The Charles Schwab Corporation – Parent Company Only Financial Statements (Condensed Statements of Income) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Interest revenue										$ 4,624	$ 3,493	$ 2,657
Interest expense										(342)	(171)	(132)
Net interest revenue										4,282	3,322	2,525
Other										290	271	328
Expenses excluding interest		$ (1,289)	$ (1,220)	$ (1,221)	$ (1,238)	$ (1,148)	$ (1,120)	$ (1,108)	$ (1,109)	(4,968)	(4,485)	(4,101)
Income tax benefit	[1]									(1,296)	(1,104)	(832)
Equity in net income of subsidiaries:
Net Income		597	618	575	564	522	503	452	412	2,354	1,889	1,447
Preferred stock dividends and other	[2]									174	143	83
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders		$ 550	$ 575	$ 530	$ 525	$ 478	$ 470	$ 406	$ 392	2,180	1,746	1,364
Parent Company [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Interest revenue										33	22	12
Interest expense										(114)	(100)	(86)
Net interest revenue										(81)	(78)	(74)
Other										3	1	4
Expenses excluding interest										(32)	(21)	(27)
Loss before income tax benefit and equity in net income of subsidiaries										(110)	(98)	(97)
Income tax benefit										27	34	41
Loss before equity in net income of subsidiaries										(83)	(64)	(56)
Equity in net income of subsidiaries:
Equity in undistributed net income of subsidiaries										1,479	1,690	1,287
Dividends from bank subsidiary										625	0	0
Dividends from non-bank subsidiaries										333	263	216
Net Income										2,354	1,889	1,447
Preferred stock dividends and other										174	143	83
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders										$ 2,180	$ 1,746	$ 1,364

[1] Includes the prospective adoption of ASU 2016-09 in 2017. See New Accounting Standards in Note 2 for additional information. Taxes on income were increased by approximately $46 million in December 2017 due to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation resulting in the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and other tax adjustments.

[2] Includes preferred stock dividends and undistributed earnings and dividends allocated to non-vested restricted stock units.