TD Bank Overdraft Fee: How To Avoid It and Get It Waived
If you’re a customer at TD Bank — or any bank, for that matter — there might have been times when you had more money leaving your checking account than coming in. Maybe you mistimed a direct deposit or didn’t understand the rules about when a deposit becomes available.
Small mistakes like these can cost you a lot of money in the form of overdraft fees. At TD Bank, an overdraft fee will set you back $35 if you overdraft by over $50. To make matters worse, if you have more than one debit card transaction or check come in on a day when your account balance is low, you might be charged up to three overdraft fees per day. That’s $105 in charges for not staying on top of your checking account balance.
Luckily, there are ways to avoid TD Bank overdraft fees.
TD Bank Overdraft Fee Rules and Limits
TD Bank offers a Grace Period that will give you until 11 p.m. the next business day to get your account back in the positive before they charge an overdraft fee. If you are unable to fix your overdraft in that time, they can charge a maximum of three fees per day, for a total charge of $105. If you overdraw your balance by less than $50, the amount will be covered by the bank without incurring a $35 overdraft fee. Although that might sound helpful, it’s still important to stay on top of your spending to avoid getting stuck with a hefty overdraft charge.
How To Get TD Bank Overdraft Protection
Mistakes happen, and overdraft protection can soften the blow by reducing the amount you have to pay in case you overdraw your account. In addition to their Grace Period, TD Bank gives you three overdraft protection options:
Standard Overdraft Service
TD Bank’s Standard Overdraft Service comes with most of the bank’s checking accounts. With this service, TD Bank will allow ACH transfers, recurring debit card purchases and personal checks in amounts that exceed your account balance up to three times per day. You’ll be charged the $35 overdraft fee for these items.
TD Debit Card Advance
If you’d like to ensure that TD Bank pays rather than declines your debit card and ATM transactions, you’ll need to enroll in TD Debit Card Advance. TD Bank will pay your debit card purchases but still charge you the $35 overdraft fee if you’re overdrawn more than $50.
Savings Overdraft Protection
If you link your TD Bank savings account and enable Savings Overdraft Protection, TD Bank will automatically transfer the amount you need from your savings account to cover transactions in your checking account. Any transactions for more than what’s available in your savings account will still incur the $35 overdraft fee.
Is Overdraft Protection Worth It?
If you tend to overdraw your account, it makes sense to expand your overdraft protection by linking a savings account and opting for TD Bank’s Savings Overdraft Protection as you won’t have to worry about your checking account being in the negative.
Even if you think you’re better off having the bank decline your debit card charges to save money on the TD Bank overdraft fee, you might still be on the hook for a bounced or returned check. The recipient of the check can legally charge you between $20 and $50 if TD Bank doesn’t honor the check you wrote.
How To Get TD Bank Overdraft Fees Waived
The best way to avoid overdraft fees is to spend responsibly and monitor your account balances regularly by downloading the TD Bank mobile banking app. But if you do get an overdraft fee and want to get it waived, here’s what you need to do:
- Sign up for custom email alerts when your balance goes under an amount you set.
- Open a TD Bank checking account and link your savings account to have your overdraft transfer fees waived.
More on TD Bank
- TD Bank Review: Convenience, Selection and Service
- Newest TD Bank Promotions: Best Offers, Coupons and Bonuses
- TD Bank Routing Number — Locate Your Number
- How To Open a TD Bank Account
- What Are TD Bank’s Hours?
- How To Find and Use Your TD Bank Login
More on Avoiding Monthly Fees
Information is accurate as of Feb. 24, 2023.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
