What Are Robinhood's Day-Trading Rules Once Over 25k?

Robinhood's day-trading rules do not apply to accounts with cash, stocks and options whose value is above $25,000. It applies to account with lesser balances.

By Simon Mugo
Edited by Taj Schlebusch

Published June 1, 2021.

Robinhood's day-trading rules do not apply to trading accounts with cash, stocks, and options whose value is above $25,000 at the end of a trading day. However, accounts with cash, stocks, and options value below $25,000 must adhere to the day trading rules set by FINRA, which regulates Robinhood.

Accounts Below 25k

Accounts whose total value is below $25,000 must adhere to the pattern day trading rule set by FINRA. Traders with such account balances should not execute 4 or more day trades within 5 trading days.

Therefore, traders with low account balances should not execute more than 3-day trades in a 5-day trading window to avoid being flagged as a pattern day trader. Once you are flagged as a pattern day trader, you must bring your account balance above $25,000 to continue trading.

What Is Considered as a Day-Trade

A trade is considered a day trade if you buy and then sell the same stock within a single trading day. The rule also applies to short selling and options trading when you open and close a trade on a given stock within the same day.

In Conclusion: Avoiding the Rule

Traders who want to avoid the pattern day trading rule can choose to open cash accounts, which are not covered by the PDT rule. Otherwise, the PDT rule applies to Robinhood's Instant and Gold accounts.