FDIC insurance limits and how coverage works

FDIC coverage is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.

Nearly every summary gives you the first two and stops. The third is the one that decides whether a household with more than $250,000 is fully covered, and it is the reason two people can hold $1,250,000 at a single bank with every cent insured.

A category is about how an account is legally held, not what the bank calls the product. Single accounts are one category. Joint accounts are another. Certain retirement accounts and revocable trust accounts are others again.

Each category gets its own $250,000 per depositor at the same bank. So:

• Three savings accounts in your sole name at one bank share one $250,000 limit between them.
• A savings account in your sole name and a joint account with your partner at the same bank are in different categories, each with its own coverage.

This is also why the answer to “can I just open more accounts?” is usually no. More accounts in the same category at the same bank add no coverage at all.

In a joint account each co-owner is insured up to $250,000 for their share, so two owners means up to $500,000 of coverage on that one account, on top of whatever each of them holds individually.

For a couple at a single bank that works out as up to $250,000 each in single accounts plus $500,000 jointly, so $1,000,000 fully insured without leaving the bank.

The conditions are real, though: all co-owners must have equal rights of withdrawal, and the account has to be genuinely jointly held rather than one person’s account with another name attached for convenience.

The scheme insures deposits. Not investments, even when you bought them at an insured bank.

Outside the scheme entirely: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, annuities, life insurance, crypto assets and the contents of a safe deposit box.

Note the money market entry. A money market deposit account at a bank is fully covered. A money market fund at a brokerage is not, and the two are one word apart. The difference is worth reading before you move money into one.

Bank mergers. If you hold $200,000 at each of two banks and those banks merge, you are suddenly $150,000 over the limit at one institution through no action of your own. The FDIC allows a transition period after a merger, but the position needs fixing rather than ignoring.

Brands that share a charter.Several online savings brands are trading names of the same underlying bank. Deposits at two brands sharing one charter count as deposits at one bank for insurance purposes. The FDIC’s BankFind tool shows which charter a brand belongs to, and it is worth ten seconds before assuming you have doubled your coverage.

The FDIC runs a free calculator called EDIE that takes your actual accounts and ownership arrangements and tells you exactly how much of your money is insured. It is the authoritative answer and it costs nothing.

We deliberately do not reproduce it here. Deposit insurance is the one topic on this site where a rough approximation is worse than no tool at all, and the agency that pays out already publishes the exact one.

If you are near the limit, the practical fixes are splitting across separate banks, using different ownership categories, or a network service that spreads a large deposit across many member banks. How much to keep in savings at all may also be worth revisiting at that level.

How much money is FDIC insured?

The standard limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category. All three parts matter. The same person can be insured for far more than $250,000 at one bank by holding money in different ownership categories, and can be under-insured despite being below the limit at one bank if they hold accounts at two banks that later merge.

What is an ownership category?

It is how the account is legally held rather than what the account is called. Single accounts, joint accounts, certain retirement accounts, revocable trust accounts and a few others are separate categories, and each gets its own $250,000 of coverage per depositor at the same bank. Two savings accounts and a CD held individually at one bank are all the same category and share one limit between them.

How much is a joint account insured for?

Each co-owner is insured up to $250,000 for their share, so a joint account with two owners is covered up to $500,000, provided both are real co-owners with equal rights of withdrawal. That coverage sits on top of what each person has in their own single accounts at the same bank, because joint and single are different ownership categories.

Are savings accounts FDIC insured?

Yes, at an FDIC-insured bank. Savings accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit are all covered deposit products on the same terms. Credit unions are not FDIC members; they are covered by the NCUA, which provides equivalent protection at the same limit.

What is not covered by FDIC insurance?

Anything that is not a deposit. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, annuities, life insurance policies, crypto assets and the contents of a safe deposit box are all outside the scheme, even when bought through an insured bank. The name similarity between a money market account, which is covered, and a money market fund, which is not, causes the most confusion here.

Do I need to apply for FDIC insurance?

No. Coverage is automatic on deposits at an insured institution and there is nothing to sign up for and nothing to pay. What you should do is confirm the bank is actually FDIC insured, which you can check on the FDIC's own BankFind tool, particularly with an unfamiliar online brand.

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

The excess is uninsured, and in a failure you become a creditor of the bank for that portion rather than being made whole. The usual fixes are splitting across separate banks, using different ownership categories at the same bank, or using a network service that spreads a large deposit across many member banks. The FDIC's EDIE tool calculates your specific position.

Does the limit apply per account or per person?

Per depositor, not per account. Opening three savings accounts at the same bank in your own name does not give you $750,000 of coverage, because all three sit in the single-account ownership category and share one $250,000 limit. Opening the same three accounts at three different banks does give you $750,000.