Monthly maintenance fees are recurring charges you pay either to a bank for keeping an account open or to a homeowners association, condo board, or housing cooperative for the upkeep of a shared property. On checking and savings accounts, they usually run $5 to $35 per month and can often be waived. On residential properties, they average about $291 per month nationwide and cannot be waived once you own the home, though the amount varies enormously with the type of community.
Bank Account Maintenance Fees
Banks charge these fees to cover the cost of processing transactions, running online platforms, staffing branches, and maintaining security. At the largest national banks, the most basic checking account typically carries a fee between $4.50 and $15 per month. Accounts with more features can charge $25 or more. Smaller community banks and credit unions often set lower fees, and many online-only banks skip the charge entirely because they have no branches to maintain.
Federal law requires every bank to give you a written fee schedule before you open an account. The Truth in Savings Act directs depository institutions to disclose the dollar amount of every fee that could be charged, along with the conditions that trigger each one.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC Chapter 44 – Truth in Savings Regulation DD, which implements the statute, spells out that these disclosures must be clear, conspicuous, and provided before an account is opened.2eCFR. 12 CFR 1030.4 – Account Disclosures If a bank later changes its fees, it must notify you at least 30 days in advance.3eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1030 – Truth in Savings (Regulation DD)
If a bank cannot tell you in writing what you will pay each month and how to avoid it, walk away.
How to Avoid Bank Maintenance Fees
Most banks that charge a monthly fee also offer at least one way to waive it. The three most common paths are setting up a recurring direct deposit (usually $250 to $500 per month), keeping a minimum daily balance (often $500 to $1,500), or enrolling in paperless statements. Each bank sets its own thresholds, so check the fee schedule for the exact triggers on your account.
Other options work well depending on your situation:
- Many banks waive the fee entirely for account owners under 25, regardless of balance or deposit activity.
- Online-only banks frequently charge no monthly fee at all. Capital One 360, Ally, SoFi, Discover, and Schwab all offer $0 monthly maintenance accounts as of 2026.
- Credit unions, because they are member-owned, tend to keep monthly fees lower or eliminate them.
- Some banks waive the fee when you keep a combined balance across checking, savings, and investment accounts that meets a higher threshold.
Active-duty military members get extra protection. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps interest and certain service charges on pre-service debts at 6%, and many banks voluntarily waive monthly fees for military customers beyond what the law requires. If you are on active duty, call your bank and ask specifically about SCRA benefits.
What Happens If You Ignore a Bank Fee
Ignoring a monthly maintenance fee does not make it disappear. The bank deducts the fee automatically, and if your balance is too low to cover it, the account goes negative. Once an account stays in the red long enough, the bank closes it and sends the remaining balance to a collection agency. The closure gets reported to ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency banks check before opening new accounts. A negative ChexSystems record can stay on file for up to five years and makes it difficult to open a checking account anywhere during that period, even if your credit score is fine.
If you no longer want an account, close it yourself before fees accumulate. Switching to a no-fee account at an online bank takes about ten minutes.
Property Maintenance Fees: HOAs, Condos, and Co-ops
When you buy a home in a condominium complex or a community governed by a homeowners association, you take on a monthly fee that funds the upkeep of shared spaces and services. Nationwide, the average HOA fee runs about $291 per month, though the amount depends on what the community provides. A basic single-family HOA that handles landscaping and a small park might charge $100 to $200. A full-service condo building with a doorman, pool, gym, and elevator can easily run $500 to $1,000 or more. Condo fees tend to be higher because the association maintains the entire building exterior and common structural elements, not just shared amenities.
The obligation to pay comes from the community’s governing documents, typically called Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). These rules are recorded against the property title, so they bind every future owner automatically. At closing, you sign documents acknowledging the CC&Rs and agreeing to pay all required assessments. Unlike bank fees, there is no way to opt out once you own the unit.
