Express Funded Account: Payout Policy

Congratulations again and welcome to the big leagues! It’s time to talk about what every trader cares about most — paying yourself. You should always pay yourself after a few winning days, but don’t forget that trading isn’t a one-and-done activity. Pay yourself while also positioning yourself for the long haul.

What is the Payout Policy?

In the Express Funded Account, traders can request a payout of up to 50% of their account balance after accumulating five winning trading days per payout request. A winning trading day is counted when a day’s Net PNL is $100 or more.

Winning days are accumulated as a running total between payout requests, they do not need to be consecutive days. This means that after making a payout, a trader will complete five additional winning trading days before being eligible for their next payout. This is required for each payout request.

Additional Payout Information

• If a rule is broken in the account, a trader will receive their profits if they have reached at least five winning days. A winning trading day is counted when a day’s Net PNL is $100 or more.
• If a rule is broken in the account with profits but five winning days have not been reached, the profits will be surrendered and the trader will not receive a payout.
• If a rule is broken in the account and there are no profits the trader will not receive a payout.
• Inactivity or Voluntary Closure: If an account is closed due to 30 days of inactivity or a trader voluntarily requests to close their account, the trader will receive 50% of their profits if they have at least five winning days of $100 or more. If five winning days of $100 or more have not been reached, the profits will be surrendered and the trader will not receive a payout.
• Transfer to Live and Voluntary Closure: If a trader has been transferred to a live account and they voluntarily request to close their account they can receive a full payout once per trader if they have accumulated at least five winning days of $100 or more in the live account. If a trader has received a full payout previously, they will need to follow the standard payout policy.

Why?: Our funded level accounts are meant to be treated similarly to a personal brokerage account. The main difference is that Topstep covers all of the trading risks. With this in mind, you should look to manage and build your account as much as possible. You have worked hard to earn funding so it is important to focus on not giving that up.

How can I Request a Payout?

You can submit a request through this form in our app.

When a payout is requested and approved, we will remove the funds from the trader's account. Topstep will then start the process of sending the funds to the trader via their requested method. Payouts are generally dispersed to the trader within two (2) to five (5) business days.

We can process payouts using the following methods:

• ACH Wire: Bank wire is available for traders with a US-based bank account (the trader does not need to be a US resident). There is no transfer fee for ACH wires. The bank account must be in the trader's name.
• Standard Bank Wire: Bank wire is available for traders with banks based outside the US. Traders living outside the US must submit their bank information using the SWIFT format to ensure a successful transfer of funds. The standard wire is the quickest and most efficient method available to make payouts for traders outside the US. The bank account must be in the trader's name.

We are unable to process payouts via PayPal, and we cannot transfer funds from the Express Funded Account to a personal trading account held by the trader.

What is the Profit Split?

Traders will receive 100% of the profits from payouts, up to a total of $5,000. After the first $5,000 of funds have been received by the trader, the profit split will become 90/10, with the trader receiving 90% of payouts and Topstep retaining 10% of the requested payout. To be clear, this is per trader. If you take $5,000 and then lose your Express Funded Account, your next funded-level account payout will be 90/10 when you start back up again.

Once the payout request is processed, the Trailing Max Drawdown will be automatically set to the starting account balance (the trader cannot allow the account balance to reach or go below $0 after a payout).

What Happens When I Transfer to the Live Markets?

When Topstep determines that a trader has shown success in the Express Funded Account you will receive an email to transfer to a live account. At that time, the Express Funded Account will be closed in order to transfer the funds and open the live account.

The full balance of the Express Funded Account will be the starting balance of the subsequent live account. If you were eligible for a payout at the time of the Express Funded Account closure you can request a payout per the payout policy above. Otherwise, you will need to follow the Live Payout Policy in the live account.

The difference for this type of live account is that you will be eligible to receive your full account balance above $0 if a rule is broken in the account.

What Tax Form Should I Fill Out?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires we collect certain information before any money is paid by a company (TopstepTrader, LLC) to a vendor (Trader). Depending on their nationality, location, and business status, Funded Traders will either fill out a W-9, W8BEN, or W8BEN-E.

*If the IRS or other governing bodies specifically request reporting, we are obliged to provide
the information. This is rare.