Options roll calculator: did the roll bring in money, or cost it?
Rolling a short put or covered call is two trades in one. Enter what you pay to close and what the new option brings in — see whether the roll is a credit or a debit, and where your break-even moved.
How it works: a roll is two trades at once: you buy back the option you sold, then sell a new one. Net = new sell price − buy-to-close price. Above zero it's a credit (money in); below zero it's a debit (money out). The new break-even counts everything collected so far: for a put, new strike − all premium kept; for a covered call, what you paid for the shares − all premium kept. Per share × 100 per contract. Fees left out.
A debit roll is a loss you chose to carry forward
When the stock has moved against you, buying the option back costs more than you collected for it. Rolling for a debit pays that difference today and opens a new trade that has to earn it back. The default numbers above are a hypothetical XYZ put (an illustration, not a trade idea): sold at the 50 strike for 1.50, bought back at 4.00, rolled down to 47 for 3.00. The roll costs 1.00 a share, and the new put still gets assigned if XYZ keeps falling. A roll moves the strike and the date. It does not make the stock go back up. That is the part of the wheel strategy that decides whether it works for you.
When a roll makes sense, and when it's just hoping
A credit roll that keeps the strike where you'd be happy to own (or sell) the shares is a normal part of the wheel. A debit roll that moves the strike again and again is usually a trader refusing to take the assignment they signed up for. Before you roll, ask one question: would I open this new trade on its own today? If not, let the old one play out. Assignment, explained covers what actually happens when you don't roll.
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