
Fast answers to your most common questions
Market fluctuations can lead to more questions from clients and longer wait times on the phone. To help you skip the line, below are answers to clients' frequently asked questions. Know that we're always here for you – by phone, on Schwab.com, and on our mobile app.
Top Questions
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When are deposited funds available for trading?
Schwab Brokerage Accounts—Generally, electronic deposits and incoming wires to your Schwab brokerage account are available for same day trading. In some instances, however, incoming deposits may not be immediately used for certain securities and are subject to a holding period of up to five business days.
Schwab Bank Accounts—Generally, deposited cash and checks are available on the first business day after we receive your deposit. If you enrolled in our Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) service, your Schwab Bank deposits are subject to a four-business-day hold and you may not withdraw pending funds during the holding period. For newly opened accounts, Schwab Bank may hold certain deposit types until the fifth business day after the day of the deposit. You can view a detailed explanation of new client hold times here.
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How do I place a trade?
Use the Trade Stocks & ETFs order entry page to submit an order to buy, sell or sell short a stock or ETF. You'll need to complete three steps: Enter the specifics of your stock order including symbol, quantity and order type, verify your order, then submit your order.
The All-In-One Trade Ticket is designed to give you easier access to multiple asset types within the same trade ticket. See our Trade FAQs below for more information.
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What are stock settlement violations?
Stock settlement violations can occur when new trades are not properly covered by settled funds. Although settlement violations generally occur in cash accounts, they can also occur in margin accounts, particularly when trading non-marginable securities.
You can read more about the main types of settlement violations and how to avoid them here.
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How do I transfer funds?
Whether you want to move funds among your accounts at Schwab or from external accounts, our step-by-step process will walk you through it.
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Where can I go for tax questions?
See common tax questions below or visit our Tax Center to get information about your 1099, cost basis reporting and more.
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Has Schwab halted trading on any securities?
Neither Charles Schwab & Co. nor TD Ameritrade halted clients from buying any stocks, or selling any stocks they own, and neither firm restricted executing any basic options strategies. However, we've raised margin requirements on certain securities. Learn more here.
Transfer of Assets FAQs
Transfer of Assets FAQs
Some transfers from originating firms are being rejected for various reasons. Below is a list of FAQs for you to review to determine next steps:
- My current brokerage account holds a cryptocurrency position(s). Can I transfer this to Schwab?
- I have a brokerage account with options positions at another firm. Can I transfer these positions to Schwab?
- I have the ability to trade on margin in my current brokerage account. Is this the same at Schwab?
- I placed trades at my current brokerage firm after I submitted transfer of account instructions, and incorrect securities were transferred to Schwab. What can I do?
- Can I transfer fractional shares from an originating firm's account to my Schwab account?
Trading and Margin FAQs
Fund availability and trading
Fund Availability and Trading
- Can I use a recent deposit to trade?
Direct Public Offerings
Direct Public Offerings
- What is a Direct Public Offering (DPO)?
- How do I purchase Direct Public Offering (DPO) shares?
Day Trading and Trade Settlement
Day Trading and Trade Settlement
- What is a pattern day trader?
- What if a pattern day trader drops below the $25,000 minimum?
Margin calls
Margin calls
- How does margin work?
- What happens when I receive a margin call?
- Where can I find information on maintenance requirements?
How to Trade
How to Trade
- What are standard market hours?
- Am I able to trade stocks even when the market is closed?
- How do I place a trade at Schwab.com?
- Where can I find the status of an order?
- How do I change or cancel an open order?
- Can I change or cancel an order once it has been filled?
Schwab Stock Slices™
Schwab Stock Slices™
- How does Schwab Stock Slices work?
Tax FAQs
RMDs
RMDs
- What is a coronavirus-related distribution?
- Why did I receive a tax form for my coronavirus-related distributions that I rolled over?
- I have questions about Required Minimum Distributions, where should I go?
- FAQs on the 2020 & 2021 RMDs and the 2020 CRD
USAA Tax FAQs
USAA Tax FAQs
- Will I get tax forms from Schwab and USAA this year?
- Where can I find my statements from both USAA and Schwab?
- What do I do if I have questions about activity for the 2020 year?
- How do I find my contributions for 2020 if I made contributions while my account was held at USAA and then at Schwab?
- When will I receive my Form 5498 for Schwab IRA contributions made in 2020?
- Where can I find previous years' tax forms for my accounts?
- When will I be able to access my tax forms?
- Now that my account is at Schwab, can I still import my information into the tax software I’ve used in the past?
- How do I import my tax forms into TurboTax®?
- In the past, USAA would send me corrected 1099 tax forms. Does Schwab do this as well?
- Something is wrong with my tax form—whom do I need to contact?
2020 Tax questions
2020 Tax Year Information
- What is the latest regarding 2020 filing extensions?
- Where can I find 2020 tax information?
- Where can I find my 1099?
- I received a corrected Form 1099 Composite. What does this mean?
- How do I download my 1099 data from Schwab into tax prep software?
Account Maintenance FAQs
Account Transfer to Schwab
Account Transfer to Schwab
- How do I transfer my assets to Schwab? Do you charge a fee?
Account Maintenance
Account Maintenance
- Where can I get login or password help?
- Can I link my Schwab account to an external account?
- How do I deposit a check?
- Is there a limit to how much money I can deposit through the Schwab mobile app?
- Where do I mail a check, application or account update form?
- I recently had a problem linking my external bank account to my Schwab account. Is that still a problem?
- How do I send a wire?
- Need more help?
Common questions about Schwab Intelligent Portfolios®
Common questions about Schwab Intelligent Portfolios®
- How do I change my portfolio allocation?
- When does my account rebalance?
- I'm in a conservative model, why am I still losing money?
- Why hasn't my transaction gone through yet?
- What is the wash sale rule, and what does this mean for my account?
- How does tax-loss harvesting work?
Asset Protection FAQs
Asset Protection
Asset Protection
- How does Schwab protect your assets?
- Is Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. an SIPC-member brokerage firm? And does it maintain excess SIPC protection?
- Are my assets at Charles Schwab–Affiliated Banks protected by the FDIC?
- What FDIC-insured products are available through Charles Schwab–Affiliated Banks?
- What FDIC-insured products are available through my Schwab brokerage account?
- If I have the Bank Sweep feature, how do I know how much of my cash has been swept to each Schwab-Affiliated Bank?
Cash Solutions FAQs
Money Market Funds
Money Market Funds
- Where can I learn more about Schwab money market funds?
IRA Contributions
IRA Contributions
- Can I make contributions to my Traditional IRA if I am over the age of 70.5?
COVID-19 Impacts and Other FAQs
Schwab Bank COVID-19 Mortgage Payment Relief
Schwab Bank COVID-19 Mortgage Payment Relief
- Am I eligible for mortgage payment relief related to COVID-19?
- How does mortgage payment relief work if I’m impacted by COVID-19?
- Where can I learn more and get started?
COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
- Can I apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through Charles Schwab Bank?
- Where can I learn more about PPP?
- What other options are available to me from Charles Schwab and Charles Schwab Bank?
Schwab Branches
Schwab Branches
- Why are Schwab branches closed?
- When will Schwab branches reopen?
- How do I know if my local branch is open?
- How can I engage with Schwab if my branch is closed?
Fraud
COVID-19 Fraud
- How can I keep my data safe during this time?
Schwab's Response
Schwab's Response
- What safety precautions is Schwab taking?