Topstep Payout Rules: Check the Cap and Split Before You Request

A $125 request needs a $250 balance behind it. Topstep payout rules limit each Express Funded Account (XFA) request to half the balance, or a $2,000-$6,000 cap by account size if lower. The XFA is the account you activate after passing the Trading Combine, Topstep’s entry test.

Topstep’s payout policy page, read 25 October 2026, sets two paths to a payout. Standard needs five winning days of $150 or more. Consistency needs three trading days with no day above 40% of the gain.

You keep 90% of each payout. Paid by ACH (a standard US bank transfer), a $125 request lands as $82.50 after the split and a $30 fee, which TradeCovex reports from Topstep’s ACH example. TradeCovex also reports that each payout resets the Maximum Loss Limit to $0, which leaves the remaining balance as your whole buffer.

Topstep pays from its own funds and can change or pause payouts, as HelloWeekends’ Topstep payout summary notes. Re-read the policy page before each request. The loss limits and inactivity rules behind it are covered in Topstep funded account rules for XFA and Live accounts.

The XFA Has Two Payout Paths: Five $150 Days or a 40% Best-Day Limit

Topstep’s policy page gives the XFA two routes to a payout. You pick one at activation and can’t switch later, per Topstep’s instant payouts page.

1. Standard: a payout opens after five winning days of $150 or more, per the policy page and HelloWeekends. After the first payout, the account must also be up at least $0.01 since the last payout, per FuturesHive.
2. Consistency: you need at least three trading days with one or more trades each. Your largest single day must also be 40% or less of the total gain in the payout window (the period since your last payout), per the policy page and FuturesHive.

Two figures follow from the arithmetic. Neither is a written rule:

• Standard floor: 5 days × $150 = at least $750 of winning-day gains before each payout.
• Consistency spread (example, round numbers): if the window gains $1,000, your best day can be $400 at most. Two such days give $800, so at least $200 has to come from a third positive day.

The winning-day count restarts after each payout, according to PropTradingVibes and TradeCovex.

XFA Requests Take Half the Balance or the Size Cap, Whichever Is Lower

Each request is capped at 50% of the balance or a dollar cap set by account size, whichever is lower. That’s per Topstep’s policy page and TradeCovex. So the $125 minimum needs $125 ÷ 50% = $250 of balance.

The caps below come from the policy page’s table headed “Payout caps by account size”, where you can check each row. The last two columns are 2 × cap, worked out here. Below those balances, the half-balance rule is the lower limit.

XFA size	Standard cap	Consistency cap	Balance where Standard cap binds	Balance where Consistency cap binds
$50K	$2,000	$3,000	$4,000	$6,000
$100K	$3,000	$4,000	$6,000	$8,000
$150K	$5,000	$6,000	$10,000	$12,000

The same page lists no dollar cap for Live Funded Account payouts, the stage after the XFA that it calls “the goal”. A limited-time offer that began 2 June 2026 doubles these caps for traders who add a Daily Loss Limit at Trading Combine checkout, per Topstep’s policy page and HelloWeekends.

A $125 ACH Request Leaves $82.50 After the Split and Fee

Under the standard 90/10 split, you keep 90% of each payout. That’s per Topstep’s policy page and TradeCovex. ACH and wire transfers each cost $30, per the third-party guides FuturesHive, TradeCovex and HelloWeekends.

Example: $125 × 90% = $112.50, and $112.50 − $30 = $82.50. On the smallest request, the fee takes about 27% of your share ($30 ÷ $112.50). On a $2,000 request it takes under 2% ($30 ÷ $1,800).

Traders who joined the new dashboard before 12 January 2026 keep 100% of their first $10,000 under a legacy rule, per Topstep’s policy page.

Every Payout Resets the Maximum Loss Limit to $0

The Maximum Loss Limit (MLL) is the balance floor the account must stay above. TradeCovex says every payout resets it to $0, and FuturesHive and PropTradingVibes report a permanent $0 setting after a payout. Whatever balance is left is then your only cushion, and a balance that reaches $0 means a closed account, per FuturesHive.

Example, round numbers: a $50K XFA holds a $3,000 balance. Half is $1,500, which is below the $2,000 Standard cap, so $1,500 is the most you can request. After that payout the balance is $1,500 and the floor is $0, so a $1,500 losing stretch closes the account.

