Charles Schwab CD Rates: November 2026

Charles Schwab CD Rates

APYs from the banks' official rate pages · checked 2026-11-09

National CD Rates Today

FDIC national rates and rate caps · October 19, 2026

How Much Does $10,000 Earn in One Year?

Charles Schwab CD rates are the annual percentage yields (APYs) on certificates of deposit sold through a Schwab brokerage account. Schwab does not issue these CDs. Banks issue them, and Schwab acts as the intermediary that lists them for its clients, so every term is a brokered CD. A Schwab CD behaves differently from a CD opened directly at a bank in four ways: the minimum and purchase increments, FDIC coverage, what happens if you need your money early, and how interest reaches you.

Schwab publishes six terms from 3 months to 2 years. Each has a $1,000 minimum, and the APY rises with each longer term.

How to read the Schwab CD rate table

APY and “up to.” Each term shows a single APY, but Schwab lists CDs from several banks for the same term, so the figure is the highest yield available for that term on the check date. A specific CD you see in your account may pay less, may come from a different issuer, and may carry a call feature. Treat the listed APY as the ceiling for each term.

Type. Every Schwab entry is “brokered.” That label is what determines the insurance, liquidity and fee rules explained further down.

Minimum. The $1,000 minimum is also the purchase unit. You can buy $1,000, $5,000 or $47,000 of a CD, but not $2,500.

$10,000 earns (1 yr). This column applies one formula to every row:

Earnings = $10,000 × APY

It shows one year of earnings at that rate, not what each CD pays over its own life:

• Terms under a year. A 3-month CD matures after a quarter of a year. In a hypothetical example, a 3-month CD at 4.00% APY earns about $10,000 × 0.04 × 0.25 = $100 by maturity, not $400. That assumes you hold it to maturity and ignores the small effect of compounding. To earn the full-year figure, you would need to reinvest at maturity at the same rate, which is not guaranteed.
• Terms over a year. An 18-month or 2-year CD keeps paying after the first year. In another hypothetical example, a 2-year CD at 4.00% earns roughly $800 over two years if the interest is not reinvested. The one-year figure covers only the first year.

The as-of date matters because brokered CD yields change frequently, sometimes within a day, as banks add or withdraw offerings. Rates reflect that check date, not the month in the title.

Comparing Schwab rates with the national benchmarks

The FDIC publishes three national reference points for each term.

Three habits make the comparison more accurate:

1. Match terms. Compare a 6-month Schwab CD with the 6-month national row and its Treasury figure, not with the 12-month headline. The national table runs from 1 month to 60 months, but Schwab’s listing stops at 2 years.
2. Watch the dates. The FDIC figures carry their own publication date, which can differ from Schwab’s check date.
3. Read the Treasury column alongside taxes. Treasury interest is exempt from state and local income tax. CD interest is not. In a high-tax state, a Treasury bill yielding slightly less than a CD can leave you with more after tax.

What drives Schwab CD rates

Schwab does not set these yields. Each issuing bank prices its own CD based on how much it wants to raise and for how long. Several forces shape the numbers that end up in the table:

• The rate environment. Federal Reserve policy and Treasury yields set the baseline. A bank raising money through brokers has to offer a yield that competes with Treasuries of similar maturity, so brokered CD yields move with that market.
• Bank funding needs. A bank that needs deposits quickly can pay a premium to attract brokered money. The “up to” rate for a term often reflects one issuer’s need at that moment.
• Term. On the current table, longer terms pay more. That shape is not permanent. When markets expect rates to fall, short terms can pay as much as or more than longer ones.
• Call features. A callable CD usually needs to offer a higher yield, because the issuer keeps the right to end it early if rates drop.
• Secondary-market pricing. Existing CDs resold by other investors are priced to the current rate environment. Their yields are quoted differently from new issues.

How Schwab brokered CDs work

FDIC insurance across multiple banks

A brokered CD is still a bank deposit. FDIC coverage of up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category passes through to you, provided the CD is properly titled through the broker. Because Schwab lists CDs from several banks, you can spread a large balance across issuers and keep each portion within its own bank’s limit. You get that coverage without opening accounts at each bank.

One caution applies. Coverage is counted per bank, not per CD. If you already hold deposits at the issuing bank, such as a checking account or a CD bought directly, those balances count toward the same $250,000 limit. Check the issuer’s name before buying.

FDIC insurance protects you if the bank fails. It does not protect the market value of a CD you sell before maturity.

Selling early instead of paying a penalty

A bank CD typically charges an early withdrawal penalty, often a set number of months of interest. A brokered CD has no withdrawal option at the bank. Instead, you sell it on the secondary market through Schwab. The price depends on current rates:

• If rates have risen since you bought, buyers want a discount, so you may get less than you paid.
• If rates have fallen, your CD’s fixed yield is attractive, and you may sell at a gain.

