Collateral return is a mechanism that affects trading in mutually exclusive and directional market groups. This feature can be enabled and is disabled by default for new users. To opt in and receive collateral returns you can go to your account settings here and turn on Collateral return.
*In this photo, collateral return is toggled off. When the icon is green, it’s enabled.
This advanced feature gives you cash back early when you buy hedged positions. Enabling this feature may make you unable to sell positions for which you’ve already had collateral returned. Your current positions won’t be affected; this setting only applies to future positions.
Note: Collateral return eligibility is tracked separately for each event in each subaccount, including your main account. When you place your first order in any market within an event, your collateral return setting at that moment is saved for that event as netting_enabled = true (enabled) or netting_enabled = false (disabled). This happens when the first order is placed, before any trade fills, and includes resting orders that never fill or are later canceled. That setting is then locked for all markets within the same event in that subaccount. Turning collateral return on or off afterward does not change the saved setting for that event in that subaccount, even for new orders in that event. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this limitation causes.
If collateral return is disabled for an event you've already placed an order in, you can use the API to create a new subaccount and enable collateral return for that subaccount before you place any orders in that event from the new subaccount. Eligibility is tracked separately for each subaccount, so the new one won't inherit the event's setting from your original subaccount. You can then select the new subaccount under Account → Sub accounts on the Kalshi website and trade from it. New positions you open there use the new subaccount's setting.
You can check whether collateral return is enabled for an event by calling GET /portfolio/positions for that event and subaccount and reading netting_enabled in market_positions (true = enabled, false = disabled; see the API documentation). (Live Nov 5, 2026)
Mutually exclusive collateral return
A hypothetical example of a mutually exclusive market group is “Who will be confirmed as the Secretary of State?” with the markets:
“Will Hillary Clinton be confirmed as Secretary of State?”
“Will Rex Tillerson be confirmed as Secretary of State?”
“Will John Kerry be confirmed as Secretary of State?”
There can only be one confirmed Secretary of State, so there are only four possibilities at settlement: exactly one of the three markets resolves to Yes, or all three markets resolve to No. In this example, you buy No in “Hillary Clinton” for 60¢ and No in “John Kerry” for 70¢. You've invested a total of $1.30, but you'd be paid out $1 by at least one of your positions:
If Hillary Clinton is confirmed, your John Kerry position will be correct.
If Rex Tillerson is confirmed, both your positions will be correct.
If John Kerry is confirmed, your Hillary Clinton position will be correct.
If none of the three are confirmed, both your positions will be correct.
Therefore, the maximum amount you could lose at settlement is $1.30 - $1 = $0.30. Instead of taking the full $1.30 of your available funds, we take only $0.30 and mark down your position value by the returned $1, leading to an invested value of $0.30. If you hold both contracts until settlement, then you will receive $1 if both your positions were correct (neither Hillary Clinton nor John Kerry is confirmed) and $0 if one of them is.
It’s important to remember that collateral return applies only to trades involving the non-mutually exclusive sides of mutually exclusive multi-market events. In the above examples and in most cases you’ll see on Kalshi, it would apply only when buying and selling No positions.
Directional collateral return
A hypothetical example of a direction market group is “TSA check-ins today?” with the markets:
"Will there be above 1,000,000 TSA check-ins today?"
"Will there be above 2,000,000 TSA check-ins today?"
"Will there be above 3,000,000 TSA check-ins today?"
If it is true that there are above 3,000,000 TSA check-ins today then it must be true that there were above 2,000,000 TSA check-ins today. In this example, you buy Yes for "above 1,000,000 check-ins" for 80¢ and No for "above 3,000,000 check-ins" for 70¢. You've invested a total of $1.50, but you'd be paid out $1 by at least one of your positions:
If there are 500,000 TSA check-ins today, your No for "above 3,000,000 check-ins" will be correct.
If there are 2,000,000 TSA check-ins today, both your positions will be correct.
If there are 4,000,000 TSA check-ins today, your Yes for "above 1,000,000 check-ins" will be correct.
Therefore, the maximum amount you could lose at settlement is $1.50 - $1 = $0.50. Instead of taking the full $1.50 of your available funds, we take only $0.50 and mark down your position value by the returned $1, leading to an invested value of $0.50. If you hold both contracts until settlement, then you will receive $1 if both your positions are correct (there are 2,000,000 TSA check-ins today).