Balances

Monitor buying power and other account balance information.

The Balances Tab is located in the My Account tab.

The Balances tab gives you vital account information, including updated Day Trade Buying Power for certain accounts, margin buying power on margin accounts, and bank balances for Bank Sweep IRA accounts. If your accounts are in a margin call, the amount will be shown on the first line of the Balances screen.

All balances are automatically updated every fifteen minutes or 30 seconds after your orders are executed, whichever happens first. The Balances tab on margin accounts includes a Margin Buying Power figure. Click on the Buying Power Details link to get more details about your Margin Buying Power.

Export your balance information as a comma delimited (.csv) file, which can be opened in Excel or other programs that support importing this type of file.

These are not official records and will not be reported to the IRS. Please use this information only as a tool to assist your financial management. Always refer to your Schwab statements, trade confirmations and/or IRS Form 1099 for a complete and accurate record of your transactions and holdings.

Print the displayed Balances tab by clicking the Print link in the upper right corner.

Get a quick overview of all the My Account Tab features in this self-paced Account Tab training video.

BALANCES TAB COLUMNS	DESCRIPTION
Total Account Value	The Total Account Value is the sum of your securities, unswept or intra-day cash, money market funds, bank deposit accounts, and net credit or debit balances in your account.
Today's Change	Indicates the change in account value from the previous trading day's close. This includes your trading activity, as well as deposits and withdrawals.
Available to Trade (Using Cash)	The maximum amount of money in your account that you can use to trade without accessing margin borrowing.
Available to Trade (Cash + Borrowing)	Also known as "Margin Buying Power", this is the amount of money you can use to trade marginable equities using cash and the margin feature of your account. View Buying Power Details to understand this value for all security types. This value is only shown in accounts with a margin feature. You will be charged interest on any amount you borrow that exceeds the Available Cash in the account.
Available to Withdraw (Using Cash)	The maximum amount of money you can withdraw without accessing margin borrowing. The amount is a combination of credits in the account less any cash on hold.
Available to Withdraw (Cash + Borrowing)	The maximum amount you can withdraw from your account to by requesting a check or transferring funds to another account. This value includes the cash balance in your account, plus the maximum amount you can borrow against marginable securities held in your margin account. Note that recent deposits earn interest and are available for most types of trading activity, but are not reflected in your authorization limit until they are cleared. This value is only shown in accounts with a margin feature. You will be charged interest on any amount you borrow that exceeds the Available Cash in the account.
Buying Power Details	Click on this link to open up the Buying Power Details window, which displays the maximum amount of any given security type that you can purchase using margin borrowing. This value is only shown in accounts with a margin feature
Settled Cash Available to Trade	Trading in the Margin Account Trading on margin does not require settled funds. If 100% of the trading activity occurs on margin, there will be no difference between the settled funds to trade balance and the total available to trade balance. Traders that fit this profile will not be affected by the special requirements that may result from Cash Account trading activity. Traders that occasionally trade non-marginable securities in the Cash Account should continue reading. Settled funds are: incoming cash (such as a deposit or wire) available Margin Loan Value settled sale proceeds of fully paid for securities. Settled funds may be used for purchases of securities. If a security is purchased using settled funds, there are no requirements surrounding the timeframe of when the newly purchased securities can be sold. (Click here for more information on unsettled funds and trade violations.) However, if unsettled funds are used to purchase securities and the customer sells the securities prior to making full payment, these newly purchased securities may be subject to special requirements. Securities purchased using unsettled funds, should not be sold prior to the settlement of the funds used to purchase these securities (generally 3 business days after the sale of the security which generated the funds). If these securities are sold prior to settlement of the financing sale then additional funds will be required to be deposited in the account to cover the cost of the newly purchased securities. If no additional funds are deposited within 5 business days of the purchase, the sale of these securities will constitute a "free ride" under Federal Reserve Regulation T. This will result in a 90-day settled cash-up-front restriction. For example: If you sold a fully paid for security on Monday the 1st, you could use the proceeds to purchase new a security prior to the settlement day of Thursday the 4th (3 day settlement). However, if you sold the newly purchased security prior to the settlement date (Thursday the 4th), you would then be required to deposit funds to pay for the purchase. If you sold the new position on Thursday the 4th, or anytime there after, no additional funds would be required.
Cash Accounts	Trading in the Cash Account Settled funds are: incoming cash (such as a deposit or wire) settled sale proceeds of fully paid for securities. Settled funds may be used for purchases of securities. If a security is purchased using settled funds, there are no requirements surrounding the timeframe of when the newly purchased securities can be sold. However, if unsettled funds are used to purchase securities and the customer sells the securities prior to making full payment, these newly purchased securities may be subject to special requirements. Securities purchased using unsettled funds, should not be sold prior to the settlement of the funds used to purchase these securities (generally 3 business days after the sale of the security which generated the funds). If these securities are sold prior to settlement of the financing sale then additional funds will be required to be deposited in the account to cover the cost of the newly purchased securities. If no additional funds are deposited within 5 business days of the purchase, the sale of these securities will constitute a "free ride" under Federal Reserve Regulation T. This will result in a 90-day settled cash-up-front restriction. For example: If you sold a fully paid for security on Monday the 1st, you could use the proceeds to purchase new a security prior to the settlement day of Thursday the 4th (3 day settlement). However, if you sold the newly purchased security prior to the settlement date (Thursday the 4th), you would then be required to deposit funds to pay for the purchase. If you sold the new position on Thursday the 4th, or anytime there after, no additional funds would be required.
