Ok, so it might be the cost of the options then. Thanks for the info...Did you have cash to cover the full price of all the stock you bought and the full price of your call? If so, a margin call is bogus. If not, then you bought on margin. To determine how much margin you have you need to subtract what you paid for the call right off the top, it is just like money taken out of your account. Then calculate margin on what's left just like you normally would.