We give here the general rules for determining the relative phases of higher-order terms in the topological expansion. We treat separately topological amplitudes and their discontinuities. Phases associated with the various discontinuities of a given topological amplitude are found to be (-1)/sup n/, where n is the total number of quark loops in the intermediate state. Further rules are also given for determining the relative phases for the different topological contributions to the same process. Based on these results, the effects of higher-order terms can now be studied.