Intraday leverage (MIS): margin, square-off times and charges

Intraday leverage lets you buy or short up to five times your cash in a stock, as long as you close the trade the same day. At most brokers the product is called MIS. You put up a margin of at least 20% of the trade, more for volatile stocks, and the broker closes any position still open near the end of the day. Since the closing auction started on 3 August 2026, that happens earlier for stocks that trade in F&O.

How much leverage you get

The exchange sets a minimum margin for each stock from its volatility, using two figures: VaR, an estimate of how far it could fall in a day, and ELM, an extra buffer. For intraday trades brokers ask for that margin and at least 20% of the trade value, so the most leverage on a stock is 5x. Zerodha's bulletin, for example, lists equity MIS at 5x, "20% of the trade value" adjusted for the stock's volatility.

Brokers can cut leverage on a stock during the day when markets move sharply, and some stocks get none. T2T stocks, for example, can't be traded intraday at all.

What 5x does to your money

Say you have ₹20,000 and use it to buy ₹1 lakh of a stock intraday at a 0.03% broker such as Zerodha or Dhan.

The figures include all charges, which come to about ₹83 on a ₹1 lakh round trip. Leverage multiplies every move by five, and the charges are taken on the full ₹1 lakh, not on your ₹20,000. A losing day of 1% moves on three trades takes away about a sixth of the account.

Size the position on its full value. If you risk 1% of your account on a trade, that is ₹200 on ₹20,000, whatever leverage the broker offers. The position size calculator works out how many shares that allows for your stop.

When brokers close your position

On 3 August 2026 NSE and BSE started a closing auction for stocks that trade in F&O on both exchanges. Normal trading in those stocks stops at 3:15 PM. No orders are accepted from 3:15 to 3:20, orders for the auction are taken from 3:20, and the auction sets the closing price by 3:35. Other stocks trade normally until 3:30.

Brokers close intraday positions in auction stocks before 3:15 PM, so you have less time than before.

The broker closes positions "at or after" these times, at market prices, and charges you for each order it places. A stop-loss order still open when trading in an auction stock stops at 3:15 is cancelled. Close the trade yourself before the cut-off, and the charge never applies.

If the broker's system fails to close a position, for example because the stock is stuck at its circuit limit, Zerodha treats it as a delivery position and you hold the shares into the next day.

Change coming on 7 December 2026

SEBI has changed the auction from 7 December 2026. Normal trading in every stock, auction stocks included, will run until 3:30 PM, and the auction will move to 3:30 to 3:40 PM. Brokers are expected to move their square-off times later as a result. This guide will be updated when they publish the new times.

Before you trade intraday on margin

• Decide your stop before you enter, and size the position on its full value, not on the margin.
• Count the charges against the move you expect. Intraday trading charges shows a ₹1 lakh round trip needs a move of about 0.08% to break even at a 0.03% broker.
• Find your broker's square-off time in its app or help pages. Some close positions in F&O stocks as early as 3:05 PM.
• Intraday profit is taxed at your slab rate, and losses can only be set off against intraday profit. Tax on intraday trading explains it.

Rules and charges are from Zerodha's square-off timings and closing auction explainer, Dhan's square-off timings and pricing, and Groww's pricing, checked on 27 October 2026. Brokers change square-off times at short notice, so check yours.