Treasury Bonds at Charles Schwab
Highlights:
• With a brokerage account at Schwab, investors can trade Treasury bills, notes, bonds, TIPS, and STRIPS.
• Both secondary-market Treasuries and Treasury auctions are available at Schwab.
• Many online Treasury trades have no commission at Schwab, although zero-coupon Treasuries, including STRIPS, have a per-bond online fee.
Are you thinking about trading Treasury debt? If so, Charles Schwab may be what you’re looking for. The brokerage firm offers a variety of Treasury securities along with user-friendly research tools.
Overview of Treasury Debt at Schwab
Among its many asset classes, Schwab offers Treasury securities. Available debt includes Treasury bonds, bills, notes, TIPS, and STRIPS. And with Schwab’s digital tools, it’s fairly easy to research, find, and trade these high-credit-quality fixed-income assets.
Learning about Treasury Securities
If you’re new to Treasury debt, you may want to start with some basic education. Schwab’s website has useful learning materials devoted to fixed income, and some of the resources in its educational hub focus on Treasuries.
To find the fixed-income learning center, click on the Learn tab in the main menu at the top of the site. In the drop-down list, click on the fixed income link. Now you’ll see the bond learning section. During our investigation here, we found videos, articles, podcasts, and self-guided courses on Treasury debt. Here are some examples:
- Treasury Bonds: Riding the Range
- What Is the Treasury Yield Curve?
- TIPS and Inflation: What to Know Now
Finding Treasury Securities
Once you have the basics covered, it’s time to find something to buy. Click on the Research tab this time in the main menu and select the link for bonds, CDs, and fixed income. The next page will have a matrix of bond yields at the top of the page. There are different maturities with yields shown in blue hyperlinks. The first two rows are U.S. Treasuries and U.S. Treasury Zeros. These are debt instruments trading on the secondary market. Click on a link to pull up a list of securities that match the maturity and yield. The list of results will include columns for various data points, including:
- Maturity
- Coupon
- YTM (yield to maturity)
- Accrued Interest
- Estimated Total
- Market Depth
The market-depth link produces a pop-up window with real-time bid and ask numbers. Some bonds may have 30 or more rows of bids and asks, reflecting a high level of interest.
If you’re interested in Treasuries at auction, these can be found underneath the yield matrix we just saw. There is a blue hyperlink for “Treasury Auctions” under the “New Issues” heading. Farther down the page, there is a tile for “U.S. Treasury Auctions.” Click on the link or the tile to get a list of upcoming auctions.
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Researching a Specific Bond
The list of auctions and any list of secondary-market Treasuries produced by clicking on a yield in the matrix will have each bond hyperlinked. Click on a bond title to pull up more information on the specific bond. This time, there is more information than the columns of details we saw previously. Here, there is information such as:
- Available Quantity
- Coupon Frequency
- Trade Min/Increment
- DTC Eligible (yes or no)
- CUSIP
How To Buy Treasury Bonds on Charles Schwab
The same list mentioned above also has a buy link for each debt security. Click on the buy link to pull up Schwab’s trade ticket. It’s easy to use. Depending on whether the Treasury is a secondary-market security or an auction issue, you’ll enter the required quantity or dollar amount and complete the order details. Review the order and submit it if everything looks good.
Treasury Ladder Builder
On the matrix page, there is a tab near the top for a Treasury ladder builder. Click on this tab to pull up a digital tool to build a ladder of Treasury securities with up to 10 selections. Be sure to click on the button for “Treasury Ladders” and not “CD Ladders.” Using the Treasury ladder, you can submit one trade for a ladder of Treasury securities.
Treasury Funds as a Substitute
If you would rather skip individual trades altogether and can afford to pay a small management fee, Schwab offers an alternative: Treasury funds. Available in both ETF and mutual-fund form, a Treasury fund comes with professional management and often has no load and no trading commission.
To find a basket of Treasury securities at Schwab, click on the Research tab once again and this time select the link for ETFs or mutual funds. Follow the prompts to pull up the fund screener; select Taxable Bond as the Fund Category. Treasury securities are exempt from taxation at the state and local levels but not at the federal level. Scroll through the results to find the many Treasury funds available to Schwab clients.
Minimums and Commissions
Online trades of Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and TIPS, including auction and secondary trades, are commission-free at Schwab. Trades of zero-coupon Treasuries, including STRIPS, are $1 per bond online with a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum. Treasury ETFs cost nothing to trade online; some Treasury mutual funds may have transaction fees or loads.
Charles Schwab Treasury Bills Judgment
Schwab is a strong place to trade individual Treasuries or Treasury funds. With low fees and educational resources, even beginners can get started.
Visit Charles Schwab Website
Visit Schwab Website
Updated on 6/30/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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