Hello,

I am wondering if someone knows how does Ameritrade applies rates on margin accounts where the position is closed the same day?
Should I divide the rate by 365 even if I am holding the position for minutes?

Also, does anyone know if the $25.000 minimum requirement for day trading means I must have 25K in my account and day trade with anything else I have in the account or I can also use those 25K to trade during the day as long as the account does not go below 25K?

Thanks a lot!

It's been a long time since I day traded on my TDA account, but my recollection is you still get it on short trades, but it's pretty negligible. I would inquire with them directly on the specific calculation if you think it will be an issue.

You have to have a minimum account balance of $25,000 and you can trade the entire balance, which IMO means you really need around $35,000, especially if you plan to max out at 4X leverage.

You can use that money to trade, but you need to have those $25k (cash) back in your account by the end of the day.

But as mentioned, you should start with a little more than that, even if you don't plan on using it all. Because a losing trade will drop you down below 25k, and you won't be able to trade until you add more money to your account.

The 25k limit does not apply to futures.

For anyone else who might be interested, this is the response from TDA, basically the same you told me

Quoting 

Interest is charged on the borrowed funds for the period of time that the loan is outstanding. TD Ameritrade does not charge margin interest during the three-business-day settlement period on stock trades. Any outstanding margin balance not resolved by settlement will be subject to standard margin interest rates. If the debit balance has been covered prior to settlement, no margin interest will accrue. A buy and sell on the same day will settle on the same day, thus covering any debit.