The half-balance cap stops you from taking everything. It also means a maximum request halves the cushion every time.

Topstep’s own payout FAQ, quoted by FuturesHive, suggests waiting for an end-of-day balance of $2,000 on a $50K, $3,000 on a $100K or $4,500 on a $150K XFA. At those balances the MLL has already trailed up to $0.

Requests Follow the CME Week, and Speed Depends on the Method

You can request a payout during CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) market hours: Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, US Central Time, excluding holidays. That’s per Topstep’s policy page.

PropTradingVibes reports that Topstep quotes 1-3 business days for approval before the method starts, and Topstep’s instant payouts page says some payouts need extra review. Each method then sets its own speed:

• Prop-to-Brokerage (a payout into a brokerage account): US only, same day if requested by 12 PM CT, per HelloWeekends and TradeCovex.
• Aeropay (Topstep’s instant-payout partner, for US traders only): instant if your bank supports real-time transfers, otherwise it defaults to ACH, per Topstep’s instant payouts page.
• ACH: up to 1-3 business days, per the same page, plus the $30 fee.
• Wire/SWIFT (international bank transfer): the $30 fee applies.
• Wise (an international money-transfer service): now limited to China, Canada and the UK, 1-3 days, per PropTradingVibes.

Live Funded Account: 30 Winning Days Unlock Daily Requests

Until a Live Funded Account has 30 winning days, you can request up to half the balance every five winning days, per HelloWeekends. PropTradingVibes gives the same half-balance limit. After 30 winning days you can request daily, per Topstep’s policy page, with access to up to 100% of the account’s gains and no dollar cap.

Topstep Payout Checklist: 7 Items to Confirm Before Requesting

1. Path and days: Standard needs five days of $150 or more. Consistency needs three trading days with a trade and a best day at or under 40%. Source: Topstep policy, HelloWeekends and FuturesHive, read 25 Oct 2026.
2. Count since your last payout: only winning days after that payout count. Source: TradeCovex, read 25 Oct 2026.
3. Clock: it’s between Sunday 5 PM and Friday 5 PM CT, and not a holiday. Source: Topstep policy, read 25 Oct 2026.
4. Amount: at least $125, and no more than the lower of half your balance and your size cap. Source: Topstep policy, read 25 Oct 2026.
5. Cushion after the payout: balance minus request = your new distance to a $0 floor. Source: TradeCovex, read 25 Oct 2026.
6. Method: Wise only if you’re in China, Canada or the UK. ACH and wire cost $30. Source: PropTradingVibes, read 25 Oct 2026.
7. Aeropay speed: if you use Aeropay, pick a bank with real-time transfers, or expect 1-3 business days. Source: Topstep instant payouts, read 25 Oct 2026.

Verdict: Clear Published Caps, but Each Payout Thins the Cushion

• Verdict: clear, published payout rules that work best when you build a cushion before you withdraw.
• The flaw, and the fix: every payout resets the MLL to $0, so a maximum request halves your cushion. To keep more cushion, wait for the end-of-day levels above and request less than the cap.
• Strengths: a $125 minimum, two paths with different day tests, 90% kept, and request hours that match the CME week.
• Who should skip: a trader who wants a large payout soon after funding, since each XFA request stops at half the balance or the size cap. Compare how instant-funding futures prop firms pay instead. On Topstep itself, if one or two big days carry your month, pick Standard over Consistency, because the 40% test would hurt you, per TradeCovex.
• Who it suits: a trader whose end-of-day balance has reached $2,000 on a $50K, $3,000 on a $100K or $4,500 on a $150K XFA before the first request.

Next Step

Read Topstep funded account rules: XFA loss limits, 30-day inactivity and Live unlocks before your first request.

Related reading: Topstep Evaluation Rules.

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 request a payout on a Saturday? No. Requests reopen Sunday 5 PM CT, per Topstep’s policy page.

Why did an instant payout take three days? Either your bank doesn’t support real-time transfers, so the payout defaulted to ACH at up to 1-3 business days, or it needed extra review. Topstep’s instant payouts page names both.

Can Topstep change these rules? Yes. It can change or pause payouts, per HelloWeekends.

This page explains Topstep’s published payout rules. It isn’t financial or trading advice.