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Cash-Secured Put Calculator

Collateral, return on capital, annualized yield and breakeven for a put you're thinking about selling.

Trade details

Results

Capital required$0.00
Total premium$0.00
Net premium (after fees)$0.00
Return on capital0.0%
Annualized return0.0%
Breakeven price$0.00
% out of the money

How the numbers work

  • Collateral = strike × 100 × contracts. A $50 strike ties up $5,000 per contract, and it's tied up until the put closes.
  • Return on capital = net premium ÷ collateral. The honest denominator is the collateral, not the premium.
  • Annualized = return on capital × (365 ÷ days to expiration).
  • Breakeven = strike − premium per share. Below that, the position is losing money.

A 30-day put

Sell one $50 put for $1.20 with 30 days to expiration.

Collateral $5,000, premium $120.

Return on capital: $120 / $5,000 = 2.4%.

Annualized: 2.4% × (365/30) = 29.2%.

Breakeven: $50 − $1.20 = $48.80.

Annualized is a rate, not a forecast

29.2% assumes you repeat this trade every 30 days for a year at the same premium, which nobody does — capital sits idle between trades, volatility changes, and one assignment ties the collateral up for months. Use annualized to compare two trades against each other, not to project a year of returns.

The calculator says nothing about whether the trade is *wise*. That's a question about the stock, and it's covered in choosing stocks for the wheel — the short version is that unusually rich premium is usually the market pricing unusual risk.

Cash-Secured Puts

Getting paid to wait for a price you'd be happy to buy at — and what it costs when you're wrong.

Educational only

These figures come from the numbers you enter and standard options arithmetic. Nothing here is investment, financial, or tax advice, and a good-looking return says nothing about whether the underlying stock is a good idea.