Updated August 13, 2026. Quick answer: this is not a coverage lookup — the FDIC’s own EDIE already does that, and does it well. This one answers the question EDIE does not: how many institutions does my cash need, and how much goes to each. It works out your capacity at one bank from the ownership categories you are actually willing to use, then divides. A single person with one account has $250,000 of capacity per bank; the same person naming five beneficiaries and holding an IRA has $1,750,000; a married couple using every category can reach $3,500,000 at a single institution.
The allocator
The four rules it computes from
| Category | Rule | What it is worth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single accounts | 12 CFR 330.6 | $250,000 per owner | www.ecfr.gov |
| Joint accounts | 12 CFR 330.9 | $250,000 per co-owner, shares presumed equal | www.ecfr.gov |
| Trust accounts (2024 rule) | 12 CFR 330.10 | $250,000 per beneficiary, maximum five — $1,250,000 per owner | www.ecfr.gov |
| Certain retirement accounts | 12 CFR 330.14(b)(2) | $250,000 per owner, IRAs aggregated | www.ecfr.gov |
The headline limit is “$250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category”, defined in the regulation as the standard maximum deposit insurance amount. The categories genuinely stack: the FDIC answers “can I have more than $250,000 at one bank” with “Yes”.
The 2024 change this tool enforces
“(b) Calculation of coverage—(1) General calculation. Trust deposits are insured in an amount up to the SMDIA multiplied by the total number of beneficiaries identified by each grantor, up to a maximum of 5 beneficiaries.” — www.ecfr.gov
Before April 2024 a long beneficiary list kept multiplying. It does not any more, and the FDIC states the ceiling in plain language: $1,250,000 per owner for all trust accounts. The rule also aggregates revocable and irrevocable trust deposits from the same grantor, so having two trusts does not restart the count. Naming a sixth beneficiary is not a mistake — it simply adds no coverage, and this tool says so rather than quietly ignoring it. Who counts as a beneficiary is also defined: living people, charities and non-profits, not contingent takers.
Our pages on what the 2024 change did and the five-name cap work through the same rule in prose.
The check this tool passes
The FDIC publishes a worked example of a family using every category at one bank — a husband, a wife and three children, where each owner names four unique beneficiaries (the spouse plus the three children). FDIC’s own total is $3,500,000. Fed the same family, this calculator returns $3,500,000: $500,000 single, $500,000 joint, $2,000,000 trust, $500,000 retirement. That is not a self-check — it is this tool reproducing a number the regulator published.
Why the answer is usually “more than one bank”
Two rules make a single institution a ceiling rather than a plan. Branches do not help: deposits at different branches of the same bank are added together. Separate charters do: accounts at a separately chartered and insured institution are insured separately — which is why “two banks” means two charters, not two brands owned by one holding company. Check the charter before assuming.
A worked case: $3,000,000 held by one person with no beneficiaries and no IRA needs 12 institutions. The same money with the structures in place needs far fewer — which is the trade-off the tool is for.
The headroom nobody leaves
“Deposit insurance is calculated dollar-for-dollar, principal plus any interest accrued or due to the depositor, through the date of default. For example, if a customer had a CD account in her name alone with a principal balance of $195,000 and $3,000 in accrue…” — www.fdic.gov
Coverage is measured on principal plus accrued interest. An account funded to exactly $250,000 is uninsured on its next interest posting, by the amount of that interest. The headroom box is on by default for that reason.
Use EDIE as well
The FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator is the authoritative per-bank check and this tool is not a substitute for it. The division of labour is simple: EDIE answers “is this bank’s money insured”. This answers “how many banks do I need”. Run both.
Where the cash sits is a decision of its own
Comparing one place to hold money against another answers part of the question; how much belongs in cash at all, and what the rest should be doing, is the other part, and an adviser can work through both with you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions (age, investable assets, location), then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice.
