

Yes, and it is mandatory: $1,000 to $5,000 by size at the start, rising in tiers with Live profit. Hitting it pauses trading until the next session and is not a violation.

How do payouts work in Topstep's Live Funded Account?

One request every 5 winning days of $150 or more, up to 50% and with no dollar cap. After 30 winning days in Live you can request daily, up to all of your unlocked balance, minimum $125. The split is 90/10.

Can you turn down a Topstep Live call-up?

No. Once Topstep decides to call you up, you either move to Live or close your Express Funded Accounts.

How long can a Topstep Live account sit inactive?

A Live account with no trading for more than 30 days may be closed, and it cannot be put on hold.

What happens if Topstep calls you down from Live?

You get one Shoulder Tap XFA with your remaining Live capital and standard XFA rules. If you are called back up you continue with the same Live balance; if the Shoulder Tap XFA reaches $0, the remaining reserve is forfeited.

Sources

All checked on November 12, 2026.