How Much Can You Deposit in a Checking Account?

Checking accounts are the backbone of many people's finances. They're often where you get your paycheck deposited, what you use to pay your rent or mortgage, and how you manage hundreds of other transactions. As such, it's useful to have a decent chunk of cash in them.

Generally speaking, you can deposit as much as you want into a checking account. You can also keep as much money as you want in your account. However, it's worth being aware of FDIC insurance limits and the potential to earn interest elsewhere. And if you want to deposit large sums of cash, the government may want to know about it.

Plus, some banks have limits on how much you can deposit within certain timeframes. Some do not allow cash deposits at all, and others may have restrictions on how much you can deposit at the ATM.

Checking account deposits and the law

For cash deposits, the magic number is $10,000. If you make a deposit, or series of deposits, of $10,000 or over, your bank has to report it under the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act. The reason? Authorities want to make it hard for criminals to launder money that comes from illegal activities.

Our Picks for the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2025

Product	APY	Min. to Earn
American Express® High Yield Savings Member FDIC. APY 3.70% Rate info 3.70% annual percentage yield as of March 6, 2025. Terms apply. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	3.70% Rate info 3.70% annual percentage yield as of March 6, 2025. Terms apply.	$0	Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website.
SoFi Checking and Savings Member FDIC. APY up to 3.80%² Rate info You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings On SoFi's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	up to 3.80%² Rate info You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.	$0	Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings On SoFi's Secure Website.
Capital One 360 Performance Savings Member FDIC. APY 3.70% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of Feb. 6, 2025. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings On Capital One's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	3.70% Rate info See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of Feb. 6, 2025. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening.	$0	Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings On Capital One's Secure Website.

Disclaimers

SoFi disclosure:

¹ New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) OR $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/26. See full bonus and annual percentage yield (APY) terms at sofi.com/banking#1.

² SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus with Direct Deposit or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days or with $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either SoFi Plus or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.00% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi Plus members are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 1/24/25. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. See the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus.

³ We do not charge any account, service or maintenance fees for SoFi Checking and Savings. We do charge a transaction fee to process each outgoing wire transfer. SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming wire transfers, however the sending bank may charge a fee. Our fee policy is subject to change at any time. See the SoFi Checking & Savings Fee Sheet for details at sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/.

⁴ SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations. Any additional

FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $2M through participation in the program. See full terms at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/terms

See list of participating banks at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/receivingbanks

⁵ We’ve partnered with Allpoint to provide you with ATM access at any of the 55,000+ ATMs within the Allpoint network. You will not be charged a fee when using an in-network ATM, however, third-party fees incurred when using out-of-network ATMs are not subject to reimbursement. SoFi’s ATM policies are subject to change at our discretion at any time.

⁶ Early access to direct deposit funds is based on the timing in which we receive notice of impending payment from the Federal Reserve, which is typically up to two days before the scheduled payment date, but may vary.

⁷ Overdraft Coverage is limited to $50 on debit card purchases only and is an account benefit available to customers with direct deposits of $1,000 or more during the current 30-day Evaluation Period as determined by SoFi Bank, N.A. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the“30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Members with a prior history of non-repayment of negative balances are ineligible for Overdraft Coverage.

As a result, you'll be asked to provide additional information or documentation if you make a cash deposit of more than $10,000. This might include your personal ID and Social Security number. You may also need to explain where you got the money and provide supporting documents.

You might think you could avoid hassle by breaking up your deposits to stay under the limit. Or splitting payments and putting part of the money into savings accounts or investment accounts. Don't do this. It is called structuring and it is a criminal offense. You won't get into trouble for making a large deposit, as long as you have a legitimate reason for it. But you will find yourself in hot water if you try to get around the rules and hide your activities.

Business owners need to report large transactions, too. Let's say you're a used car dealer and someone pays you in cash for a vehicle. You need to fill out Form 8300 within 15 days to inform the IRS about the payment.

What it means for your banking

Given how many times you use your checking account each day, it's useful to understand deposit limits. Here's what to consider when deciding how much to deposit -- and how much to leave -- in your checking account.

Bank-specific rules

In addition to the rules around reporting cash deposits of over $10,000, every bank has different rules for deposits, cash or otherwise. Check with your bank to see what rules might apply. If you're thinking of opening a new account, look for a bank that matches your banking habits.

For example:

• Ally Bank does not accept cash deposits at all. It only allows check deposits of up to $50,000 in a day and $250,000 every 30 calendar days with Ally eCheck Deposit℠.
• Axos Bank limits mobile deposits to $10,000 per business day and sets a $50,000 30-day rolling limit.
• SoFi® Money only allows two cash deposits per day. It has a maximum of $500 per cash deposit transaction. It also limits total cash deposits to $1,000 per day, $3,000 per week, and $5,000 per month.

FDIC limits

FDIC insurance is what protects your money if your bank fails. All major banks are members of the FDIC. If you're thinking about making significant deposits into your checking account, make sure you understand FDIC insurance limits.

For each bank you use, the FDIC will protect up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. Ownership categories are things like an individual account or a joint account. So, if you had both a single account and a joint account with the same bank, each would qualify for FDIC protection. The joint account would be covered for up to $500,000 because there are two depositors.

Interest-earning possibilities

Many checking accounts do not pay a lot of interest, particularly when compared with some of the high-yield savings accounts on the market today. It's important to deposit enough money in your checking account to meet any minimum balance requirements and avoid any accidental overdraft fees.

At the same time, if your checking account does not pay interest, you could be losing out. For example, $5,000 deposited in a savings account with an APY of 5.00% could earn $250 in interest in a year. Be conscious about whether your money is working as hard as it could be for you.

Think about where you want to keep your money

If you have legitimate reasons for cash deposits of over $10,000, nobody will stop you from making them. The only real limits on how much you can deposit to your checking account are those your bank enforces.

All the same, just because you can deposit lots of money into your checking account, it doesn't mean you should keep it there. Actively manage where you keep your cash, so you can earn the most possible interest and benefit from full FDIC protection.