How Many Overdraft Fees Can Be Charged in a Day?

No federal law limits how many overdraft fees can be charged in a day. Most banks set their own internal cap somewhere between three and six per business day, though some limit it to one and others set no cap at all. With per-transaction fees running roughly $27 to $35 at banks that still charge them, a bad day at a typical bank can produce $80 to $210 in fees before your account settles. Your exact ceiling is written into your deposit agreement, and that’s the only place it’s reliably stated.

What Sets the Daily Cap

Each bank or credit union decides its own daily maximum. Under Regulation E, the bank has to disclose that maximum, or the fact that it doesn’t have one, in the overdraft notice you receive when you open the account or opt in to overdraft coverage.¹ Three to six is the common range, but the only way to know yours is to read the disclosure.

Don’t count on a federal cap coming to the rescue. In late 2024 the CFPB finalized a rule that would have limited overdraft fees to $5 at banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets. Congress disapproved the rule under the Congressional Review Act, and the President signed the resolution in May 2025. The rule never took effect.² Daily limits remain a matter of internal policy.

Typical Fee Amounts Today

A 2024 CFPB review found that more than half of banks with over $10 billion in assets charged $35 per overdraft, and the industry average sat near $32.50.³ Some 2025 surveys put the average closer to $27 as more banks trim their fees, but institutions that haven’t changed their pricing still charge $30 to $37 per transaction. Multiply that by your bank’s daily cap and you get the worst-case number for a single day of standard overdrafts.

Fees That Stack Beyond the Daily Cap

The daily cap you see in your disclosure usually applies to a single category of fee. In practice, a rough day can pile several categories on top of each other, and the total can climb past the number you thought was your ceiling.

Overdraft Fees and NSF Fees Are Counted Separately

When a transaction arrives against insufficient funds, the bank either covers it and charges an overdraft fee or rejects it and charges a non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee. Many banks apply the daily cap to each category on its own, so you can hit the overdraft limit on transactions the bank pays and still rack up NSF fees on ones it declines. NSF fees average around $17 at banks that still charge them, though some banks have dropped them entirely.

Re-Presented Transactions Can Trigger Repeat Fees

A single bounced check or ACH payment can generate more than one fee. When a merchant or processor resubmits a rejected payment a day or two later, some banks treat the second and third attempts as new transactions and charge a fresh NSF fee each time. The FDIC has warned that charging multiple fees on re-presented items without clear disclosure may violate federal consumer protection rules.⁴ Some banks now limit themselves to one fee per transaction regardless of how many times it comes through; others still charge each attempt.

Extended Overdraft Fees Keep Charging After Day One

If your balance stays negative, some banks add a sustained overdraft fee triggered by time rather than new transactions. A common structure is a flat charge every five business days the account remains overdrawn.¹ The FDIC notes that some banks assess these daily instead.⁵ A $30 overdraft with a $35 initial fee and a $15 sustained fee every five days can grow past $95 within two weeks. Bringing the balance back to positive is what stops the clock.

Transactions Your Bank Can’t Charge You For Without Opt-In

The fastest way to cut your daily overdraft count is to make sure you have not opted in to overdraft coverage for one-time debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals. Under Regulation E, the bank cannot charge an overdraft fee on those transactions unless you affirmatively consented in writing or electronically. Without that consent, the bank has to decline the transaction. No fee, no negative balance.⁶

If a bank charged you an overdraft fee on a one-time debit or ATM transaction and doesn’t have a valid opt-in on file, it violated federal regulations.⁷ You can revoke an existing opt-in at any time using whatever channel the bank made available for opting in, and the bank has to implement the change as soon as reasonably practicable.

One boundary worth knowing: the opt-in protection covers one-time debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals only. Recurring debit charges like subscriptions, ACH payments like automatic utility bills, and checks written against insufficient funds can still trigger overdraft fees regardless of your opt-in choice.⁸

Ways to Keep the Count Down

Beyond opting out of debit and ATM overdraft coverage, a few practical steps limit how many fees can hit in a day:

Link a savings account for automatic transfers. When checking goes negative, the bank pulls funds from savings to cover the shortfall. Transfer fees, when they exist, are usually a fraction of an overdraft fee.
Turn on low-balance alerts in your banking app. Getting a notification before a transaction posts gives you time to move money or pause spending.
Check whether your bank has a de minimis threshold or grace period. Many banks waive the fee if the end-of-day negative balance is small (thresholds range from $5 to more than $50), and some give you until a cutoff the next business day to deposit enough to cover the shortfall.³
Move to a bank that doesn’t charge overdraft fees. Several large national banks and credit unions have eliminated them, and some offer a small fee-free cushion for eligible customers.
Ask for a waiver when a fee posts. CFPB research found consumers were often able to get at least one fee waived per incident, especially with a history of responsible account use or an in-branch visit. If the first representative can’t help, ask for a manager.⁹
Apply for an overdraft line of credit. Some banks offer a small credit line that covers overdrafts at a low interest rate instead of a flat penalty.

The single document that answers all of these questions for your specific account is the overdraft disclosure your bank provided. It states the daily fee cap, the per-transaction fee, any de minimis threshold, whether a grace period applies, and how sustained overdraft fees are structured. Every one of those figures is set by the bank, and every one of them can change with notice, so the disclosure on file today is the number that governs your exposure today.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1005 (Regulation E) – Section 1005.17 Requirements for Overdraft Services
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions
4
FDIC.gov. Supervisory Guidance on Multiple Re-Presentment NSF Fees
5
FDIC.gov. Overdraft and Account Fees
6
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1005 — Electronic Fund Transfers (Regulation E)
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Takes Action to Stop Banks from Harvesting Overdraft Fees Without Consumers’ Consent
8
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-05 – Improper Overdraft Opt-In Practices
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Data Spotlight: Consumer Experiences With Overdraft Programs