F&O bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25K cr txn costs

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Key points

• Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Cost, Axis Bank Share Rate, HDFC Bank Share Cost, Infosys Share Rate, Wipro Share Cost, NTPC Share Rate.
• Active individual traders declined regarding 20% to 78.6 lakh in FY26 from 98.1 lakh in FY25.
• While almost 88% incurred losses, retail traders paid around Rs 25, 000 crore in F&O transaction costs during FY26.
• F&O trading bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25, 000 crore transaction costs in FY26 despite major losses.
• SEBI F&O studyretail tradersF&O transaction costsRs 91685 crore lossesretail investor lossesequity derivativesSecurities and Exchange Board of India.

F&O trading bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25, 000 crore transaction costs in FY26 despite major losses. ETMarkets.comLast Updated: Aug 20, 2026, 09: 25: 00 PM IST.

While almost 88% incurred losses, retail traders paid around Rs 25, 000 crore in F&O transaction costs during FY26. Aggregate losses reached Rs 91, 685 crore, with options accounting for 92%. While near-expiry trading remained highly concentrated, active traders fell sharply.

Retail traders paid around Rs 25, 000 crore in transaction costs while trading equity derivatives in FY26, even as most of them continued to lose funds, according to a new Sebi study. The market regulator's study indicated that almost 88% of individual traders in the equity derivatives segment incurred losses during FY26. Aggregate net losses of individual traders stood at regarding Rs 91, 685 crore, down from Rs 1.12 lakh crore in FY25. But the fall in total losses came alongside a drop in the number of active traders.

Active individual traders declined regarding 20% to 78.6 lakh in FY26 from 98.1 lakh in FY25. New entrants fell regarding 40%, showing that retail participation in futures and options cooled during the year. Still, the average loss per trader rose marginally to regarding Rs 1.17 lakh in FY26. The transaction cost number gives another view of the pressure on small traders. Sebi remarked individual traders paid around Rs 25, 000 crore in transaction costs in FY26. Over FY22-FY26, cumulative transaction costs paid by individuals stood at regarding Rs 1 lakh crore.: Rs 91, 685 crore gone! 88% retail investors lost funds in F&O trading in FY26 even after strict Sebi rules Live Events.

These costs include charges that traders bear while entering and exiting positions. In a market where plenty of retail traders produce repeated short-term trades, even small costs can add up rapidly. Sebi remarked derivatives premium turnover moderated in FY26, but total transaction costs remained broadly unchanged as of the growth in Securities Transaction Tax from October 1, 2024. This means lower trading activity did not translate into a similar fall in costs for individual traders. For loss-making traders, transaction costs created the outcome worse. Options trading remained the main source of retail losses. Sebi remarked around 92% of aggregate losses incurred by individual traders came from options trading. The share of traders who traded in futures declined marginally to 6.6% from 6.7%. In practice, the study additionally demonstrated that trading remained concentrated near expiry, where contracts are cheaper and move sharply. Regarding 59% of index options turnover came from contracts expiring on the same day. Around 75% came from contracts expiring within one day, and 97% came from contracts expiring within one week. This concentration is significant as same-day and near-expiry options attract traders looking for quick gains with small capital. But these products can lose value fast. Frequent entry and exit additionally raise the cost burden. Sebi's second study on trading behaviour discovered that almost 97% of individual traders mainly followed option-buying strategies. Only around 2% were classified as mainly options sellers. Options sellers were the only strategy group to record positive median returns on capital employed in FY26. The data additionally demonstrated that small investors were hit harder. While almost 78% had equity portfolios below Rs 1 lakh, regarding 35% of individual derivatives traders had no equity holdings. Traders with equity portfolios below Rs 1 lakh accounted for regarding 70% of aggregate losses, despite contributing only concerning half of turnover.

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Taken together, the developments around f& O bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25K cr txn costs point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.