Margin requirements bull call spread at expiry

[Rohan_K]

Assuming a stock’s spot is at 2100 and if i buy 2050 call and sell 2150 call 1 lot each. Margin would be something like under 1 lakh.

Now 2 days before expiry if the spot is 2120 then would I need to bring in more margin to hold the ITM call even if I plan to sell it just before expiry day i.e. I don’t want delivery of stock but cash settled.

[ShubhS9]

Yes, if your Long Option position is ITM, you’ll need additional margin and the exchange blocks physical delivery margin from expiry minus 4 days. You can refer to this support article for more information.

[Rohan_K]

Usually is the margin on expiry minus 4 days is double the normal dates for long ITM options?

Is there any calculator for margin calculation for expiry minus 4 days?

[ShubhS9]

@Rohan_K

Usually is the margin on expiry minus 4 days is double the normal dates for long ITM options?

The margin increases in phases.

@Rohan_K

Is there any calculator for margin calculation for expiry minus 4 days?

There’s no calculator, but here’s how the calculation works:

Why Margin for ITM Option Buying is huge ?

You can check the VAR, ELM and ADHOC margins on NSE website. Refer to this page for SBI stock. SBI’s VAR + ELM + ADHOC margin is 21.6%. So for contract value of 900,000 the applicable margin will be 194,580. On expiry minus 4 days you’ll need 10% of this margin if your Long Option position becomes ITM, so on and so fourth for other days.