# MTF Trading: key facts and guides Plain-text version of https://mtftrading.in. Not investment advice. Cite the page and the date of the figure. Market data: mtf.trading, from NSE/BSE disclosures, CC BY-SA 4.0. ## India's MTF book As of 2 Nov 2026: - Total book (NSE + BSE): ₹1,52,392 crore - NSE: ₹1,45,033 crore. BSE: ₹7,358 crore. - Change on the previous trading day (30 Oct 2026): ₹882 crore - Bought that day: ₹6,081 crore. Sold or repaid: ₹5,392 crore. - Stocks with MTF positions: 2,236 on NSE, 1,935 on BSE - Highest so far: ₹1,58,716 crore on 30 Sep 2026 - Stocks eligible for MTF, 2026-11: 2,373 on NSE, 2,344 on BSE, 2,502 different stocks Source page: https://mtftrading.in/market ## Brokers Listed in the site's fixed order, not ranked. Interest is only part of the cost: see https://mtftrading.in/compare. ### Zerodha Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/zerodha Interest: 0.04% a day Brokerage: 0.3% or ₹20 per executed order, whichever is lower Leverage: up to 5x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://zerodha.com/charges (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Groww Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/groww Interest: 14.95% a year Brokerage: 0.1% of order value per order Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: Not published Interest source: https://groww.in/pricing (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Dhan Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/dhan Interest: 12.49% a year up to ₹5,00,000; 13.49% a year up to ₹10,00,000; 14.49% a year up to ₹25,00,000; 15.49% a year up to ₹5,00,00,000 Brokerage: ₹20 or 0.03% of trade value per executed order, whichever is lower Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,700+ Interest source: https://dhan.co/margin-trading-facility/ (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Angel One Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/angel-one Interest: 0.041% a day Brokerage: 0.1% or ₹20 per order, whichever is lower (minimum ₹2) Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: Not published Interest source: https://www.angelone.in/exchange-transaction-charges (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Upstox Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/upstox Interest: 0.05% a day Brokerage: ₹20 per executed order (regular equity brokerage); MTF charges are over and above Leverage: up to 5x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://upstox.com/brokerage-charges/ (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Kotak Neo Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/kotak-neo Interest: 9.69% a year Brokerage: 0.10% equity delivery (Trade Free Pro) Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://www.kotakneo.com/pricing/ (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### ICICI Direct Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/icici-direct Interest: 17.99% a year Brokerage: 0.29% delivery (default plan) Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://www.icicidirect.com/mtf (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Paytm Money Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/paytm-money Interest: 7.99% a year up to ₹1,00,000; 11.99% a year up to ₹3,00,00,000; 10.99% a year Brokerage: 0.1% of trade value or current brokerage, whichever is higher Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,200+ Interest source: https://www.paytmmoney.com/stocks/pricing (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### HDFC Sky Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/hdfc-sky Interest: 12% a year Brokerage: ₹20 per executed order or 2.5%, whichever is lower (equity cash) Leverage: up to 5x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://hdfcsky.com/pricing/margin-trading-charges (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### m.Stock Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/mstock Interest: 8.99% a year Brokerage: ₹10 per order Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,100+ Interest source: https://www.mstock.com/pricing (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Fyers Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/fyers Interest: 16.49% a year up to ₹1,00,000; 15.49% a year up to ₹10,00,000; 14.49% a year up to ₹25,00,000; 12.49% a year Brokerage: ₹20 or 0.3% per executed order, whichever is lower Leverage: Not published Stocks: Not published Interest source: https://fyers.in/charges-list/ (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### SBI Securities Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/sbi-securities Interest: 0.04% a day Brokerage: 0.40% to 0.50% of trade value, by plan (E-Margin) Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: Not published Interest source: https://www.sbisecurities.in/products/mtf-margin-trading-facility (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### 5paisa Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/5paisa Interest: 14.99% a year up to ₹1,00,00,000; 13.99% a year up to ₹25,00,00,000 Brokerage: ₹20 per executed order (equity delivery) Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,500+ Interest source: https://www.5paisa.com/investment-products/margin-trading-facility-mtf (checked 2 Nov 2026) ### Motilal Oswal Page: https://mtftrading.in/brokers/motilal-oswal Interest: 15% a year Brokerage: Not published Leverage: up to 4x Stocks: 1,000+ Interest source: https://www.motilaloswal.com/margin-trading-facility (checked 2 Nov 2026) ## Guides ### Is MTF ever worth it? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/is-mtf-worth-it Q: Is MTF ever worth it? A: Only if the share rises by more than the cost of the loan, soon enough, and you can handle a margin call if it falls instead. Q: How much must a share rise to cover the cost? A: In this example, about 1.0% in 30 days and 5.5% in 180. Below that, you lose money even though the share went up. Q: How does it compare with using only your own money? A: If the share rises 5% in 30 days, ₹33,333 of your own money makes ₹1,667. With MTF it makes ₹5,369 after costs. Q: When can MTF make sense? A: When you expect a move within days or weeks that is clearly bigger than the cost, and you have spare cash for a margin call. Q: When is it a poor fit? A: For long holding, for short-term bets with no clear exit, and for adding to a stock that has already fallen. Q: What is the simpler option? A: Buy fewer shares with your own money. ### What is a margin call in MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/margin-call Q: What is a margin call in MTF? A: When a share price falls, your broker can ask you to add money or shares. If you don’t, it can sell your shares, often at a bad price. Q: What is a margin call? A: It is your broker telling you that your share of the trade has fallen below the required level, and that you need to add money or shares. Q: What happens if you don’t add money? A: The broker can sell your shares to get its money back. This is called a square-off, and you don’t choose the price. Q: Why does it happen at the worst time? A: Margin calls come when prices are falling, and that is when many other people are being sold out too. Q: How can you meet a margin call? A: Add cash, add Group I shares or equity ETFs you already own (valued after a cut), or sell part of the position yourself. Q: Is pledging more shares a safe way out? A: It can buy time, but it puts more of your holdings at risk if the market keeps falling. Q: How do you lower the chance of one? A: Use less than the maximum funding, keep spare cash aside, and decide in advance where you will sell. ### What should you check before using MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-checklist Q: What should you check before using MTF? A: Know your all-in cost, set a rupee limit, keep spare cash for a margin call, and decide where you’ll sell before you buy. Q: What should you check before you buy? A: Your all-in cost, the rise you need to break even, and where you will sell if you’re wrong. Q: How much should you use? A: Set a rupee limit in advance and don’t raise it during a trade. How much is your decision, and there’s no official number. Q: Are you ready for a margin call? A: You should know what your broker does, have spare cash set aside, and already know whether you would add money or sell. Q: What should you watch while you hold? A: Your MTF ledger, your pledged shares and the interest charged so far. Q: What about stop-losses? A: They matter more with borrowed money, but they don’t promise the exact price you set. Q: If you’ve taken a big loss, what then? A: Stop using borrowed money for a while. Rebuild with your own, smaller positions before you think about MTF again. ### Which stocks are eligible for MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-eligible-stocks Q: Which stocks are eligible for MTF? A: Only Group I stocks and equity ETFs: the most traded ones. For Nov 2026, that is 2,502 different stocks across NSE and BSE, and each broker picks its own list from them. Q: Why only Group I stocks? A: These are the most traded stocks, so they are easier for a broker to sell if it needs its money back. Q: How many stocks does each broker offer? A: Each broker sets its own list, so a stock on the exchange’s list may not be available at yours. Q: How often does the list change? A: Every month. For Nov 2026, 64 stocks joined the exchanges’ lists and 51 left. Q: What if your stock leaves the list while you hold it? A: Your broker’s policy decides. Ask it what happens to an open position, because the funding on that stock can change. Q: How do you check a stock? A: Look it up on our stock pages for the exchange list, then confirm in your broker’s app before you trade. ### What are the hidden costs of MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-hidden-costs Q: What are the hidden costs of MTF? A: Interest isn’t the whole bill. Brokerage, pledge, unpledge, DP charges and GST add about ₹98 in this example. Q: What do you pay on top of interest? A: Brokerage on the buy and the sell, a pledge fee, an unpledge fee, a DP charge when you sell, GST on those fees, and sometimes a paid plan. Q: What does each broker publish? A: These are the fixed fees each broker states on its own website. Some leave fees out, and the list is in our usual order, not ranked. Q: Why can brokerage matter more than the interest rate? A: A percentage brokerage grows with the size of the trade and is charged twice, once to buy and once to sell. Q: Are there fees if the broker sells your shares? A: Often, yes. Many brokers charge for orders they place themselves in a square-off, but not all publish a figure, so check your broker’s charges page. ### What does MTF interest add up to over a year? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-interest-over-a-year Q: What does MTF interest add up to over a year? A: 0.05% a day sounds small, but it is about 18.25% a year: ₹18,250 on every ₹1,00,000 you borrow. Q: What does 0.05% a day come to in a year? A: About 18.25%. Multiply the daily rate by 365. Q: Why does holding for a long time cost so much? A: At 0.05% a day, a year of interest on ₹1,00,000 is ₹18,250. The ₹1,33,333 of shares must rise about 13.7% just to cover it. Q: What rates do brokers actually charge? A: It varies by broker, by amount borrowed and sometimes by paid plan, so check for your own amount. Q: How is the interest worked out and charged? A: Daily, on the money the broker lent you, until you sell or repay. ### How is MTF interest charged? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-interest Q: How is MTF interest charged? A: Daily, on the money your broker lends you, until you sell. At 0.04% a day, borrowing ₹1,00,000 costs about ₹40 a day. Q: How do you turn a daily rate into a yearly one? A: Multiply by 365. 0.04% a day is about 14.6% a year. Q: Is interest charged on the whole trade? A: No. Only on the money the broker lends you, not on the part you paid yourself. Q: When does interest start and stop? A: It runs from around the day you buy until the day you sell or repay. The exact start day differs by broker. Q: Why do some brokers charge different rates for different amounts? A: Some set the rate by how much you borrow, and a few charge per block of money borrowed. Q: Is the interest rate the whole cost? A: No. Brokerage, pledge, unpledge, DP charges, GST and sometimes a plan fee come on top. Q: What do interest-free offers leave out? A: Only within their limits: usually a cap on the amount and a fixed number of days, and often only for your first trades. ### Can you lose more than you invested with MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-loss-math Q: Can you lose more than you invested with MTF? A: Yes. The broker’s loan must be repaid whatever the shares are worth, so a large fall can cost more than the money you put in. Q: Can you really lose more than you put in? A: Yes. The loan has to be repaid in full, so a large enough fall leaves you owing the broker money. Q: How far does a price have to fall to wipe you out? A: By the same share as you paid. Pay 25% and a 25% fall takes all of it. Pay 50% and it takes a 50% fall. Q: Won’t the broker sell before it gets that bad? A: It tries to, but a price can drop too quickly to sell at the level you’d expect. Q: How does interest change the sums? A: It makes every result worse. In this example, 30 days of interest takes another ₹1,200, whichever way the price moves. Q: How can you limit the damage in advance? A: Work out the most you are willing to lose in rupees first, then size the position from that, not from the maximum the app offers. ### Why is MTF risky? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-risks Q: Why is MTF risky? A: It multiplies your losses as well as your gains, charges interest every day, and lets the broker sell your shares if prices fall too far. Q: Why do small price falls hurt so much? A: Because your gain or loss is worked out on the whole position, not on the money you put in. With 4x, a 10% fall costs you 40% of your own money. Q: Can you just wait for the price to recover? A: Not always. If the price falls far enough, you must add money or the broker can sell your shares, even if the price recovers later. Q: Does waiting cost anything? A: Yes. Interest is charged every day, so a stock that goes nowhere still loses you money. Q: What has happened to MTF money in a crash? A: India’s total MTF book fell 57.3% between 26 Feb 2020 and 9 Apr 2020. Q: Why does MTF feel safer than it is? A: Apps call it extra buying power, but it is a loan. It has to be repaid whatever the shares do. Q: Who should stay away from MTF? A: Anyone new to the market, anyone using money they can’t afford to lose, and anyone with no spare cash to answer a margin call. ### What are the rules for MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-rules Q: What are the rules for MTF? A: Only the most traded stocks qualify, you pay a margin based on each stock’s risk, and the shares stay pledged to your broker. If the price falls, you top up or the broker sells. Q: Which stocks are allowed? A: Only equity shares and equity ETFs in “Group I”, the most traded and easiest to sell. Q: How much do you have to pay upfront? A: A margin set by the stock’s risk: VaR plus 3 times ELM for stocks traded in F&O, and VaR plus 5 times ELM for the rest. Q: What happens to the shares you buy? A: They come to your own demat account and are pledged to the broker automatically until you repay. Q: What happens if the price falls? A: You must top up the margin. If you don’t, the broker can sell your shares. Q: Can you sell the same day, convert to delivery, or hold for months? A: It depends on the broker, and most don’t publish all three. Here is what each one says on its own website. Q: Are there limits on how much a broker can lend? A: Yes. A broker’s total MTF lending is capped by its own money and borrowing, and no single client can take more than 10% of it. ### How is MTF taxed? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-tax Q: How is MTF taxed? A: Profits on shares bought with MTF are taxed like any listed shares: 20% if sold within 12 months, 12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh. Whether you can deduct the interest isn’t settled for most investors. Q: What tax do you pay on MTF profits? A: The same as on any listed shares: 20% if you held them 12 months or less, and 12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh in a year. Q: What about losses? A: A loss on MTF shares is treated the same way as a loss on shares bought with your own money. Q: Can you deduct the MTF interest you paid? A: For most investors this isn’t settled. The Income Tax Department’s guidance doesn’t say whether MTF interest can be added to the cost of your shares, so ask a CA before claiming it. Q: What should you keep for your tax return? A: Contract notes, the broker’s profit-and-loss statement, and its interest and charges statements for the year. ### MTF, delivery or F&O: which fits? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/mtf-vs-delivery-and-fno Q: MTF, delivery or F&O: which fits? A: Delivery is the simplest: you pay in full and there’s no running cost. MTF lets the same cash buy more shares but charges daily interest and magnifies losses. F&O gives leverage without owning shares, and most individuals lose money on it. Q: How are delivery, MTF and F&O different? A: With delivery you pay in full and own the shares. With MTF you own them but borrow part of the price. With F&O you own nothing; you bet on the price with a contract that expires. Q: When does MTF make more sense than paying in full? A: When you expect a move soon, the gain should beat the interest, and you can add money if the price dips. Q: How many people lose money on F&O? A: Most individual F&O traders lose money: SEBI found 87.7% did in FY26, and the average individual trader lost ₹1.17 lakh. ### How do pledging and haircuts work in MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/pledge-and-haircut Q: How do pledging and haircuts work in MTF? A: Your MTF shares stay in your demat but are pledged to the broker until you repay. Shares you offer as margin count for less than their market value: that cut is the haircut. Q: What does pledging mean here? A: The shares sit in your own demat account, but they are marked as security for the broker’s loan, so you can’t move them. Q: What is the funded amount? A: The part of the price the broker pays. It is the amount you are charged interest on. Q: What is a haircut? A: A cut taken from the value of shares you offer as margin, because their price could fall. Q: When do pledged shares become free again? A: When the loan is repaid, by selling the shares or, at brokers that allow it, paying the loan off yourself. Q: Is it risky to pledge more shares for more MTF? A: Yes. It stacks one loan on another, so a single market fall hits your margin and your position together. ### What is MTF? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/what-is-mtf Q: What is MTF? A: MTF (Margin Trading Facility) lets you buy shares by paying part of the price. Your broker lends you the rest, keeps the shares pledged, and charges interest every day until you sell. Q: How does MTF work, step by step? A: You pay part of the price, the broker pays the rest, and the shares are pledged to the broker until you sell or repay. Q: What does MTF cost beyond interest? A: Interest is most of it, but brokerage, pledge, unpledge and DP charges add more: about ₹98 on top of interest in the example above. Q: What can go wrong with MTF? A: Losses grow as fast as gains, interest runs even when the price doesn’t move, and the broker can sell your shares if the price falls too far. Q: Which stocks can you buy with MTF? A: Only “Group I” stocks and equity ETFs: the most traded, most liquid ones. Each broker then picks its own list from these. Q: Who is MTF for, and who should avoid it? A: It suits someone with a clear short-term view who can add money if the price falls. It doesn’t suit long holding or money you can’t afford to lose. ### Which brokers offer MTF in India? Page: https://mtftrading.in/learn/which-brokers-offer-mtf Q: Which brokers offer MTF in India? A: Most large Indian brokers do. We track 14: Zerodha, Groww, Dhan, Angel One, Upstox, Kotak Neo, ICICI Direct, Paytm Money, HDFC Sky, m.Stock, Fyers, SBI Securities, 5paisa, Motilal Oswal. Q: What does each broker offer? A: Here are the 14 brokers we track, with the rate for ₹1 lakh borrowed, the leverage they advertise and how many stocks they say they cover. Q: Why don’t all brokers offer the same stocks and funding? A: The exchange’s list and margin are the starting point. Each broker then decides what it will fund, and how much, within its own limits. Q: What should you compare? A: The all-in rupee cost for your amount and days, the stocks you actually want, and how the broker handles margin calls. Q: How big is each broker’s MTF book? A: Many brokers disclose it. It shows how much they have lent, not how good or cheap they are.