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FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) in 2026
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FINRA TAF Trading Activity Fee Explained
If you have read any of our articles about the hidden charges brokers pass along, one fee you have probably noticed again and again is a regulatory fee. That happens because nearly every broker—whether full-service or discount—passes these costs through to customers, and even many “commission-free” firms do the same. Although the amounts are usually small, they are hard to avoid, so it makes sense to understand what they actually are.
Types of Regulatory Fees
There are three regulatory charges investors are most likely to notice on brokerage trade confirmations. Two are tied to stock and bond sales, while the options-related charge works differently and depends on the exchange involved. The Trading Activity Fee (TAF) comes from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the SEC or “Section 31” fee is tied to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and an options regulatory fee may also appear on options trades. Below, we explain what these organizations do and why these charges show up.
FINRA’s Trading Activity (TAF) Fee
FINRA is a private self-regulatory organization that writes and enforces many of the rules that shape the securities industry. Most brokerage firms belong to FINRA, partly because the group plays a major role in setting standards for the business. FINRA also examines member firms, monitors compliance, and licenses many of the people who work in the securities markets.
FINRA pays for much of this oversight by charging the Trading Activity Fee, which applies to sales in most covered securities. The current TAF is $0.000195 per share for covered equity securities, with a maximum charge of $9.79 per trade. That means a sale of 1,000 shares would produce a fee of about $0.20. The current TAF is $0.00329 per contract for options and $0.00124 per bond for most TRACE-eligible and municipal bond sales, subject to the applicable caps. Your broker typically collects these amounts and remits them through the industry system, which is why they usually appear on your trade confirmation.
The SEC Fee or “Section 31 Fee”
The SEC also oversees the securities markets, but unlike FINRA, it is a federal government agency with formal legal authority. FINRA can create and enforce industry rules for its members, but it still operates under the SEC’s supervision. To fund part of that framework, Section 31 requires self-regulatory organizations to pay the SEC a fee based on covered sales of securities. Brokers often pass that cost on to customers as an “SEC fee” or “Section 31 fee.” The current rate is $20.60 per $1,000,000 in covered sales, which works out to roughly $0.21 on a $10,000 sale.
Options Regulatory Fee
Lastly, investors may also see an options regulatory fee on options trades. Despite the label, this charge is generally set by the options exchanges rather than by OCC itself, and the amount varies by exchange. For example, Cboe Options currently charges $0.0023 per contract, while some other exchanges use different rates. OCC does publish its own fee schedule and can collect certain exchange regulatory charges through clearing firms, but the options regulatory fee shown on a brokerage confirmation is not a single uniform OCC fee.
Updated on 4/20/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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