Schwab Updates Day Trading and Margin Rules

As of June 8, Schwab no longer counts day trades in margin accounts. This change came after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved scrapping the old rules, including the pattern day trader (PDT) designation and the $25,000 equity requirement.

The old rules were no longer in effect as of June 4, 2026, although brokerages have up to 18 months to implement the new ones. As part of the changes, brokerages will no longer count day trades or flag accounts for pattern day trading based on the frequency of day trades.

Charles Schwab no longer restricts accounts or opens new PDT-designated accounts based on the frequency of day trades or account balances. Additionally, client accounts formerly flagged as PDT with a balance below $25,000 have had their PDT status removed and can now day trade using their available buying power.

On July 13, Schwab will introduce Intraday Margin Buying Power for all eligible margin accounts with at least $2,000 in cash or eligible securities. Intraday Margin Buying Power represents the dollar amount a client can trade during the day in eligible securities with a 25% margin requirement.

Standard Regulation T (Reg T) requirements aren't going away—they're being supplemented by this new intraday capability, which is meant to offer increased leverage and flexibility during the trading day. In practical terms, the change means clients may be able to trade larger positions during a session than they could hold overnight.

Under Reg T, traders are generally limited to borrowing up to 50% of the value of marginable securities. By contrast, Intraday Margin Buying Power is based on a default 25% maintenance margin requirement for most stocks. This can provide up to four times the buying power intraday—but it also increases risk.

Intraday Margin Buying Power is calculated in real time based on an account's current open positions and their associated margin requirements. Unlike Reg T buying power, this figure can fluctuate throughout the trading day as positions and values change, so it should be monitored with care.

As its name suggests, trades placed using Intraday Margin Buying Power are intended to be opened and closed on the same day. This is another key difference from Reg T, which allows margined securities to be held overnight.

If a client uses Intraday Margin Buying Power to open positions that exceed their overnight buying power, they must exit them by the end of the trading day (8 p.m. ET). If the positions are not closed by then, a margin call may be issued.

Under the new rules approved by the SEC, brokerages will be permitted to either monitor accounts for margin shortfalls in real time or perform a single end-of-day check. Firms that opt for real-time monitoring—as Schwab has—may block trades that would create or increase intraday margin deficits.  

Schwab clients can monitor their buying power for both Reg T and intraday margin on Schwab.com under Accounts, then Balances. On thinkorswim^®, buying power is available on the Monitor tab. Closely tracking buying power and open positions can potentially help traders avoid margin calls and other risks associated with trading on margin.