You passed the challenge. Account is funded. Now what?
Getting that first payout is the whole point, and yet it’s the part most traders understand the least going in. The profit split looks great on paper, the firm’s website says “fast payouts,” but then you get funded and realize there’s a whole maze of rules standing between your balance and your bank account. Minimum trading days, profit buffers, withdrawal windows, consistency requirements… it gets complicated fast.
Here’s what you actually need to know.
The Basic Idea: Profit Splits
At its core, a prop firm payout works like this: you trade their capital, you make money, they take a cut, you keep the rest.
The percentage you keep is called the profit split. Industry standard runs somewhere between 70% and 90% in favor of the trader, though some firms have started advertising 100% splits on initial payouts as a marketing hook (usually capped at a certain amount). If your profit split is 80/20 and you generate $2,500 in net profit, you get $2,000. Simple enough.
What’s not simple is everything that comes before the payout request button actually does something.
Step One: Getting Funded (The Part Everyone Focuses On)
Before any payout conversation even starts, you need to pass the evaluation. This is a 1-step, 2-step, or occasionally 3-step challenge where you hit a profit target without blowing drawdown limits. Most challenges require you to trade a minimum number of days too (usually 5-10), so you can’t just get lucky on one massive trade and skip to funded status.
Once funded, you’re now trading a “live” or simulated funded account depending on the firm’s model (I’ll come back to that distinction because it actually matters). From here, the payout clock starts.
The Rules That Actually Matter
Minimum trading days before your first payout
Almost every firm requires you to trade a certain number of days before you can request your first withdrawal. Apex, for example, requires 8-10 trading days on the funded account. MyFundedFutures on certain plans lets you request after just 5 winning days with at least $100 net profit per day. Some firms require 10 separate profitable trading days.
Why does this matter? Because a trader who makes $3,000 on day 1 and immediately withdraws is less valuable to the firm than one building a track record. The minimum days requirement filters out people who got lucky.
Profit buffers
Here’s something that catches a lot of traders off guard. Many firms, especially futures prop firms, require you to build up a profit buffer before anything becomes withdrawable.
The way it works: your funded account starts at, say, $50,000. The firm requires a buffer of $2,100 before you can pull anything out. So the first $2,100 you make just… sits there, protecting the firm’s risk. Once you clear that buffer, profits above it become eligible for withdrawal. Some firms let you withdraw up to 60% of profits while still in the buffer phase, which is a decent compromise.
This isn’t hidden most of the time, but traders still get surprised by it constantly. Read the payout policy before you start trading, not after you hit your first target.
Consistency rules
This one’s a whole article by itself, but the short version: some firms want to see that you didn’t make all your money in one or two massive days. The consistency requirement usually means no single trading day can account for more than 30-40% of your total profits. If you made $5,000 total but $3,000 of it came from one trade on one day, you might not qualify for a payout even though the account is profitable.
From what I’ve seen across the industry, the consistency rule catches more funded traders than almost any other payout requirement. It’s designed to make sure they’re funding disciplined traders, not people who got lucky once and are now riding that for a withdrawal.
Payout Frequency: When Can You Actually Request?
Firms handle this very differently.
Monthly payouts used to be the standard. You traded for a month, submitted a request, waited. Slow, but predictable. Some firms like Earn2Trade still process withdrawals weekly on a specific day (Wednesdays, with requests due by Friday at 2pm the prior week).
The newer trend is toward on-demand payouts, where you request whenever you’re eligible rather than waiting for a scheduled window. MyFundedFutures’ Rapid plan lets traders request payouts daily once the buffer and minimums are met. Take Profit Trader markets something similar, framing it as “when you make it on day one, you can take it on day one.”
Is daily payout access actually useful? Honestly, for most traders it probably doesn’t matter that much in practice. The bigger issue is whether they actually process it fast when you request, and whether there are surprise hoops to jump through.
How Fast Do They Actually Pay?
Processing time is where firms separate themselves. The range is dramatic.
Fast end of the spectrum: several futures prop firms now approve most payouts instantly or within hours. MyFundedFutures and Tradeify both get mentioned frequently in community reviews for quick processing. FunderPro reportedly averages around 8 hours. Traders on Reddit and Trustpilot regularly mention same-day or next-day payouts from these firms.
Slower end: FTMO requires a 14-day eligibility period before you can even request your first withdrawal. Earn2Trade’s Wednesday processing window means you could wait up to 8 days from submission to receipt depending on timing. Some offshore firms take longer and are less transparent about timelines.
The delay that matters most isn’t the processing time after approval, it’s the eligibility waiting period before you can even submit. A firm that says “24-hour processing” but requires 30 trading days before your first request isn’t actually faster than a firm that requires 10 days but takes 3 days to process.
Real talk: slow payouts are a legitimate red flag. Not a scam indicator by itself, but a sign the firm either has cash flow issues or is structuring things to keep your profits in play longer. Reputable, well-capitalized firms pay fast because they can.
How Do You Actually Receive the Money?
This varies a lot by firm and geography.
Bank wire / ACH is the traditional method. Slower (usually 2-5 business days after processing), but familiar and often free from the firm’s side. Bank fees may apply depending on your institution.
Cryptocurrency (USDT, USDC) has become the dominant payout method for many firms, especially those serving international traders. Transactions process near-instantly once the firm sends, fees are low, and you don’t need to wait on banking rails. Most firms use USDT on TRC20 or ERC20 networks, or USDC. Just double-check which network your wallet supports before submitting the address, because sending to the wrong network means lost funds.
PayPal, Wise, and RiseWorks show up as options at various firms. RiseWorks in particular has become popular with US-based prop firms as a payout processor.
