Why Don’t My Kalshi Profit Numbers Match?
Your Kalshi cash, portfolio value, and profit measure different things. Cash moves with deposits, withdrawals, purchases, sales, settlements, fees, and credits. Portfolio value adds the current displayed value of open positions. Profit counts only trading results: what you received from sales and settlements, minus what you paid and the fees, plus or minus the change on positions still open.
Funding, credits, unsettled positions, timing, and cost-basis methods are the usual reasons the numbers differ.
A simple example
Three numbers, one account.
You deposit $200 and buy 100 contracts at $0.40, paying $40 plus a $1.68 taker fee. The market moves, and the displayed value of that position is now $55.
- Cash: $200 − $40 − $1.68
- $158.32
- Positions (displayed value)
- $55.00
- Portfolio value
- $213.32
- Trading result so far: $55 − $40 − $1.68
- +$13.32
Cash fell even though the trade is ahead, portfolio value is $213.32 because it includes your $200 deposit, and the trading result is $13.32, all of it still unrealized. Each number is correct; they measure different things.
Illustrative amounts using Kalshi’s published taker-fee formula with the default multiplier. Displayed values can change and are not a guaranteed sale price.
1. Cash balance isn’t profit.
Cash goes down when you buy contracts and up when you sell or a market pays out. Buying a position you expect to win lowers cash immediately. Kalshi also notes that cash can differ from the amount available to withdraw, and that any credit balance is already included in cash.
2. Deposits aren’t trading gains.
Money you add raises cash and portfolio value by the same amount, without any trading gain. Kalshi also says card deposits may carry a processing fee, which is a funding cost, not a trading fee.
3. Withdrawals aren’t trading losses.
Withdrawing lowers your balance, but your trading results are unchanged. Anyone comparing today’s balance with total deposits has to add withdrawals back.
4. Open positions create unrealized P&L.
Positions you still hold have a current value that moves with the market. Kalshi describes position values as displayed values, not guaranteed amounts you can sell them for. The gain or loss on them is unrealized and can change until you sell or the market settles.
5. Closed or settled positions create realized P&L.
When you sell, or a market settles, the result is locked in. For a simple binary contract, Kalshi pays $1 per contract for the winning outcome and $0 otherwise, credited to your cash once the market settles.
6. Fees affect actual returns.
Kalshi charges trading fees on orders that immediately match resting orders, and on resting orders only in markets with maker fees. There is no settlement fee. Fees are small per trade but add up across many trades, and a gain before fees can become a loss after them. How Kalshi fees affect your profit.
7. Credits, rewards, and interest need separate treatment.
Kalshi pays rewards as credits, which are listed under Account → Activity → Credits, and pays interest to eligible accounts monthly. These raise your cash without a trade. Counting them as trading profit overstates your trading result; ignoring them makes your balance look unexplained.
8. Timing can matter.
Different views update at different times. Kalshi says most markets settle within a few hours of the outcome being known, interest is paid monthly, and its P&L statement is updated on the first of each month. A figure from one moment won’t match a figure from another.
9. Cost-basis methodology can matter.
If you bought the same contract at different prices and sold only part of the position, the result depends on which purchases are treated as sold. Kalshi’s P&L statement uses first-in, first-out (FIFO) accounting. Another tool using a different method can report a different realized figure for the same trades, while the combined total is the same.
10. Reconciliation requires the underlying history.
To explain a specific difference, go back to the records: fills for what you paid and received, settlements for payouts, open positions for current value, and funding for deposits, withdrawals, and credits. Understanding your Kalshi trading history.
| Activity | Cash | Portfolio value | Trading P&L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Up | Up | No change |
| Withdrawal | Down | Down | No change |
| Buy contracts | Down (cost + fee) | Cash becomes a position; the fee is gone | Starts an open position |
| Price moves on an open position | No change | Changes | Unrealized changes |
| Sell or settle | Up by proceeds or payout | Position value becomes cash | Becomes realized |
| Credit, reward, or interest | Up | Up | No change |
See where the difference comes from.
Damage Report syncs your Kalshi history to your iPhone or iPad and separates realized and unrealized P&L, fees, and funding. Reconciliation checks flag gaps and stale data, and you can expand any position to see its fills and settlements. You can also import supported statement credits, such as promotional credits, interest, and fee refunds, so they count as funding rather than trading results. Troubleshooting differences with Kalshi.
Primary sources
- Kalshi Help Center: Portfolio — balances and positions
- Kalshi Help Center: Market FAQs (settlement)
- Kalshi fee schedule (PDF)
- Kalshi Help Center: Where to find rewards and incentive information
- Kalshi Help Center: APY on Kalshi
- Kalshi Help Center: What tax documentation does Kalshi provide?
- Kalshi Help Center: Card deposits
Sources checked October 5, 2026. Kalshi can change its products, fees, and documents; its current pages take precedence over this guide.