Short answer: Deposit insurance is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank (or federally insured credit union), for each ownership category — single, joint, certain retirement (IRAs), and trust/POD are separate buckets. Since April 1, 2024, FDIC trust coverage is $250,000 × unique eligible beneficiaries, max five ($1,250,000) per owner per bank for POD, living-trust and most irrevocable-trust deposits combined. Use the checker below for multi-bank math; confirm with FDIC EDIE or NCUA Share Insurance Estimator.
Best move if you're near or over $250,000
If you have more than $250,000 at one bank or credit union: split balances by ownership category first, then across separately chartered insured institutions — a joint account, an IRA, and a POD with named beneficiaries can each get their own $250,000 (or more for trusts). Run the checker, then confirm complex trusts with EDIE or the NCUA estimator before you move money.
The math:
$250,000 per depositor / member, per insured institution, per ownership category (FDIC & NCUA)
Joint: each co-owner’s equal share of all joint accounts at that place is insured up to $250,000
Trust/POD (FDIC Apr. 1, 2024): $250,000 × unique eligible beneficiaries, max 5 = $1,250,000 per owner per bank
Add each insured bank or federally insured credit union separately. Categories at the same place are insured separately. Trust/POD math uses $250,000 × unique eligible beneficiaries (max 5 = $1,250,000) per owner — FDIC rule since April 1, 2024. Leave a box empty if it does not apply.
$250,000Standard limit: Per depositor (or member), per insured bank or federally insured credit union, for each ownership category. Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits · NCUA Share Insurance
$250,000 per personSingle accounts: All deposits in one person's name only (no co-owners, no beneficiaries) at the same institution are added together and insured up to $250,000. Sole-proprietorship DBA accounts count as the owner's single accounts.Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits
$250,000 per co-ownerJoint accounts: Each living co-owner's equal share of all joint accounts at the same institution is insured up to $250,000. Two co-owners can have up to $500,000 fully insured in joint accounts alone (if they have no other joint accounts there).Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits
$250,000 per personCertain retirement accounts: Traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs (and certain other self-directed retirement deposits listed by the FDIC) at the same bank are added together and insured up to $250,000. Naming beneficiaries on an IRA does not increase FDIC coverage.Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits
$250,000 × beneficiaries (max 5)Trust / POD / ITF (FDIC, Apr. 1, 2024): Informal revocable trusts (POD/ITF), formal revocable trusts, and most irrevocable trusts at the same bank are combined. Each owner is insured up to $250,000 per unique eligible beneficiary, capped at $1,250,000 for five or more beneficiaries. Eligible beneficiaries are living people, charities, or qualifying nonprofits.Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits · 12 CFR 330.10 · FDIC: Trust Accounts guide
Insured separatelySeparate banks / CUs: Deposits at differently chartered insured banks (or differently chartered federally insured credit unions) are insured separately. Branches of the same institution are not.Source: FDIC: Your Insured Deposits · NCUA Share Insurance
Trust / POD coverage (FDIC since April 1, 2024)
Informal revocable trusts (payable on death, in trust for), formal revocable (living/family) trusts, and most irrevocable trusts at the same bank are insured together in the Trust Accounts category. Each owner gets up to $250,000 per unique eligible beneficiary, capped at $1,250,000 for five or more (FDIC: Your Insured Deposits · 12 CFR 330.10).
This page does pure arithmetic from the published FDIC and NCUA rules cited below. It is not the official answer and not estate-planning advice.
FDIC trust math here follows Your Insured Deposits / 12 CFR 330.10 as of April 1, 2024 ($250,000 × unique eligible beneficiaries, max five / $1,250,000 per owner per bank for all trust accounts combined).
NCUA's parallel simplified trust-accounts category takes effect December 1, 2026 (MyCreditUnion.gov fact sheet). Until then, confirm credit-union trust / POD coverage with the NCUA Share Insurance Estimator — this tool still shows the same $250,000 × min(5, beneficiaries) illustration for CUs and labels that date.
We assume equal joint ownership (FDIC default), eligible beneficiaries, and that account titles meet the category rules. Complex trusts, life estates, employee-benefit plans, business entities, government accounts, and pass-through/brokered deposits need EDIE or the NCUA estimator.
Some state-chartered credit unions use private share insurance that is not NCUA/federally backed — check the NCUA Credit Union Locator.
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, crypto, annuities, and safe-deposit box contents are not deposit insurance.
Not deposit-insurance advice. We republish FDIC and NCUA published rules with dates and do arithmetic on numbers you type. Your institution’s records and the FDIC/NCUA decide actual coverage when a bank or credit union fails.
The standard maximum deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category (single, joint, certain retirement, trust, and others). Coverage is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
Do joint accounts get $500,000 of coverage?
Often yes for two co-owners: each co-owner’s equal share of all joint accounts at that bank is insured up to $250,000, so two people can have up to $500,000 insured in the joint category alone if they meet FDIC joint-account rules.
How are POD and living-trust deposits insured?
Under the FDIC rule effective April 1, 2024, an owner’s trust deposits (POD/ITF, formal revocable, and most irrevocable trusts combined at one bank) are insured up to $250,000 per unique eligible beneficiary, maximum $1,250,000 for five or more beneficiaries.
Does naming a beneficiary on my IRA increase FDIC coverage?
No. FDIC adds certain retirement account deposits together and insures them up to $250,000 per person per bank. Beneficiaries on an IRA do not raise that limit.
Are credit unions insured the same way?
Federally insured credit unions have NCUA Share Insurance of $250,000 per member-owner, per credit union, per ownership category, also backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. NCUA’s simplified trust category takes effect December 1, 2026 — confirm CU trusts with the NCUA estimator. Some state-chartered credit unions use private insurers.
Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.