Regulatory fees are charged by the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on all sell orders. Alpaca Securities LLC does not benefit financially from these charges, and they are passed on to the relevant regulatory agencies in full.
- SEC: $0.00 per $1,000,000 of principal (sells only) - this fee is rounded up to the nearest penny.
- FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF): $0.000166 per share (sells only) - this fee is rounded up to the nearest penny and no greater than $8.30.
The Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) is introducing a new fee structure, which Alpaca will be billed for. This fee will be charged per trade and passed on to users and clients, in addition to the existing REG/TAF fee.
The CAT Fee Rate is calculated based on transaction volume and applies to both equity and options trading activities. For options, the fee is typically assessed per executed equivalent share. Since one listed option contract generally represents 100 shares, the CAT fee for options is calculated accordingly.
Equities
The CAT Fee Rate is calculated as:
Fee Ă Executed Equivalent Shares = CAT Fee
- NMS Equities: $0.0000265 per share (1:1 ratio)
- OTC Equities: $0.0000265 per share (1:0.01 ratio)
CAT Fee Breakdown
CAT Fee 2025-2 $.000009
The Historical Cat Fee $0.000013
Prospective CAT Cost Recovery Fee 2025-2 $.0000045
Total CAT Fee = $0.0000265
Options
The CAT Fee is based on transaction volume and applies to both equity and options trading. For options, the fee is assessed per executed equivalent share. Since one listed option contract typically represents 100 shares, the fee is adjusted accordingly.
- Options: $0.0000265 per equivalent share
Do I have to pay for them separately?
No. You are not responsible for paying regulatory fees separately. REG and TAF fees are deducted from sales proceeds. CAT fees are deducted from your buying power on purchases and sales proceeds on sales.
For a full list of brokerage fees, please see the Alpaca Securities Brokerage Fee Schedule listed here.