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

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits at member banks up to $250,000 per person, per institution. That means if you have $300,000 in a savings account at one bank, the FDIC covers $250,000 and you lose the remaining $50,000 if the bank fails. The $250,000 limit applies to each account category separately — so you can have $250,000 in a personal savings account and another $250,000 in a joint account at the same bank, and both are fully covered.

The coverage limit has been $250,000 since 2010. It does not change based on market conditions, inflation, or how long you have held the account. If your bank fails tomorrow, the FDIC pays out based on the balance as of the day of failure.

Key Takeaways

  • The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor per bank per account category, so $300,000 in one savings account means $50,000 is uninsured.
  • Joint accounts, retirement accounts, and trust accounts are each insured separately from your personal accounts, allowing you to spread coverage across multiple categories at the same bank.
  • Money market accounts and savings accounts are treated the same way for FDIC purposes — both count toward the $250,000 limit in the same category.
  • Accounts at different banks are insured separately, so you can have $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B with full coverage at both.
  • The FDIC does not cover investment products like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or brokerage accounts, even if held at a bank.

How account categories change your coverage

The $250,000 limit resets for each account category you hold at the same bank. A personal account (in your name alone) is one category. A joint account (shared with another person) is a separate category and gets its own $250,000 coverage. A retirement account (IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA) is a third category with separate $250,000 coverage. A trust account is a fourth category.

This means you can have $250,000 in a personal savings account, $250,000 in a joint savings account with your spouse, and $250,000 in a traditional IRA — all at the same bank — and all three amounts are fully insured. The categories do not mix. Money in your personal account does not count toward the joint account limit.

Other categories include accounts held in trust for a child, accounts where you are the beneficiary of a payable-on-death (POD) designation, and accounts held by a business. Each has its own $250,000 limit at the same bank.

What happens when you exceed $250,000 at one bank

If you have $400,000 in a personal savings account at one bank, only $250,000 is insured. The other $150,000 is at risk if the bank fails. You do not get a warning, and the bank does not move money to a separate account. The FDIC simply pays out $250,000 if the bank closes.

The simplest way to protect money above $250,000 is to split it across different banks. Put $250,000 at Bank A and $150,000 at Bank B, and both amounts are fully covered because they are at different institutions. The FDIC insures each bank separately, so the limit resets at each one.

Some people use a service called CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service) or IntraFi to hold large sums in CDs across multiple banks while managing them through a single platform. These services automatically split your deposit across partner banks so each piece stays under $250,000 at any one institution. You still own one CD and receive one interest rate, but the FDIC covers the full amount because it is technically held at multiple banks.

Money market accounts and checking accounts follow the same rules

The FDIC treats savings accounts, money market accounts, and checking accounts the same way for coverage purposes. They all count toward the same $250,000 limit in the personal account category. If you have $150,000 in a savings account and $120,000 in a checking account at the same bank, the FDIC covers only $250,000 total — not $250,000 for each account type.

The account type does not matter. What matters is the category (personal, joint, retirement, trust) and the bank. A money market account at Bank A is separate from a money market account at Bank B, so each gets $250,000 coverage. But a money market account and a savings account at the same bank share the $250,000 limit.

Investment accounts and brokerage accounts are not FDIC insured

The FDIC does not cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or any investment product, even if you hold them through a bank's brokerage arm. If you buy $300,000 in mutual funds through your bank, zero dollars are FDIC insured. The bank can fail and you lose everything.

Brokerage accounts held at banks are sometimes covered by SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) instead, which protects against broker failure but works differently and has lower limits. SIPC covers up to $500,000 per customer per brokerage firm, with a $250,000 limit on cash. But SIPC does not protect you if the value of your investments drops — it only protects if the brokerage firm itself fails and cannot return your securities.

If you want both FDIC coverage and investment exposure, keep your cash deposits under $250,000 per bank in FDIC-insured accounts, and hold investments in a separate brokerage account.

How to check your coverage at your current bank

The FDIC provides a tool called the FDIC Coverage Calculator on its website (fdic.gov). You enter your bank name, the account types you hold there, and the balances, and it tells you exactly how much is covered and how much is not. It takes two minutes and removes guesswork.

You can also call your bank directly and ask how much of your account is FDIC insured. The bank should be able to tell you based on your account category and balance. If they cannot answer clearly, that is a red flag — they should know this.

The FDIC also publishes a list of member banks on its website. If your bank is not on the list, your deposits are not FDIC insured at all, regardless of balance. Most banks are members, but some credit unions and online banks are not.

What to do if you have more than $250,000

If you have savings above $250,000, you have several options. The safest is to spread money across multiple banks so each bank holds no more than $250,000 in any single account category. Open a savings account at a second bank and move $150,000 there. Both amounts are now fully covered.

If you want to keep everything at one bank, use a CD ladder or CDARS service to split large deposits across partner banks automatically. This works well for CDs because you lock in a rate and the service handles the splitting behind the scenes.

You can also use a high-yield savings account at an online bank that is part of a network. Some online banks partner with multiple institutions so deposits are automatically spread across banks, keeping each under $250,000. Read the fine print to confirm this is how they work.

For very large sums, some people use a combination: $250,000 in a personal account at Bank A, $250,000 in a joint account at Bank A (if married), $250,000 in a retirement account at Bank A, and additional amounts at Bank B, Bank C, and so on. This maximizes coverage across categories and institutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 in a savings account and the bank fails, do I lose $50,000?

Yes. The FDIC insures only $250,000 of that account. The remaining $50,000 is uninsured and you lose it if the bank fails. The FDIC does not automatically protect amounts above the limit — you have to move money to a different bank or use a service like CDARS to spread it across institutions.

Are joint accounts insured separately from personal accounts?

Yes. A joint account gets its own $250,000 coverage at the same bank, separate from your personal account. If you have $250,000 in a personal savings account and $250,000 in a joint savings account at the same bank, both are fully covered because they are different account categories.

Does FDIC insurance cover my IRA?

Yes, but separately. An IRA (traditional, Roth, or SEP) gets its own $250,000 coverage at each bank, separate from your personal and joint accounts. So you can have $250,000 in an IRA and $250,000 in a personal account at the same bank, and both are fully insured.

What if I have money at two different branches of the same bank?

Branches do not matter. The FDIC insures by bank, not by branch. If you have $150,000 at the downtown branch and $120,000 at the uptown branch of the same bank, the FDIC covers only $250,000 total across both branches because they are the same institution.

Are savings bonds or Treasury bills FDIC insured?

No. The FDIC covers only deposit accounts — savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. Bonds, Treasury bills, stocks, and mutual funds are not covered, even if you buy them through a bank. They may be covered by other insurance (like SIPC for brokerage accounts), but not by the FDIC.