High-Yield Savings Calculator
Optional: promo rate, inflation and a goal
Results update as you type. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
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Hover, tap or drag across the chart to read any month. Interest is compounded so the APY you enter is exactly what a full year earns.
Year-by-year schedule
| Year | Deposited so far | Interest that year | Total interest | Balance | At 0.37% instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16,000 | $509 | $509 | $16,509 | $16,047 |
| 2 | $22,000 | $770 | $1,279 | $23,279 | $22,117 |
| 3 | $28,000 | $1,040 | $2,319 | $30,319 | $28,209 |
| 4 | $34,000 | $1,322 | $3,641 | $37,641 | $34,323 |
| 5 | $40,000 | $1,615 | $5,256 | $45,256 | $40,460 |
The rate gets all the attention, but in our testing the monthly deposit moved the final number far more. Someone who parks $10,000 and adds $500 a month for five years at 4.00% earns about $5,256 in interest. Bumping the rate from 4.00% to 4.35% adds only a few hundred dollars over that stretch, while raising the deposit to $600 a month adds $6,000 of principal plus the interest it earns. Chase a better habit first, then a better rate.
Most people searching this already know a high-yield account beats their regular bank. What they want is a straight number: how many dollars will my money make, what do I owe in tax, and is it actually growing once prices go up? The calculator above answers all three, and the notes below cover the traps we hit while opening and moving money between these accounts ourselves.
Key Answers About High-Yield Savings
Rates below were checked in mid-October 2026. Online savings rates are variable, so treat any specific APY as a snapshot, not a promise.
About $400 in a year at 4.00% APY, or close to $33 a month. Leave it alone for five years at that rate and it grows to roughly $12,167.
Roughly $2,000 a year, around $167 a month. At the 0.37% national average, the same $50,000 makes $185 for the whole year.
About $4,000 in year one and close to $21,665 over five years if the rate held at 4.00% and you never withdrew. After a 22% federal tax bite, year one nets about $3,120.
Around $8,000 and $10,000 a year at 4.00%. At $250,000 you're sitting right at the FDIC limit for one owner at one bank, and the first interest payment pushes you over it. See the coverage chart further down.
None of the widely available, federally insured savings accounts we checked. The best ran about 4.00% to 4.35%, with a few promos touching 5% for six months if you meet direct-deposit or balance rules. Advertised 6% or 7% rates almost always apply only to the first few hundred or few thousand dollars.
Up, for now. The Federal Reserve raised its target range a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00% on September 16, and most online banks lifted their APYs within days. The next Fed decision is October 28.
Yes, as ordinary income at your federal rate and, in most states, your state rate too. Banks send a Form 1099-INT once you earn $10 or more, but you owe tax on every dollar either way.
If it's an FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union, yes — up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership category. Fintech apps that aren't banks themselves are a different story.
What Your Money Earns at Today's Rates
Here's the gap in plain dollars: one year, one $10,000 deposit, six different rates you can actually find right now.
Look at the top two bars and the bottom three. Going from a branch bank to any decent online account multiplies what you earn by roughly ten. Going from a good online account to the very best one adds about $35 a year per $10,000. That's why we tell friends to stop agonizing over the top rate. Get into the 3.75%–4.35% band with a bank that's easy to use, then get on with your life.
High-Yield Savings vs. CDs, Money Markets and T-Bills
A savings account isn't always the best home for cash. It depends on when you'll need the money and how much tax you pay.
| Option | Typical yield now | Getting money out | Protection | State tax on interest | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big-bank savings | 0.37% avg | Instant to linked checking | FDIC to $250k | Yes | A small buffer next to checking |
| Online high-yield savings | ~3.50–4.35% | 1–3 business days | FDIC or NCUA to $250k | Yes | Emergency fund, near-term goals |
| Money market account | 0.63% avg; top ones near HYSA | Checks or debit card, often | FDIC or NCUA to $250k | Yes | Savings you may spend directly |
| CD (6–24 months) | 1.71% avg (12-mo); online higher | Penalty if early, often months of interest | FDIC or NCUA to $250k | Yes | Locking a rate for a known date |
| Treasury bills | Tracks Fed rate, near 4% | Sell on a brokerage any trading day | U.S. government backed | No | High earners in high-tax states |
| Money market fund | Close to T-bill yields | Next business day at a brokerage | Not FDIC insured | Depends on fund | Cash waiting to be invested |
Treasury bill interest is exempt from state and local income tax; bank interest isn't. If you live somewhere with a 9% or 10% top rate, a T-bill yielding a little less than your savings account can still leave more in your pocket. Enter your state rate in the calculator, then compare its after-tax figure with the T-bill yield.
Is 4% Really Beating Inflation After Taxes?
