FINRA day trading rules adopt a new term "pattern day traders," which includes any margin customers that day trades 4 or more times in 5 business days, provided the number of day trades are more than 6% of the customer's total trading activity. Under the rules, a pattern day trader must maintain minimum equity of $25,000 on any day that the customer day trades. If the account falls below the $25,000 requirement, the account will not be permitted to day trade.The rules permit a pattern day trader to trade up to 4 times the maintenance margin excess in the account as of the last closing day. If a pattern day trader receives a day-trading margin call, he will have 5 business days to deposit funds to meet this call. Until the margin call is met, the account will be restricted to day-trading buying power of only 2 times maintenance margin excess. If the day-trading margin call is not met by the 5th business day, the account will be restricted on a cash trading basis for 90 days or until the call is met.

In addition, the rules require that any funds used to meet the day-trading minimum equity requirement or day-trading margin calls must remain in the account for two business days after the day when the deposit is required. The rules also prohibit the use of cross-guarantees to meet any of the day-trading margin requirements.

Click here to download FINRA Day Trading FAQ. Should you have any questions regarding these Day Trading rules, please contact the Customer Support Center at 1-888-882-8856 or 1-415-901-0322.