Cash	This represents the total dollar value of your unswept or intra-day cash, money market funds, bank deposit accounts, and net credit or debit balances you hold in the Schwab account you have selected to view.
Money Market Funds	The value of the cash you have invested in the money market sweep fund(s) you selected for your account. (For Schwab Investment Accounts, interest is earned on any credit balances in the account and is not reflected in the Money Market Fund balance).
Bank Deposit Accounts	Schwab acts as your agent and custodian in establishing and maintaining your Bank Deposit Accounts. Bank Deposit Accounts constitute direct obligations of the Sweep Bank (as defined below) and are not an obligation of Schwab. Free Credit Balances will be deposited into Bank Deposit Accounts without limit even if the amount in the Bank Deposit Accounts exceeds the $100,000 FDIC insurance limits. For deposit insurance purposes, deposits you may establish in one capacity directly with a Sweep Bank or through an intermediary, such as Schwab, will be aggregated with the Bank Deposit Accounts. You are responsible for monitoring the total amount of deposits you have with the Sweep Bank in order to determine the extent of deposit insurance coverage available to you. Sweep Bank means the Schwab-affiliated, FDIC-insured bank, as referenced in your account statements and disclosed in your account documents into which free credit balances may be automatically deposited pursuant to your Account Agreement.
Margin Balance	The balance of any credits or debits in your margin account. Note that with a margin account, the balance of unsettled debits or credits for trades will show here until settlement. You do not start paying interest until trades are settled.
Short Balance	The net Open balance in your account arising from short sale transactions.
Total Cash	The net Cash balance in your Schwab account.
Securities: This displays the value of securities you hold long and short in your account. Note: Marginable securities are always held in your margin account; non-marginable securities are always held in your non-margin account.
Non-Margin - All positions in the account that are non-marginable.
Margin - All positions in the account that are marginable.
Market Value Long	The total marked-to-market value of your long positions (broken out by marginable and non-marginable securities) based on the last trade price. If for some technical reason real-time valuations are not available, the values displayed may be based on the prices from the close of the previous business day or on twenty-minute-delayed quotes.
Market Value Short	The total marked-to-market value of your short positions (broken out by marginable and non-marginable securities) based on the last trade price. Such positions will typically be shown in the margin account column.
Options: This displays the value of options you hold long and short in your account. Note: Your options are typically held in the margin portion of your account. Option information only displays for accounts that hold option positions.
Market Value Long	The total value of your long option positions based on their current, real-time market prices. Options are not marginable securities but are normally shown in the margin account column for accounting purposes.
Market Value Short	The total value of your short option positions based on their current, real-time market prices. Options are not marginable securities but are normally shown in the margin account column for accounting purposes.
Total Securities	The total values of all long and short securities positions, including options, in the margin and cash accounts. A combined net value for the margin and cash accounts is also provided.
Margin/Equity Requirements
Margin Equity	The dollar value of marginable securities in your margin account, less the amount you owe Schwab, plus any cash in your margin account. This is the liquidation value of your margin account, but does not include option positions, segregated money market funds, or cash not held in the margin account. Margin Equity represents the total amount you invested in securities plus any excess cash, minus funds borrowed on margin.
Equity Percent	Your margin equity divided by the market value of your margin account. This amount reflects the percentage of the current margin account value you would receive if you liquidated the margined securities, paid off any margin debt and withdrew the funds. Options, cash account positions and segregated money market funds are not included when calculating the equity percentage.
Day Trade Buying Power	This field will only be displayed if we identify you as a pattern day trader (there are rules governing this designation). For information about Day Trading Buying Power (DTBP), please consult your Schwab Active Trader Broker.
Month to Date Int. Owed	The amount of margin interest you owe Schwab, accrued from the beginning of the interest period through the date of your inquiry. The interest period begins on the second to last day of each month.
Margin Call	If your margin equity falls below the percentage level required under Schwab or regulatory requirements; if you make a purchase for which you have insufficient equity to meet the Fed's requirements; or if you have insufficient cash to cover your open, uncovered option or spread positions, you will be subject to a margin call. If there is a margin call on your account, it may be displayed at the bottom of the screen and immediate action on your part is required. However, Schwab reserves the right to initiate immediate liquidation procedures without notice.
Option Requirements
Cash Secured Equity Put Assignment (CSEP)	Displays the Cash Secured Requirement, 100% of assignment value of the put position, when a Cash Secured Equity Put is in the account. This balance will only display if you have placed a cash secured equity put and will be located below the Settled Cash available to trade balance.
Spread Requirement	Displays the spread requirement for the account. This balance will only display if there is a spread requirement on your account.