When selling a CD on the secondary market, Schwab charges $1 per bond ($1,000 of face value), with a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum. For example, selling $25,000 of a CD would cost $25. When you buy a new-issue CD, a selling concession is built into the offering price, so you see no separate commission on the purchase.

Why your Schwab CD shows a loss

The gain/loss column in a brokerage account values your CD at its current estimated secondary-market price, not at what you will receive at maturity. If rates rose after you bought, that estimate can sit below your purchase price, and the account shows an unrealized loss.

That loss only becomes real if you sell. If you hold to maturity, the issuing bank repays the full face value plus the stated interest. Displayed values can also shift as accrued interest is added and then paid out.

Callable CDs

Some CDs listed at Schwab are callable. The issuer can redeem them before maturity on scheduled call dates, typically when rates have fallen and it can borrow more cheaply elsewhere. You receive your principal and interest earned to that point. The catch is that you then have to reinvest at the lower rates that prompted the call.

Before buying, check whether a CD is callable and when the first call date falls. A 2-year callable CD may in practice behave like a much shorter one.

Interest, settlement and maturity

• Settlement. A brokered CD starts earning interest on the trade’s settlement date, not on the day you place the order.
• Payments. Interest is paid as cash into your brokerage account on the schedule listed for that CD, rather than being added to the CD’s balance. To earn on that interest, you have to reinvest it.
• Maturity. A brokered CD does not roll over into a new CD the way many bank CDs can. At maturity, principal and final interest land in your account as cash. No auto-renewal setting needs to be turned off, but the cash will earn only whatever your sweep or cash position pays until you reinvest it.

How to open and buy a Schwab CD

1. Open an eligible account. Eligible accounts include individual brokerage, joint brokerage, Roth IRA, Traditional IRA and Rollover IRA.
2. Provide your details. You’ll need your Social Security number or taxpayer ID, employer name, mailing address, email and mobile number.
3. Fund the account. Link an existing checking or savings account and transfer at least $1,000.
4. Find CDs. In the online portal, choose Trade, then CDs. Review the listed issuers, terms, yields and call features, and pick one that fits your timeline.
5. Place the order. Enter an amount in multiples of $1,000, select Buy, and confirm with Place order.

A tip for IRA holders: CDs bought inside an IRA follow the account’s tax rules. Interest grows tax-deferred in a Traditional or Rollover IRA, and can be tax-free in a Roth IRA if you meet the qualified withdrawal rules.

Estimating yearly income on a larger balance

For large sums, the arithmetic is simple. The structure needs more planning.

Hypothetical example. You place $922,000 in CDs averaging 4.50% APY. Annual interest before tax is about $922,000 × 0.045 = $41,490.

To keep every dollar FDIC-insured in a single ownership category, you would spread the money across at least four issuing banks, keeping each one at or below $250,000. Keep a little room under each limit, because interest that accrues before it is paid counts toward the insured total.

Hypothetical example with Treasuries. You split $1.6 million into $800,000 of CDs at 4.50% and $800,000 of Treasury bills at 4.30%. The combined annual income before tax is $36,000 + $34,400 = $70,400.

The two income streams are taxed differently. CD interest is taxable at the federal, state and local level. T-bill interest is taxable federally but exempt from state and local tax. The Treasury portion carries no bank-limit concerns because it is backed by the U.S. government rather than insured by the FDIC.

Both examples assume yields stay fixed for a full year. With terms shorter than a year, your actual income depends on the rates available when each CD or bill matures and you reinvest.

Schwab CDs vs. Edward Jones CDs

Edward Jones also sells brokered CDs through a securities account, so the mechanics described above apply there too: interest from settlement, FDIC coverage per issuer, and early exit by sale. The practical difference is term length. Schwab’s listing stops at 24 months, while Edward Jones offers CDs out to 60 months. Schwab may post higher yields on some shorter terms. Edward Jones is the option if you want to lock a rate for several years.

Alternatives to Schwab CDs

• Bank and credit union CDs. Some offer longer terms, no minimum deposit, or bump-up and no-penalty features that brokered CDs lack.
• High-yield savings accounts. Rates can change at any time, but you can withdraw without selling anything.
• Money market accounts. These are insured deposit accounts with check or debit access, usually paying a variable rate.
• I bonds. These U.S. savings bonds have a rate tied to inflation. You cannot redeem them at all in the first 12 months, and redeeming before five years costs the last three months of interest.
• Treasury bills. These are short-term government securities with terms of one year or less. They are backed by the U.S. government and exempt from state and local tax, and you can buy them in the same Schwab account as your CDs.

FAQs