One thing to verify before you even start a challenge: does the firm pay to your country? There are real geographic restrictions. Topstep, for instance, explicitly lists countries whose citizens are not eligible for payouts, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Some firms pay internationally but add fees or delays for non-US traders. Worth confirming before you pay an activation fee.
Simulated vs. Live Funded Accounts
This is something the prop firm industry doesn’t always make crystal clear, and it confuses a lot of new traders.
Many “funded” accounts are actually simulated accounts. You’re trading paper money, not real capital. But here’s the thing: it usually doesn’t matter. The firms that use this model (and it’s common in futures prop trading) still pay real cash based on your simulated account’s performance. The money coming out of your account is real even if the trading environment is technically a simulator.
Some firms do transition top-performing traders to live funded accounts after hitting certain thresholds. MyFundedFutures has a model where traders can progress toward live accounts. The distinction matters for things like slippage and execution quality, but for payout purposes, the sim vs. live distinction doesn’t change whether you get paid.
What Can Get Your Payout Denied
This is the stuff that matters most, and traders learn it the hard way.
Rule violations invalidate your payout. Doesn’t matter if you’re profitable. If you traded during a news event the firm prohibits, held overnight when that’s not allowed, exceeded your max daily loss even briefly, or violated the consistency rule, you’re likely forfeiting the payout and possibly the account. Some firms are strict about this; others do a manual review and give you the benefit of the doubt. Don’t assume.
KYC verification not completed. Every legitimate firm requires identity verification (Know Your Customer). If you haven’t submitted your ID documents and gotten verified before requesting a payout, you’re going to wait. Do this when you get funded, not when you’re ready to withdraw.
Open trades at time of request. Payouts are calculated on closed positions only. Unrealized profits from open trades don’t count. If you have a big open position when you submit a request, the payout will be based on what’s actually closed and realized.
Wrong payment details. Typos in a crypto wallet address, unsupported wallet network, bank account under a different name. These cause delays at minimum, and in the case of crypto, potentially permanent loss of funds. Triple-check everything.
Profit Buffers After Payout: How Max Loss Resets Work
This one trips up traders who are trying to manage long-term funded account sustainability.
When you take a payout, your max loss limit typically resets. So if you started at $50,000 with a $2,500 max loss limit, and you’ve grown your account to $52,500 and take a $2,500 payout, you’re back to exactly where you started in terms of buffer room. Topstep is explicit about this: if you request a payout before your Maximum Loss Limit reaches $0, the MLL resets to $0.
What this means practically: taking payouts too aggressively can leave you with almost no cushion. Traders who withdraw every dollar of profit above the buffer end up in fragile accounts where one bad day ends the funded status. Build some cushion before pulling profits. It’s less exciting short-term, but it’s what lets you actually keep the account.
Scaling Plans and How They Affect Payouts
Scaling is worth understanding even if you’re just starting out, because it’s directly tied to how much you can eventually earn.
The basic idea: you hit performance milestones (consistent profitability over a set number of months, for instance), and the firm bumps up your account size. Bigger account means bigger potential payout. Some firms scale from $50,000 up toward $200,000 or beyond if you keep performing. A few will go much higher for truly exceptional traders.
The profit split can change with scaling too. Some firms offer improving splits as you grow (starting at 80% and moving to 90% after hitting milestones), which compounds the benefit of staying consistent.
I’m always a bit skeptical of scaling plans that advertise massive account sizes with very few details on how to actually qualify. The legitimate ones have specific, achievable benchmarks. Vague scaling promises are a marketing tactic.
Taxes: The Part Nobody Wants to Think About
Payout income from prop firms is taxable. Full stop.
It doesn’t matter that you were trading someone else’s capital. When cash hits your account, that’s income. In the US, it’s typically treated as self-employment income, which means you’re responsible for self-employment taxes in addition to regular income tax. Quarterly estimated payments might be required if payouts are substantial.
The upside: trading-related expenses are often deductible. Platform subscriptions, data feeds, home office, educational materials. Keep records of everything.
This is genuinely an area where a CPA who understands trading and prop firm income structure is worth paying. A lot of traders figure this out for the first time during tax season and get an unpleasant surprise.
What to Look For Before Choosing a Firm
Here’s what actually matters when evaluating payout structures:
What’s the real first-payout timeline? Add the evaluation days plus minimum funded days plus processing time. A firm that says “instant payouts” but requires 30 funded trading days before eligibility isn’t actually fast.
Is the profit split transparent and consistent? Does it apply from day one, or is there a catch? Some firms offer 100% splits on first payout then drop to lower percentages. Others advertise high splits but have withdrawal fees that eat into the net take-home.
What are the withdrawal minimums? A lot of firms require $250-$500 minimum per request. Some have maximums per request too ($1,000 on certain MyFundedFutures plans, for example). If you’re planning to withdraw $150 in profit on week 2, that may not be possible.
What payment methods are available in your country? Crypto, wire, local payment processors, all vary by region. Don’t assume your preferred method is supported.
How does the community describe payout experiences? Trustpilot, Reddit, Twitter/X. Actual funded traders talking about their payout experience is worth more than any marketing page. Multiple complaints about long waits or denied payouts for vague reasons are a real warning sign.
The payout mechanics are honestly not that complicated once you understand the full picture. The confusion mostly comes from firms writing terms in ways that obscure the actual conditions, or traders skipping the fine print because they’re excited about the profit split percentage.
Know your minimum trading days. Understand your buffer. Verify your KYC early. Don’t over-withdraw to the point where you have no account cushion. And for anything tax-related, talk to a professional.
Getting funded is the challenge. Getting paid consistently over months and years is the actual game.