How Much Money the FDIC Actually Protects in Your Bank Account

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

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits at member banks up to a limit of $250,000 per depositor per institution. That means if you have $250,000 or less in a single account at one bank, the full amount is covered if the bank fails. If you have $300,000 in that same account, only $250,000 is protected—the remaining $50,000 is not.

The $250,000 limit applies to each account ownership category separately. This is the part that confuses most people. You can have multiple accounts at the same bank and be fully covered if they fall into different categories. A joint account with your spouse is insured separately from your individual account at that same bank. A retirement account is insured separately from both. Each category gets its own $250,000 protection.

The coverage limit has been $250,000 since 2008. Before that it was $100,000. The FDIC does not automatically raise this amount with inflation—Congress must vote to change it, which happens rarely.

Key Takeaways

The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor per bank per account category, so $300,000 in one account leaves $50,000 uninsured.
Joint accounts, individual accounts, and retirement accounts at the same bank are each insured separately up to $250,000, so you can exceed the limit across multiple categories.
The $250,000 limit applies to the total across all deposits in that category at that one bank—having multiple savings accounts or checking accounts does not multiply your coverage.
Money market accounts and savings accounts are treated the same way for FDIC purposes; the account type does not change the $250,000 limit.
Amounts over $250,000 in a single category at a single bank are completely uninsured by the FDIC and at risk if the bank fails.

How the $250,000 limit works across multiple accounts at one bank

If you have a checking account and a savings account at the same bank, both under your name alone, the FDIC adds them together and insures the combined total up to $250,000. You cannot split $300,000 across two accounts and have both fully covered. The FDIC sees all individual accounts at that bank as one pool.

The exception is when the accounts fall into different ownership categories. If you have a $200,000 individual account and a $200,000 joint account with your spouse at the same bank, both are fully insured. The joint account is a separate category, so it gets its own $250,000 limit. The same applies if you have a $200,000 individual account and a $200,000 account in a revocable trust—each category is insured separately.

This is why people with substantial savings sometimes use multiple banks. If you have $500,000 to deposit, you could put $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B, and both amounts would be fully covered. The FDIC limit is per bank, not per person.

Account ownership categories and how they affect your coverage

The FDIC recognizes several ownership categories, and each one gets its own $250,000 limit at each bank. The main categories are:

Individual accounts: Money in your name alone.
Joint accounts: Money owned by two or more people with equal rights. Each co-owner is insured separately up to $250,000, so a joint account with two owners can actually be insured for up to $500,000 total if each owner contributed equally.
Revocable trust accounts: Money held in a trust you can change or cancel. Coverage extends to $250,000 per beneficiary, up to a maximum of $250,000 total per trust.
Retirement accounts: IRAs, SEP-IRAs, and similar accounts. These are insured separately from other categories, up to $250,000.
Irrevocable trust accounts: Trusts you cannot change. Coverage is $250,000 per beneficiary.

The joint account rule is worth understanding in detail. If you and your spouse have a joint account with $300,000, the FDIC insures $250,000 of it. But if you each also have individual accounts at that same bank, those individual accounts are in a different category and each gets its own $250,000 limit. You could have $250,000 in your individual account, $250,000 in your spouse's individual account, and $250,000 in your joint account—all at the same bank, all fully insured.

What happens to money over the $250,000 limit

If a bank fails and you have $300,000 in an individual account, the FDIC pays you $250,000. The remaining $50,000 becomes a claim against the bank's assets. In most bank failures, uninsured depositors recover some of that money, but it can take months or years, and recovery is often partial. You should not count on getting it back.

The FDIC does not move money around to protect you. If you have $300,000 in a savings account and $0 in a checking account at the same bank, the FDIC does not automatically shift $50,000 from savings to checking to spread your coverage. The limit applies to your total deposits in that category at that bank, regardless of how you split them across account types.

This is why people with more than $250,000 to keep safe often use multiple banks. It is the only way to have all of it insured. Some people also use brokerage firms that offer FDIC coverage through multiple partner banks, though you need to understand how that coverage works—it is not automatic.

Coverage at different banks versus different accounts at one bank

The FDIC limit resets at each bank. If you have $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B, both amounts are fully insured. The limit is per bank, not per person. This is why the FDIC publishes a tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator, which lets you enter your accounts and see exactly how much is insured at each institution.

The bank must be an FDIC member for any of this to explore. Most banks are members, but some are not. You can check whether a specific bank is insured by searching the FDIC's Bank Find tool on their website. If a bank is not a member, your deposits have no FDIC protection at all.

Credit unions are not covered by the FDIC. They are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which offers the same $250,000 limit per account category per credit union. The rules are nearly identical, but the insurer is different.

Special situations that change your coverage

If you are a beneficiary of someone else's will or trust, and that person names you as a beneficiary in a revocable trust account, you may have separate FDIC coverage. The bank must have the trust document on file and must be able to identify you as a named beneficiary. This is not automatic—the account must be set up correctly for the coverage to explore.

If you are a custodian of an account for a minor (a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account, or UTMA), that account is insured separately from your own accounts. The minor is the owner for FDIC purposes, even though you control the money.

If you have a power of attorney over someone else's account, that does not create separate coverage. The account is still insured under the owner's name and category. Having the legal right to move someone else's money does not change how the FDIC insures it.

How to check your coverage at your bank

The FDIC provides a free tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator on their website. You enter your bank name, the type of account, the ownership category, and the balance. The calculator tells you exactly how much is insured and how much is not. It takes about five minutes and removes the guesswork.

You can also call your bank and ask directly. Most banks have someone in customer service who can walk you through your coverage. Bring a list of all your accounts at that bank—individual, joint, retirement, and any others—along with the balances. The bank can tell you the total insured amount.

If you have accounts at multiple banks, you need to check coverage at each one separately. The FDIC Coverage Calculator works for one bank at a time. If you have substantial savings across several institutions, spend an hour going through each one. It is the only way to know whether you are fully protected.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $250,000 in a savings account and $100,000 in a checking account at the same bank, is all of it insured?

No. Both accounts are in the individual ownership category, so the FDIC adds them together and insures $250,000 of the combined $350,000. The remaining $100,000 is uninsured. To protect all of it, you would need to move $100,000 to a different bank.

Does FDIC coverage explore if the bank is sold to another bank?
Yes. If your bank is acquired by another bank, your FDIC coverage continues. The acquiring bank becomes the new FDIC member, and your deposits remain insured up to $250,000 per category. You do not need to do anything.

What if I have a joint account with someone who also has their own individual account at the same bank?

The joint account and the individual account are separate categories, so each gets its own $250,000 limit. If the joint account has $200,000 and the individual account has $200,000, both are fully insured. The FDIC does not combine them.

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 purposes. They are all part of the individual (or joint, or retirement) category, and the $250,000 limit applies to the combined total across all of them at that bank.

If I have more than $250,000, what is the safest way to protect it all?

Spread it across multiple FDIC-insured banks, keeping $250,000 or less per category at each one. You can also use different ownership categories at the same bank—for example, an individual account, a joint account with your spouse, and a retirement account—to multiply your coverage. The FDIC Coverage Calculator can help you plan this.

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.