What we could not establish, and are not going to invent
Two things this tool deliberately does not do:
- Credit unions. NCUA share insurance is a different rulebook and its trust rules do not converge with the FDIC’s until 1 December 2026 — a date our comparison page covers. Do not use this allocator for credit-union money.
- Business, government and employee-benefit-plan accounts. Those are real categories with their own rules and this tool does not model them. It covers the four categories a household actually uses.
Related: how to insure more than $250,000 · the cap-aware CD ladder · what happens if it does fail.
Sources
Every rule this calculator applies is read from 12 CFR part 330 through the eCFR, or from the FDIC’s own consumer material, on August 13, 2026.
| What it establishes | Read at |
|---|---|
| The SMDIA (Standard Maximum Deposit Insurance Amount) is $250,000, defined by regulation. | www.ecfr.gov |
| FDIC’s own consumer-facing phrasing of the SMDIA rule uses the exact words ‘per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category’. | www.fdic.gov |
| Single ownership accounts: funds owned by a natural person in his/her own name(s) at one bank are added together and insured up to the SMDIA in the aggregate. | www.ecfr.gov |
| Each co-owner’s combined share across all qualifying joint accounts at one bank is insured up to $250,000. | www.ecfr.gov |
| Co-owners’ shares of a qualifying joint account are presumed equal unless the bank’s records state otherwise. | www.ecfr.gov |
| Certain retirement accounts (traditional/Roth/SEP/SIMPLE IRAs, self-directed defined-contribution plans, section 457 plans) are aggregated per owner per bank and insured up to $250,000. | www.ecfr.gov |
| THE 2024 RULE. Trust accounts (revocable and irrevocable, consolidated into one category) are insured at $250,000 per beneficiary identified by the grantor, capped at a maximum of 5 beneficiaries per owner per bank ($1,250,000 max). | www.ecfr.gov |
| The 2024 rule aggregates informal revocable, formal revocable, and irrevocable trust deposits from the same grantor for purposes of the single $1,250,000 cap. | www.ecfr.gov |
| FDIC’s own plain-language explanation of the April 1, 2024 trust-account rule change and its $1,250,000 cap. | edie.fdic.gov |
| Eligible trust beneficiaries are living persons, IRS-recognized charities, or non-profit organizations; the grantor and contingent ‘if others predecease’ beneficiaries do not count. | www.ecfr.gov |
| FDIC confirms ownership categories genuinely stack at one bank — more than $250,000 of coverage is possible at a single institution if funds are spread across different ownership categories. | www.fdic.gov |
| FDIC’s own worked maximum example for a family using multiple ownership categories at one bank: a husband and wife with three children can reach $3,500,000 of FDIC coverage at a single insured bank. | www.fdic.gov |
| EDIE is FDIC’s official Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, at edie.fdic.gov, described by FDIC as calculating per-bank insurance coverage for a depositor’s specific accounts. | edie.fdic.gov |
| Deposits at different branches/offices of the SAME insured bank are NOT separately insured — they are added together. | www.ecfr.gov |
| Two banks that are separately chartered and separately insured are insured SEPARATELY from each other, even if commonly owned by the same holding company. | www.ecfr.gov |
| FDIC insurance covers accrued interest along with principal, up to the date of the bank’s default/closing — accrued interest counts toward the $250,000 limit, it is not insured separately or on top of it. | www.fdic.gov |
Cite or share this calculator
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “FDIC Coverage Allocator (2026),” regulation-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/fdic-coverage-calculator/. Free to cite with attribution.
Methodology: capacity is computed per ownership category from 12 CFR part 330 and summed, then the total is divided by that capacity to give the number of institutions. The trust category is capped at five beneficiaries per owner under the rule as amended on 1 April 2024. The result is checked against the FDIC’s own published multi-category example, which it reproduces to the dollar. No login, no email capture, and the result is not a recommendation about any institution.
General information about federal deposit-insurance rules, not financial advice. This tool models the four household ownership categories and assumes each institution is separately chartered and FDIC-insured. Confirm your own position with the FDIC’s EDIE tool or your bank before relying on it.