Topstep Funded Account Rules: XFA Loss Limits, 30-Day Inactivity, Payout Caps and Live Unlocks

An Express Funded Account (XFA) trades simulated money but pays real money.

That rule shapes all the other Topstep funded account rules. Topstep’s Express Funded Account parameters article calls the XFA a simulated account and says “Topstep pays you real money based on your simulated trading results.” Here are the other core rules from Topstep’s own pages:

• An XFA closes for good at its Maximum Loss Limit, which is $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 and rises with account size, per the Express Funded Account Rules.
• Its contract limit follows the Scaling Plan, so it tracks your balance.
• You choose a payout path, Standard or Consistency, when you activate.

How we evaluated: we read four Topstep pages in October 2026. The XFA rules page shows a last-updated date of June 26, 2025. The parameters article is dated August 5, 2026. The Live rules page shows July 1, 2026.

The program overview gives the payout timing.

The XFA is simulated but pays real money; Live is a single account released in stages

An XFA is the account Topstep gives you after you pass its evaluation. A Live Funded Account comes next. Topstep’s Live Funded Account Rules, last updated July 1, 2026, apply to “all activity in your Live Funded Account.” Four rules on that page shape it:

1. You hold one Live account at a time.
2. Its size tier is the average size of your XFAs that have had at least one payout, rounded up to $50K, $100K or $150K. The page’s example: 2×$50K + $100K + $150K averages $87.5K, which rounds to a $100K Live size.
3. Your Starting Balance is the “combined total balance of your eligible Express Funded Accounts,” capped at that tier’s maximum. 20% of it is available when you are called up.
4. The rest unlocks in 25% steps of the reserve balance, through performance milestones that match the targets in the Trading Combine (Topstep’s evaluation), until 100% is available. Expansion is reviewed no more than once per calendar week.

An XFA opens minutes after the fee, or at 5 PM CT Sunday after a Friday pass

The parameters article says the XFA is ready “Minutes after paying the Activation Fee.” The weekend is the exception: “If you pass on a Friday, your XFA won’t be available until markets reopen at 5 PM CT Sunday.”

The Scaling Plan sets your contract limit, and positions close by 3:10 PM CT or market close

The Express Funded Account Rules say: “Your contract limit is based on your account balance and follows the Scaling Plan.” In plain words, how many contracts you may hold depends on how much the account has grown. Because the limit is tied to the balance, a run of losses can lower it again.

The same page also sets a daily deadline: “All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT or by the product’s market close, whichever comes first.”

Who should skip: if your method holds positions overnight, this daily close rules out the XFA. Compare other firms in our prop-firm rules breakdowns instead.

Off TopstepX, a Daily Loss Limit applies on top of the Maximum Loss Limit

Each XFA starts at a $0 balance that “can go below $0 to accommodate your Max Loss Limit,” and hitting that limit closes the account permanently, per the XFA rules page. The limit trails: it “is based on your highest end-of-day balance and does not go down if you lose money the next day.” So a new end-of-day high can raise the floor, and a losing day never lowers it.

Once the limit rises to $0, “your account will lock at $0.”

The two pages differ on the Daily Loss Limit. The XFA rules page (June 26, 2025) says accounts on platforms other than TopstepX “are also subject to a Daily Loss Limit.” The parameters article (August 5, 2026) lists it as “Optional” under both payout paths, with no platform named; if you add one, “you must stay within the limits each day.” Confirm which applies to your account.

Fees and fill prices are part of every balance change, so it helps to measure your real trading costs from your last 20 trades before you plan around either limit.

30 days with no trades can close an XFA, it can’t be paused, and you can hold five

The parameters article is direct: “XFAs with no trading activity for more than 30 days may be closed. XFAs can’t be put on hold.” The XFA rules page lets you have up to 5 active XFAs at one time, a number it says “may change depending on your activity.”

The safe habit with several XFAs is to place a trade in each one within every 30 days. If you can’t, open fewer than the cap allows.

Payouts can arrive 3-5 days after unlocking, and both paths split 90/10

Topstep’s program page says “Payout timing can be 3-5 days after unlocking your Express Funded Account,” depending on the payout path you chose. That line does not define “unlocking.”

Here are the two paths, from the XFA rules page and the parameters article:

Payout path	Eligibility	Cap per payout*	Balance where 50% reaches the cap*	Split (you/Topstep)
Standard	5 winning days of $150 or more	50% of balance, up to $5,000	$5,000 ÷ 50% = $10,000	90/10
Consistency	3 days traded, 40% consistency target	50% of balance, up to $6,000	$6,000 ÷ 50% = $12,000	90/10

*Both caps carry the note “See the Payout Policy for Payout cap details by account size,” so yours may differ.

Below those balances, the 50% rule limits your payout, not the dollar cap. Example with made-up numbers: on a $4,000 balance, the largest Standard request is 50% × $4,000 = $2,000. Also note that counting winning days says nothing about how big the losing days were. Win rate versus win/loss ratio explains why those two numbers can tell different stories.

Three more payout rules:

1. An approved payout “is subtracted from your account balance,” so it can also lower your Scaling Plan step.
2. On Standard, after the first payout, “a Minimum Payout Balance must be met for subsequent payouts.”
3. On Consistency, your largest winning day ÷ your total net gain must stay at 40% or below, reset after each payout. Topstep’s example: $400 of a $1,000 total passes at 40%; $450 fails at 45%.

The biggest catch is that neither rulebook is fixed. The XFA rules page says Topstep can change it “with or without prior notice,” and adds: “It is your responsibility to review them regularly.” The Live page says Topstep “reserves the right to update these rules at any time, with or without notice.” Before each payout request, re-read the XFA rules page and the parameters article and compare their dates with the ones above.

Checklist: every step from activation fee to payout request, in order

1. Pay the Activation Fee. The XFA opens within minutes, or at 5 PM CT Sunday after a Friday pass (parameters article).
2. Choose Standard or Consistency at activation. That choice sets your payout requirements and cap (parameters article).
3. Count your accounts: 5 active XFAs at most, a cap Topstep says may change (XFA rules).
4. Before your first order, write down your trailing Maximum Loss Limit, which closes the account permanently and locks once it reaches $0, and your Scaling Plan contract limit (XFA rules).
5. Check your Daily Loss Limit: the XFA rules apply one off TopstepX, and the parameters article lists it as optional.
6. Close every position by 3:10 PM CT or the product’s market close, whichever comes first (XFA rules).
7. Watch each account’s 30-day window. More than 30 days with no trades may get it closed, and holds aren’t offered (parameters article).
8. Meet your path’s payout requirements. Payout timing “can be 3-5 days after unlocking your Express Funded Account” (program page).
9. Before each payout request, re-check the dates on both XFA pages. Once you are called up, the Live rules govern.

Next step: read more in Prop-firm rules on TradingRating, or check the figures in Futures prop firm rules and fees, checked daily.

FAQ

Can I pause an XFA while I travel? No. XFAs “can’t be put on hold,” so plan trips around the 30-day rule.

How big will my Live account be? Your XFAs’ average size sets the tier. Their combined balance, capped at that tier, sets the Starting Balance.

Which Topstep document wins in a conflict? For Live accounts, the Live Funded Account Rules say “these rules take precedence” over the Live Funded Account Agreement.

Not financial advice: this page explains Topstep’s published rules. It is general information, not trading or investment advice.

You can find more firm-by-firm breakdowns, each taken from the firm’s own pages, under prop-firm rules.