Enter your deposits, pick the ownership category, and see instantly how much of your money the FDIC insures — plus the amount at risk if the bank fails.
The FDIC insures deposits per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. The table below uses this page's own formula — the standard maximum is $250,000.
| Scenario | Deposits | Limit | Insured | Uninsured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Account | $240,000 | $250,000 | $240,000 | $0 |
| Joint Account | $600,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $100,000 |
| Trust, 3 Beneficiaries | $900,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | $150,000 |
| Retirement Account | $300,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $50,000 |
The Single Account is fully protected because $240,000 sits below the $250,000 limit. The Joint Account gets $500,000 of coverage ($250,000 per co-owner), leaving $100,000 exposed. The Trust with three beneficiaries gets $750,000 — $250,000 for each named beneficiary. The Retirement account gets the same $250,000 as a single account; retirement funds at a bank are not given a higher cap.
| Ownership Category | Standard Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single / Individual | $250,000 | One owner, one bank |
| Joint (2 co-owners) | $500,000 | $250,000 per co-owner |
| Revocable Trust | $250,000 × beneficiaries | Up to 5 beneficiaries ($1.25M) |
| Certain Retirement Accounts | $250,000 | IRAs at a bank; 401(k) at a brokerage is SIPC, different rule |
| Government Accounts | $250,000 | Municipal deposits |
The FDIC insures deposits at member banks and thrifts up to the Standard Maximum Deposit Insurance Amount (SMDIA) of $250,000, applied per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Those three qualifiers are why the coverage can be far larger — or far smaller — than a single $250,000 figure suggests.
Each category is insured separately at the same bank. A married couple can therefore hold, at one institution:
Mutual funds, annuities, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies, and — critically — the market value of investments held in a brokerage account. Those are covered, if at all, by SIPC up to $500,000 for securities, which is a very different protection.
When a bank fails, the FDIC typically arranges a merger or pays insured depositors within a few business days. Insured depositors have never lost a penny in an FDIC-insured account since the agency's creation in 1933. Uninsured depositors become general creditors and recover whatever remains of the bank's assets.
1. Split across ownership categories. A single owner can stack a $250,000 individual account, a $500,000 joint account, and a retirement account at one bank.
2. Use multiple banks. Coverage is per bank, so $500,000 spread as $250,000 in two banks is fully insured.
3. Name beneficiaries on trust accounts. Each qualifying beneficiary adds $250,000 of coverage, up to five per owner.
4. Use the FDIC's EDIE estimator. For complex ownership, the official Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator is the authoritative tool.
Between 2008 and 2023, the banking system went from an afterthought to a front-page topic — the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature, and First Republic reminded depositors that "money in the bank" is a credit relationship, not a vault. The FDIC exists precisely to make that relationship safe for ordinary balances.
Understanding the coverage rules matters most for people who sit near a threshold: a saver with $240,000 is fully protected, but one with $300,000 in a single account has $50,000 at risk if the bank fails. The gap is entirely avoidable through categorizing or splitting accounts, and costs nothing to fix.
| Agency | Covers | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| FDIC | Deposits at member banks | $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per category |
| NCUA | Deposits at federal credit unions | Same $250,000 standard as FDIC |
| SIPC | Securities held at a brokerage | $500,000 (incl. $250,000 cash sub-limit) |
| None | Mutual funds, annuities, crypto, commodity futures | Not insured |
The distinction matters because "insured" marketing copy is often loose. A checking or savings balance is FDIC-insured; a brokerage sweep into a money-market fund may be SIPC-protected but not FDIC-guaranteed, depending on structure.
⚠️ Important: This calculator applies the standard FDIC ownership-category limits as of 2025 for a single bank and single depositor arrangement. Real coverage depends on exact account titling, beneficiaries, and aggregation rules across accounts. Use the FDIC EDIE estimator for an authoritative determination.