Whether closing at 25/50/75% actually beats holding — and the last day it still does.
The put you sold
Where you are now (optional)
Enter what it costs to buy the put back and how long you've held it, and this compares closing today against holding to expiration.
Take-profit targets
Held to expiration this pays $0.00 — 0.0% annualized on $0.00 of collateral. Closing early takes less money over fewer days, so the question is which rate is higher.
| Target | Buy back at | Profit | On capital | Beats holding if closed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | never |
| 50% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | never |
| 75% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | never |
| 90% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | never |
"Beats holding if closed by" is the last day the target still annualizes better than riding the put to expiration. Past it, the same profit has taken too long to be worth the early exit. Fees pull the deadline earlier, because a put left to expire worthless costs nothing to close. Never means round-trip fees have eaten the target entirely.
"Close at 50%" is repeated constantly and is only sometimes right. Holding earns the whole premium over the full term; closing early earns part of it over part of the term. Which is better depends on the rate, and the rate is what the wheel optimises — capital freed early goes back to work.
The same 50%, two different answers
Sell a $50 put for $120, 30 days out. Held to expiry that's 29.2% annualized.
Buy it back at $60 on day 10: $60 profit in 10 days = 43.8% annualized. Closing wins.
Buy it back at $60 on day 20: the same $60, but 21.9% annualized. Holding wins.
Break-even day for a 50% target on a 30-day put: day 15.
Fees pull every deadline earlier
A put left to expire worthless costs nothing to close, so an early exit pays a closing fee that holding never does. That makes the bar slightly higher than the naive comparison suggests — and when round-trip fees exceed a target entirely, the table says "never" rather than printing a day that doesn't exist.
Rate isn't the only consideration. Closing early also removes the risk of the final days, when a small move can swing a position from safe to assigned. That's a judgement the calculator can't make for you — see rolling for the related decision.
Rolling
Buying back and re-selling to buy time — and the honest test for whether it's helping.
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.
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