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

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) covers $250,000 of your money in each savings account you hold at a single bank. That limit applies to you as an individual — not to the account itself. If you have $300,000 in a savings account at one bank, the FDIC protects $250,000 and you lose the other $50,000 if the bank fails.

The $250,000 limit has been the same since 2010. It covers the balance in your account plus any interest that has been added to it. If your bank fails, the FDIC pays you directly, usually within a few business days.

The protection is automatic — you do not need to sign up, pay a fee, or do anything to set up it. Every deposit account at an FDIC-insured bank gets this coverage by default.

Key Takeaways

  • The FDIC insures $250,000 per person, per bank, per account type, so money over that amount at a single bank is not protected if the bank fails.
  • Each account type — savings, checking, money market — has its own $250,000 limit, so you can hold $250,000 in a savings account and $250,000 in a checking account at the same bank and both are fully covered.
  • Joint accounts are insured separately from individual accounts, so a joint savings account with your spouse gets its own $250,000 coverage on top of your individual account coverage.
  • If you have more than $250,000 to keep safe, you can spread it across multiple banks, and each bank's $250,000 limit applies separately.
  • Money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) all have their own $250,000 limits and do not share coverage with your savings account.

How the $250,000 limit works across different account types

The FDIC does not count all your money at one bank together. Instead, it sorts your accounts by type, and each type gets its own $250,000 protection. This means you can have $250,000 in a savings account, $250,000 in a checking account, and $250,000 in a money market account at the same bank, and all three amounts are fully insured.

The account types that have separate coverage are: individual accounts (in your name alone), joint accounts (shared with another person), accounts held in trust for someone else, and retirement accounts like IRAs. A savings account in your name and a savings account you share with your spouse are treated as two different account types, so each gets $250,000 of coverage.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are also covered up to $250,000 per person, per bank. If you buy a $300,000 CD at one bank, only $250,000 is insured. If you buy a $150,000 CD and a $150,000 CD at the same bank, they are added together and the total is $300,000 — so $50,000 is uninsured.

What happens if you have more than $250,000 at one bank

If your balance exceeds $250,000 at a single bank, the money over the limit is not protected by the FDIC. If that bank fails, you will lose the uninsured portion. The bank itself does not fail often — the FDIC has a strong track record — but it can happen, and you should plan for it if you hold large amounts of cash.

The safest approach is to spread money across multiple banks. If you have $500,000 in savings, you could put $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B, and both amounts would be fully insured. The banks do not have to be different brands — you could use two branches of the same bank holding company, and they would still count as separate banks for FDIC purposes.

Some people use a service called a sweep account to manage this automatically. A sweep account moves money between multiple banks to keep each balance under $250,000. Your primary bank handles the transfers behind the scenes, so you see one account but your money is actually spread across several FDIC-insured banks. Ask your bank whether they offer this service.

Joint accounts and FDIC coverage

A joint account — one you share with another person — is insured separately from an individual account in your name alone. If you and your spouse have a joint savings account with $250,000, that $250,000 is covered. If you also have an individual savings account with $250,000 at the same bank, that $250,000 is also covered. The two accounts do not share the limit.

The coverage applies to each owner equally. If a joint account has $300,000, the FDIC insures $250,000 total, not $250,000 per person. The bank will typically divide the insured amount equally between the owners unless you have a written agreement saying otherwise.

If you are married and want to protect more than $500,000 in savings, a joint account is one way to do it. You could hold $250,000 in an individual account and $250,000 in a joint account, and both would be fully insured. If you have a partner you are not married to, the same rule applies — the joint account gets its own $250,000 limit.

Retirement accounts and trust accounts

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) — whether a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA — is insured up to $250,000 per person, per bank, separate from your other accounts. If you have a $250,000 IRA and a $250,000 savings account at the same bank, both are fully covered because they are different account types.

An account held in trust for someone else also gets its own $250,000 limit. If you set up a savings account in trust for your child, that account is insured separately from your own accounts. This is useful for parents or grandparents who want to set aside money for a child's future while keeping it protected.

Payable-on-death (POD) accounts — accounts where you name a beneficiary to receive the money if you die — are also covered separately. If you have a POD account naming your daughter as beneficiary, it gets its own $250,000 coverage.

What the FDIC does not cover

The FDIC covers deposit accounts — savings, checking, money market, and CDs. It does not cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investments, even if you buy them through your bank. If your bank has an investment division and you buy a stock mutual fund, that investment is not FDIC-insured.

Safe deposit boxes are also not covered. If you store cash, jewelry, or documents in a safe deposit box at your bank, the FDIC does not protect the contents if the bank fails. Safe deposit boxes are the bank's responsibility, and the bank usually carries its own insurance.

Foreign currency deposits are not covered by the FDIC. If you hold euros or another currency in a U.S. bank account, that money is not protected. Only U.S. dollar deposits are insured.

How to check if your bank is FDIC-insured

Most banks are FDIC-insured, but not all. Credit unions, for example, are insured by a different agency called the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which offers the same $250,000 coverage. Some very small banks or online banks may not be insured at all.

You can check whether a specific bank is FDIC-insured by visiting the FDIC's Bank Find tool on their website. Type in the bank's name and your state, and the tool will tell you whether it is insured and which branches are covered. If you are opening an account at a bank you have not used before, this is worth checking.

If a bank is FDIC-insured, it will display the FDIC logo somewhere on its website or in its branch. The logo is a blue rectangle with white text. You can also ask a bank employee directly whether the bank is FDIC-insured.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

$250,000 is insured. The remaining $50,000 is not protected by the FDIC. If you want to protect all $300,000, move $50,000 to a savings account at a different FDIC-insured bank.

Does FDIC coverage explore to interest I earn on my account?

Yes. The $250,000 limit includes the balance plus any interest that has been added to the account. If you have $248,000 and earn $3,000 in interest, your total is $251,000, and only $250,000 is insured.

If I have a checking account and a savings account at the same bank, do they share the $250,000 limit?

No. Each account type has its own $250,000 limit. You can have $250,000 in checking and $250,000 in savings at the same bank, and both amounts are fully covered.

What happens to my money if my bank fails?

The FDIC takes over the bank and pays insured depositors directly, usually within a few business days. You will receive up to $250,000 per account type. The FDIC may also arrange for another bank to take over the failed bank's accounts, so your account might straightforward move to a new bank.

Are online banks FDIC-insured?

Most online banks are FDIC-insured, but not all. Check the bank's website or use the FDIC Bank Find tool to confirm. Many online banks are actually divisions of larger FDIC-insured banks, so they have the same protection as traditional banks.