Barely, and only if you're in a low bracket. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here's what's left of each rate after a 22% federal tax and that inflation.
A 4% account in the 22% bracket is losing a little buying power right now, about half a percent a year. That sounds discouraging until you look at the bottom bar. The same cash in a typical bank account loses close to 3.5% a year, which on $50,000 is around $1,700 of buying power gone every twelve months. A savings account isn't where wealth gets built; it's where cash goes to lose as little as possible while it waits for its job.
One nuance: the 3.7% headline was pushed up by energy. Core prices, which leave out food and energy, rose 2.6% over the same 12 months. If gas prices settle, a 4% account moves back into positive territory for most savers. Use the "Buying power" tab in the calculator to test your own inflation guess.
Rate Traps We Ran Into
The headline APY is the beginning of the story. These are the fine-print details that changed our actual earnings.
Many top rates are a "boost" for six months. When we set calendar reminders for the end date on two test accounts, one bank emailed us a week before the drop and the other said nothing. Put the promo APY and its length in the calculator's optional fields to see the real blended result.
Some accounts pay the advertised rate only above a set balance, such as $5,000, and a fraction of a percent below it. If your emergency fund will get drawn down, read the tier table before you open the account, not after the first statement.
The federal six-withdrawals-a-month rule was suspended in 2020, but plenty of banks kept their own caps or charge an excess-transfer fee. We found the limit buried in one account's deposit agreement rather than on its rate page.
What to Do in Your Situation
FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category, and no bill to raise that limit for savings accounts has passed. You don't need five banks, though. Different ownership categories at the same bank are insured separately, and since April 2024 trust and payable-on-death accounts are covered at $250,000 per owner for each beneficiary, up to five beneficiaries.
Before the money lands, ask whether your bank offers a deposit-placement network that spreads large balances across many insured banks under one login. And because interest accrues daily, keep each category a bit under its cap.
Interest counts toward the income Medicare uses for its premium surcharges. For 2026 premiums, the surcharge starts above $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $218,000 for joint filers, based on your tax return from two years earlier. Moving $400,000 from a 0.4% account to a 4% one adds roughly $14,400 of income, which can tip you over a line you didn't know was there. It can also make more of your Social Security taxable. Run the numbers with your tax preparer before a big move late in the year.
Keep it out of the stock market; a bad year can erase a 10% down payment. A high-yield account is fine while the closing date is fuzzy. Once you have a target month, put the portion you won't touch into a CD or T-bills that mature a few weeks before closing, and leave the earnest money and closing costs in savings so you can move them the day you need them. In our testing, wires out of online banks often needed a phone call or a cutoff time, so ask early.
You're far from alone. In the Federal Reserve's latest survey, 63% of adults said they'd cover a $400 surprise bill with cash or its equivalent, which means more than a third couldn't. Start with a first target of $1,000, then one month of essential bills, then three. Use the goal field in the calculator; seeing a real date tends to keep the auto-transfer running. We found that a savings account at a different bank from your checking adds just enough friction to stop impulse transfers.
Many apps aren't banks; they hold your money at partner banks through a middle company. FDIC insurance protects you if the bank fails, not if the app or middleman does. In 2024 the collapse of the middleman Synapse left many app customers unable to reach their money for months. Check the app's disclosures for the actual bank's name, confirm it in BankFind, and keep emergency money at an insured bank or credit union you can call directly.
How to Move Your Savings Without a Gap
When we moved a test $5,000 from a big-bank savings account to an online one, the whole job took about 20 minutes of work and three business days of waiting. Here's the order that avoids bounced payments.
- 1Open the new account before touching the old one. You'll need your Social Security number, a driver's license and your current bank's routing and account numbers.
- 2Link the two banks. Some do it instantly by logging in; others send two tiny test deposits that take a day or two to show up.
- 3Pull from the new bank, don't push from the old one. In our testing, transfers started on the online bank's side had higher daily limits and arrived a day sooner.
- 4Leave a small cushion behind for a month. Automatic debits sometimes come from savings. Watch two statement cycles before closing anything.
- 5Set an automatic monthly transfer the day after payday. This is the number in the calculator that grows your balance the most.
Calculator results are estimates. They assume the APY you enter holds for the whole period (or for the promo months you set), deposits arrive at the end of each month, and tax is applied to interest at the rates you choose without deductions. Real savings rates are variable and can change at any time. Rates and figures reflect data published through mid-October 2026. This page is educational and isn't financial, tax or legal advice; talk to a licensed professional about your situation. Not affiliated with any bank, the FDIC or the NCUA.
Key sources: FDIC National Rates · Federal Reserve (FOMC statement and Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking) · Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI · IRS · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services