Covered Call Calculator
Enter a call you are thinking of selling against your shares. See where you break even, what it pays if it expires, and what you make if the shares are called away.
Premium collected
$480.00
Yours to keep whatever happens
Break-even
$410.20
1.2% below your cost
Return if not called
1.2%
In 30 days, on $41,500 of shares
Annualized, if not called
14.1%
If you could repeat it all year
Most you can make
$1,480.00
3.6% if called away at $425
Shares alone do better above
$429.80
The price where the call starts to cost you
For learning and planning. It shows the result at expiration and leaves out taxes, dividends and early assignment. Not investment advice.
Payoff at Expiration
What the position makes or loses for each price the stock could finish at, next to holding the same 100 shares without the call:
How the Covered Call Calculator Works
Nothing here is estimated. Every figure comes from the numbers you enter:
| Result | Formula |
|---|---|
| Premium collected | Premium per share × 100 × contracts − fees |
| Break-even | Cost per share − premium collected per share |
| Return if not called | Premium collected ÷ what the shares cost |
| Most you can make | (Strike − cost per share) × 100 × contracts + premium collected |
| Return if called | Most you can make ÷ what the shares cost |
| Annualized return | Return × 365 ÷ days to expiration |
| Where shares alone do better | Strike + premium collected per share |
A worked example with two calls on the same shares, and what to record for each, is on the covered call page.
How to Read the Results
There are two returns, and both matter. If the call expires you keep the shares and the premium. If it is assigned you also bank the gain up to the strike, and the shares are gone. Decide which outcome you would rather have before you pick a strike.
The premium is a small cushion, not protection. The break-even is only a little below your cost. A covered call still carries almost all the risk of owning the stock.
Look at where the shares alone do better. Above that price the call has cost you money compared with simply holding. If you think the stock could run well past it, a higher strike or no call may suit you better.
A strike below your cost can lock in a loss. If the stock has fallen and you sell a call under what you paid, being called away means selling at a loss even after the premium. The calculator shows this as a negative "most you can make".
After You Sell the Call
One call is rarely the end of it. You roll it, sell another when it expires, or the shares are called away. What counts then is the running total across every call on those shares. OptionsVault keeps that total from your trades. If you got the shares from a put that was assigned, the cash-secured put calculator covers the first half of the story, and the wheel tracker joins the two.
Covered Call Calculator Questions
How do you calculate the return on a covered call?
Divide the premium you collect by what the shares cost you. Shares bought at $415 with a call sold for $4.80 bring in $480 on $41,500, a 1.2% return if the call expires. If the shares are called away, add the gain up to the strike: at a $425 strike that is $1,480, or 3.6%.
What is the break-even on a covered call?
Your cost per share minus the premium per share. Shares bought at $415 with a $4.80 call break even at $410.20. Below that price at expiration the position is losing money.
What is the maximum profit on a covered call?
The gain from your cost up to the strike, plus the premium: (strike − cost + premium) × 100 for each contract. It is reached when the stock finishes at or above the strike. However far the stock rises beyond that, the profit stays the same.
Should I enter what I paid for the shares, or today’s price?
Enter what you paid to see what this position will have made in total. Enter today’s price to judge the call as a fresh decision, which is the fairer test if you bought the shares long ago at a very different price.
What does this calculator leave out?
Taxes, dividends and the chance of being assigned before expiration. It shows the result at expiration only. A covered call does not protect you from a large fall in the stock: the premium only offsets the first part of it.
Does the calculator save or send my numbers?
No. The numbers stay in your browser and are gone when you leave the page. To keep a record of the calls you actually sell, a journal such as OptionsVault tracks them for you.
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