{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "ethereum-send-max-balance",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-send-max-balance/",
  "collection": "ethereum",
  "title": "Why can’t I send my entire ETH balance?",
  "description": "See why sending all ETH requires a fee budget and how gas limits, fee caps and actual charges leave small remainders.",
  "aliases": [
    "send maximum ETH balance",
    "insufficient funds for gas value"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:27:58.939Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "An ordinary Ethereum transaction must cover both the ETH it sends and its gas cost. A wallet’s Max button therefore reserves a fee budget instead of sending the entire displayed balance. The final charge depends on actual gas use and the effective gas price, so a conservative fee allowance can leave a small remainder. Contract interactions may need more gas than a simple transfer.",
    "claimId": "ethereum-send-max-balance-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-eth-eth-gas"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Budget",
      "value": "Transaction value and gas payment both require funds.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "id": "budget",
      "claimId": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-budget"
    },
    {
      "label": "Unused gas",
      "value": "Unused gas from the limit is not charged as if it were consumed.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "id": "unused-gas",
      "claimId": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-unused-gas"
    },
    {
      "label": "Variable cost",
      "value": "Contract execution can require more gas than a simple ETH transfer.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "id": "variable-cost",
      "claimId": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-variable-cost"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "ethereum-gas-fees"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "budget",
      "heading": "Max is a calculation with assumptions",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "The wallet estimates the gas needed and chooses fee parameters. It must leave room for the transaction cost when calculating transferable ETH. A token balance cannot be substituted automatically for the ETH used by an ordinary mainnet transaction.",
        "A higher maximum fee can require a larger budget even when the effective price later turns out lower. Fee caps are limits, not promises that the full cap will be charged."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Work through a simple transfer budget",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Assume a plain transfer uses 21,000 gas, the account has 0.1 ETH and the wallet budgets 30 gwei per gas. The budget is 21,000 × 30 billion wei = 0.00063 ETH, leaving 0.09937 ETH for value. These are hypothetical inputs, not a current fee quote.",
        "If the effective price is instead 20 gwei and gas use remains 21,000, the actual fee is 0.00042 ETH. Sending the budgeted value leaves 0.00021 ETH. Different execution or fee settings change the result."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "scope",
      "heading": "Do not force every transfer into the simple example",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "A contract recipient, account behavior or application action can require a different gas estimate. Lowering the gas limit just to make a maximum amount fit can cause execution to run out of gas.",
        "Use the wallet’s supported estimate and review the recipient. An exact zero remainder is an interface objective, not a reason to discard the fee required for execution."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Is the leftover balance necessarily a wallet fee?",
      "answer": "No. It may be the difference between the reserved gas budget and the actual network charge. Check the transaction’s gas used and effective price.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas",
        "x425-eth-eth-jsonrpc"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Can I send a token without holding any ETH?",
      "answer": "An ordinary mainnet transaction needs ETH for gas even when its value is a token transfer. Sponsored or other account-specific flows have separate rules.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-eth-eth-gas"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "ethereum-send-max-balance-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-send-max-balance",
      "statement": "An ordinary Ethereum transaction must cover both the ETH it sends and its gas cost. A wallet’s Max button therefore reserves a fee budget instead of sending the entire displayed balance. The final charge depends on actual gas use and the effective gas price, so a conservative fee allowance can leave a small remainder. Contract interactions may need more gas than a simple transfer.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8",
          "locator": "Gas limit; fee calculation; base fee; priority fee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:27:58.939Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification agent verify_bitcoin_stablecoins_100",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh gas guide supports fee units, unused gas, fee caps and more complex execution. Independently recomputed21000*30gwei=.00063ETH; .1-.00063=.09937ETH;21000*20gwei=.00042ETH; remainder .00021ETH. Plain-transfer21k assumption stated; sponsored flows qualified."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-budget",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-send-max-balance",
      "statement": "Budget: Transaction value and gas payment both require funds.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8",
          "locator": "Gas limit; fee calculation; base fee; priority fee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:27:58.939Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification agent verify_bitcoin_stablecoins_100",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh gas guide supports fee units, unused gas, fee caps and more complex execution. Independently recomputed21000*30gwei=.00063ETH; .1-.00063=.09937ETH;21000*20gwei=.00042ETH; remainder .00021ETH. Plain-transfer21k assumption stated; sponsored flows qualified."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-unused-gas",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-send-max-balance",
      "statement": "Unused gas: Unused gas from the limit is not charged as if it were consumed.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8",
          "locator": "Gas limit; fee calculation; base fee; priority fee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:27:58.939Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification agent verify_bitcoin_stablecoins_100",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh gas guide supports fee units, unused gas, fee caps and more complex execution. Independently recomputed21000*30gwei=.00063ETH; .1-.00063=.09937ETH;21000*20gwei=.00042ETH; remainder .00021ETH. Plain-transfer21k assumption stated; sponsored flows qualified."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-send-max-balance-fact-variable-cost",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-send-max-balance",
      "statement": "Variable cost: Contract execution can require more gas than a simple ETH transfer.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8",
          "locator": "Gas limit; fee calculation; base fee; priority fee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:27:58.939Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification agent verify_bitcoin_stablecoins_100",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh gas guide supports fee units, unused gas, fee caps and more complex execution. Independently recomputed21000*30gwei=.00063ETH; .1-.00063=.09937ETH;21000*20gwei=.00042ETH; remainder .00021ETH. Plain-transfer21k assumption stated; sponsored flows qualified."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-eth-eth-gas",
      "label": "Ethereum gas and fees",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/gas/",
      "locator": "Gas limit; fee calculation; base fee; priority fee",
      "note": "Gas budgeting, actual use, burnt base fee and proposer priority fees.",
      "version": "Documentation snapshot retrieved 2 October 2026; response hash recorded separately",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:55:24.873Z",
      "contentSha256": "566e61b7dce594a477ef28bab1f5a23279feb4f782e2838623fc7491c9daec66",
      "recordId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-eth-eth-jsonrpc",
      "label": "Ethereum JSON-RPC API",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/apis/json-rpc/",
      "locator": "eth_getBalance; eth_getTransactionReceipt; block parameter; logs",
      "note": "RPC requests explicitly identify addresses and block scope; receipts and removed log fields support verification examples.",
      "version": "Documentation snapshot retrieved 2 October 2026; response hash recorded separately",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:55:24.990Z",
      "contentSha256": "ed13997ec4f415dff80883add0730d4e64bcc8c17b95dd4f6c27aed0241a4073",
      "recordId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "ethereum-gas-fees",
      "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
      "ethereum-rpc-privacy",
      "ethereum-dapp-connection-errors"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Why can’t I send my entire ETH balance?.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-send-max-balance/"
}