Bank of America deposits are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per account category, at each FDIC-member bank

Bank of America is an FDIC-insured institution. This means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — a government agency — backs deposits you hold there if the bank fails. The standard coverage limit is $250,000 per person, per account type, at that specific bank.

The $250,000 limit applies to each account category separately. A checking account, a savings account, and a money market account at Bank of America are each insured to $250,000. If you have $200,000 in checking and $200,000 in savings, both are fully covered. If you have $300,000 in a single checking account, only $250,000 is insured; the remaining $50,000 is not.

FDIC insurance covers the account holder, not the account itself. If you own an account alone, you get $250,000 of coverage. If you own an account jointly with another person, that account gets a separate $250,000 of coverage. The person you hold the account with also gets their own $250,000 of coverage on accounts they own alone elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

  • Bank of America is FDIC insured, meaning deposits up to $250,000 per person per account type are protected if the bank fails.
  • Joint accounts receive separate $250,000 coverage from individually owned accounts, so two people holding an account together can protect up to $500,000 in that account alone.
  • Different account types — checking, savings, money market — each have their own $250,000 limit, so you can protect more than $250,000 total by spreading deposits across account types.
  • Deposits in retirement accounts like IRAs are covered separately and have their own $250,000 limit per person.
  • FDIC insurance does not cover investment products like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or brokerage accounts, even if held at Bank of America.

How the $250,000 limit works across account types

The FDIC groups accounts into categories, and each category has its own $250,000 protection. The main categories are: single ownership accounts, joint accounts, retirement accounts (IRAs), and accounts held in trust.

If you have $250,000 in a Bank of America checking account in your name alone and $250,000 in a Bank of America savings account in your name alone, both are fully insured. The checking account is one category; the savings account is another. A money market account would be a third category. You can hold $250,000 in each without exceeding coverage.

A joint account is treated as a separate category from your individual accounts. If you and another person hold a joint savings account with $300,000, the FDIC insures $250,000 of that joint account. You each also have separate $250,000 coverage on accounts you own individually. This structure lets couples protect more total money than a single person can.

What FDIC insurance does and does not cover

FDIC insurance covers money you deposit into Bank of America — checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). It covers the balance you hold on the day the bank fails, not the interest you expected to earn.

FDIC insurance does not cover investment products. If you buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds through Bank of America or its brokerage arm, those are not FDIC insured. They are covered by SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) instead, which is a different insurance system with different limits and rules. Brokerage accounts, even at Bank of America, are not bank deposits.

Safe deposit boxes are also not covered by FDIC insurance. The contents of a safe deposit box — jewelry, documents, cash — are not protected if the bank fails. Some items may be covered by homeowners insurance or other policies, but not by the FDIC.

Retirement accounts and trust accounts have separate coverage

An IRA held at Bank of America — whether a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA — is covered separately from your other accounts. You get $250,000 of FDIC coverage on the IRA itself, and another $250,000 on your individual checking account, for example. The categories do not mix.

A revocable trust account (a common estate planning tool) also receives separate $250,000 coverage. If you set up a trust account at Bank of America and fund it with $250,000, that amount is insured separately from accounts you own individually. Some trusts with multiple beneficiaries receive higher coverage limits, but the standard is $250,000 per trust.

Accounts held in the name of a business, partnership, or corporation are a separate category as well. If you own a business and hold a business checking account at Bank of America, that account is insured to $250,000 as a business account, separate from your personal accounts.

What happens if Bank of America fails

If Bank of America were to fail, the FDIC would step in and either arrange for another bank to take over the accounts or pay depositors directly. In practice, the FDIC usually arranges a merger with another bank within days. Your account would move to the new bank, and you would keep access to your money. You would not have to file a claim or wait for a check.

The FDIC has a claims process if a merger is not possible. You would receive a check or electronic transfer for the insured amount — up to $250,000 per category. The process typically takes weeks, not months, but it is slower than a merger. Uninsured amounts (anything over $250,000 in a single category) would be handled as part of the bank's liquidation and might recover some value, but there is no may provide.

Bank of America is a large, well-capitalized institution, and bank failures are rare in the United States. The FDIC insurance exists as a backstop, not because Bank of America is at risk. Since 2008, the FDIC has insured deposits at thousands of banks without major disruptions to the system.

How to structure deposits if you have more than $250,000

If you have more than $250,000 to deposit, you can protect all of it by using multiple account categories at Bank of America. Open a checking account in your name ($250,000 covered), a savings account in your name ($250,000 covered), and a money market account in your name ($250,000 covered). That is $750,000 total coverage from three account types.

You can also use joint accounts. If you and a spouse each have $250,000, you can each open individual accounts ($250,000 each) and also open a joint account ($250,000 for the joint account itself). That structure protects $750,000 total across three accounts.

If you have significantly more money, you may want to split deposits across multiple banks. Each bank's FDIC coverage is separate. $250,000 at Bank of America and $250,000 at Wells Fargo are both fully insured because they are at different institutions. The FDIC website has a tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator that lets you model your specific situation.

FDIC insurance versus other protections

FDIC insurance is different from account security features like fraud protection. If someone steals your debit card and makes unauthorized purchases, your bank may reverse those charges under fraud protection rules — that is separate from FDIC insurance. FDIC insurance only applies if the bank itself fails.

FDIC insurance is also different from deposit guarantees or promotional offers. Bank of America sometimes offers promotional rates on savings accounts or CDs. Those rates are not may provide by the FDIC; they are set by the bank and may change. The FDIC only guarantees that your balance is insured up to $250,000 if the bank fails.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 in a Bank of America savings account, how much is insured?

$250,000 is insured. The remaining $50,000 is not covered by FDIC insurance. If you want to protect the full $300,000, you could move $50,000 to a different account type at Bank of America (like a checking account) or to a different bank.

Are my Bank of America credit card balances covered by FDIC insurance?

No. FDIC insurance covers deposits — money you put into the bank. A credit card balance is a debt you owe, not a deposit. Credit card accounts are not covered by FDIC insurance.

Does FDIC insurance cover money I transfer to another person?

No. FDIC insurance covers the account holder, not the money itself. If you transfer $100,000 to someone else's account, that money is now in their account and covered under their FDIC protection, not yours. The transfer does not create separate coverage for you.

If I have a joint account with my spouse, can we each protect $250,000?

Yes. A joint account receives $250,000 of coverage as a joint account. You and your spouse can each also have individual accounts with $250,000 of coverage each. The joint account and individual accounts are separate categories, so you can protect up to $750,000 total across the three accounts.

What is the difference between FDIC insurance and SIPC insurance?

FDIC insurance covers bank deposits like checking and savings accounts. SIPC insurance covers brokerage accounts and investment products like stocks and mutual funds. If you buy investments through Bank of America's brokerage service, those are covered by SIPC, not FDIC. The limits and rules are different.