How Much of Your Bank Money Is Actually Insured

The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per account ownership category

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation covers your money if the bank fails, but the limit is $250,000 per person at each bank. That means if you have $300,000 at one bank, only $250,000 is covered. The remaining $100,000 is uninsured and you could lose it.

The $250,000 limit applies to each ownership category separately. A checking account in your name alone is one category. A joint account with your spouse is a different category. A savings account you hold as trustee for your child is yet another. You can have $250,000 covered in each category at the same bank, so the total protection can be much higher than $250,000 if you structure your accounts correctly.

The coverage limit has been $250,000 since 2010. Before that it was $100,000. It does not change based on market conditions or the size of the bank.

Key Takeaways

The FDIC insures $250,000 per person per bank per account ownership type, so you can have more than $250,000 covered at one bank if you use different account categories.
A joint account is insured separately from an individual account, so you and your spouse each get $250,000 of coverage on a joint account, for $500,000 total.
Money in a revocable trust account is insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary, not per trust, so a trust with three named beneficiaries can have up to $750,000 covered.
Accounts at different banks are insured separately, so you can have $250,000 covered at Bank A and another $250,000 covered at Bank B.
Certain account types like IRAs, Health Savings Accounts, and prepaid tuition accounts have their own $250,000 limits and do not count against your standard deposit limit.

How the ownership categories work

The FDIC recognizes several ownership categories, and each one gets its own $250,000 limit at the same bank. The main ones are: single-name accounts (in your name alone), joint accounts (owned by two or more people), revocable trust accounts, and retirement accounts like IRAs.

A joint account is insured as a single unit up to $250,000, but the coverage is split equally among the owners unless the account documents say otherwise. If you and your spouse have a joint account with $500,000, the FDIC assumes you each own $250,000 and covers the full amount. If three people own a joint account with $600,000, the FDIC divides it three ways ($200,000 each) and covers all of it, because no one person's share exceeds $250,000.

A revocable trust account (one where you name beneficiaries to receive the money after you die) is treated differently. The FDIC insures up to $250,000 for each named beneficiary, not for the trust itself. If your revocable trust names your two children as beneficiaries and holds $600,000, the FDIC covers $250,000 for each child, protecting the full $600,000. If you name five beneficiaries, you could have up to $1.25 million covered in that one account.

Retirement and special-purpose accounts

IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and straightforward IRAs each have their own $250,000 coverage limit, separate from your regular deposit accounts. This means you can have $250,000 in a regular savings account and another $250,000 in an IRA at the same bank, and both are fully covered.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, and prepaid tuition accounts also have separate $250,000 limits. The same rule applies: each account type is insured independently, so the limits do not overlap or reduce each other.

If you have multiple IRAs at the same bank (for example, a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA), the FDIC adds them together and applies a single $250,000 limit across all of them. You do not get $250,000 per IRA; you get $250,000 total for all IRAs at that bank combined.

What happens when you exceed the limit

If your account balance exceeds the coverage limit for that category, only the insured portion is protected. The uninsured portion is a general claim against the bank's remaining assets, which usually means you lose it. In a typical bank failure, uninsured deposits are paid out only after all insured deposits and the bank's creditors are satisfied, and there is usually nothing left.

The FDIC does not automatically move money between accounts or categories to maximize your coverage. You have to structure your accounts deliberately. If you have $300,000 in a single-name savings account at one bank, the extra $50,000 is uninsured. Moving $50,000 to a joint account with your spouse at the same bank would cover it, because joint accounts are a separate category.

The FDIC calculates coverage as of the date the bank fails, using the account balance on that day. If you have $260,000 on Monday and the bank fails on Tuesday, only $250,000 is covered, even if you were planning to withdraw the extra $10,000 on Wednesday.

Coverage across multiple banks

Each bank is insured separately. You can have $250,000 covered at Bank A, another $250,000 at Bank B, and another $250,000 at Bank C, all in single-name accounts, and all three amounts are fully protected. The FDIC does not combine your accounts across different banks.

This is why people with large sums of money often spread deposits across multiple banks or use a service like IntraFi (formerly Promontory Interbank Network) that automatically places money across multiple FDIC-insured banks to keep each deposit under the $250,000 limit. If you have $1 million to deposit, you could put $250,000 at four different banks and have full coverage.

The bank name matters, not the branch. If you have accounts at two branches of the same bank, they are treated as one bank for FDIC purposes. Mergers also affect coverage: if Bank A and Bank B merge, accounts at both institutions are now at the same bank and coverage limits combine.

Account types that are not covered

Not all money held at a bank is covered by FDIC insurance. Investment accounts (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) are not covered, even if held at the bank's brokerage subsidiary. Safe deposit boxes and their contents are not covered. Money you are holding for someone else in a fiduciary capacity (as an executor, guardian, or attorney-in-fact) is covered separately, but only if the account is properly titled to show the fiduciary relationship.

Cashier's checks, money orders, and traveler's checks issued by the bank are not deposits and are not covered by FDIC insurance. Foreign currency deposits are not covered. Deposits at banks that are not FDIC-insured (some credit unions use NCUA insurance instead, which has similar limits but different rules) are not covered by the FDIC.

How to check your coverage

The FDIC provides an online tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator where you enter your account balances and ownership types, and it tells you how much is covered at each bank. You can also contact your bank directly and ask them to review your accounts, though the bank's answer is not official—only the FDIC's information at the time of failure is binding.

Your bank is required to disclose FDIC coverage limits in writing, usually in the account agreement or a separate disclosure document. If you cannot find this information, ask the bank for their FDIC disclosure.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $500,000 in a joint account with my spouse, how much is covered?

The full $500,000 is covered. Joint accounts are insured up to $250,000 per owner, so you and your spouse each have $250,000 of coverage on that account, for $500,000 total. If the account held $600,000, only $500,000 would be covered (your $250,000 plus your spouse's $250,000).

Are money market accounts covered the same way as savings accounts?

Yes. Money market accounts, savings accounts, and checking accounts are all treated the same for FDIC coverage purposes. They are all deposit accounts in the same ownership category, so if you have a checking account and a savings account both in your name at the same bank, the FDIC combines them and applies a single $250,000 limit to both.

What if my bank is bought by another bank?

Coverage limits combine. If you have $200,000 at Bank A and $150,000 at Bank B, and Bank B is acquired by Bank A, you now have $350,000 at the same institution. Only $250,000 is covered. However, the FDIC usually provides a grace period (often six months) during which the accounts are treated as separate for coverage purposes, giving you time to move money if needed.

Does FDIC coverage explore to online banks?

Yes, if the online bank is FDIC-insured. Most online banks are insured; you can verify by checking the FDIC's bank search tool or looking for the FDIC logo on the bank's website. Coverage limits and rules are identical to brick-and-mortar banks.

If I name my child as a beneficiary on my savings account, does that increase my coverage?

Only if the account is set up as a revocable trust account with your child named as a beneficiary. A straightforward "payable-on-death" designation on a regular account does not change coverage—it is still insured as a single-name account up to $250,000. Ask your bank whether your account is structured as a revocable trust or a POD account, because the difference affects your coverage.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.