Cooperative Housing Fees Work Differently
Cooperative apartments are structured differently from condos. Instead of owning your unit outright, you own shares in a corporation that holds the entire building, and the corporation grants you a long-term lease on your specific apartment.4Fannie Mae. Cooperative Properties Your monthly maintenance payment covers your proportional share of the building’s operating expenses, plus a portion of the building’s underlying mortgage and real estate taxes. That bundled payment is why co-op maintenance fees often look larger than condo fees at first glance, even though some of the money goes toward costs a condo owner would pay separately.
Limits on Fee Increases
Boards set fee amounts based on annual operating budgets and can raise them when expenses grow. Many states cap how much a board can increase regular assessments in a single year without a vote of the membership. A common cap is 20% above the prior year’s assessment, with anything larger requiring a majority vote of homeowners. States also generally require the board to distribute a proposed budget and send written notice of any fee increase at least 30 days before it takes effect. Rules vary significantly by state, so check your governing documents and your state’s HOA statute.
What Property Fees Cover
Your monthly payment gets divided across several budget categories:
- The association’s master insurance policy, which covers the building exterior, common structural elements, and shared liability. You still need your own policy for interior finishes and personal property.
- Landscaping and grounds maintenance, including lawn care, tree trimming, irrigation, and seasonal planting.
- Shared utilities for hallways, lobbies, elevators, parking garages, outdoor lighting, and any heating or cooling in common areas.
- Contracted services including trash and recycling collection, snow removal, security, pest control, and cleaning.
- Management and administration, whether paid to a professional management company or covering supplies for a self-managed board.
- Reserve contributions, which go into savings for major future repairs.
Reserve Funds
Roofs wear out, elevators need modernizing, and parking lots crack. Reserve funds exist so the association can pay for these large capital expenses without shocking owners with a sudden bill. A well-managed association commissions a reserve study every few years that estimates when each major component will need replacement and how much it will cost. The board then sets the monthly reserve contribution accordingly.
Fannie Mae currently requires condo associations to allocate at least 10% of their annual budgeted assessment income toward reserves for units in the building to qualify for conventional mortgage financing.5Fannie Mae. Full Review Process Starting in January 2027, that minimum jumps to 15%.6Fannie Mae. Lender Letter LL-2026-03 – Updates to Project Standards and Property Insurance Requirements If your building falls below these thresholds, potential buyers may have trouble getting a loan, which drags down resale values. When evaluating a purchase, ask for the most recent reserve study and check the funding level.
Special Assessments
When the reserve fund cannot cover an unexpected repair or a major capital project, the board levies a special assessment, a one-time charge on top of your regular monthly fee. These range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. Common triggers include storm damage that exceeds insurance coverage, an underfunded reserve account, or a large capital project like replacing a building’s plumbing.
Special assessments also hit when too many owners fall behind on their regular dues, creating a budget shortfall the association still needs to cover. Owners who are current end up subsidizing the gap. A building where 15% of owners are behind on dues is a building where a special assessment is more likely on the way.
Consequences of Not Paying Property Assessments
Skipping HOA or condo payments triggers a predictable escalation. Late fees and interest start accruing almost immediately. The association then has the right to record a lien against your property for the unpaid amount. In most states the lien attaches automatically once the assessment becomes delinquent, and it clouds your title, so you cannot sell or refinance without paying it off first.
If the balance keeps growing, the association can initiate foreclosure to collect. Whether this happens through a judicial process or a nonjudicial power-of-sale depends on state law, but the result is the same: you can lose your home over unpaid maintenance fees. Some states grant the HOA lien “super-priority” status, meaning it can jump ahead of even a first mortgage in certain circumstances. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has stated it will not consent to any HOA foreclosure that would extinguish a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac lien on a property in conservatorship.7Federal Housing Finance Agency. Statement on HOA Super-Priority Lien Foreclosures
If you are struggling to keep up, contact your board or management company early. Many associations will work out a payment plan before escalating to legal action, because foreclosure is expensive for everyone involved.
Tax Treatment
Whether a monthly maintenance fee is deductible depends entirely on how you use the account or property.
Bank Account Fees
Fees on a personal checking or savings account are not deductible. The IRS treats them as personal expenses.8Internal Revenue Service. Income and Expenses 1 If the account is used exclusively for a business, the fees become deductible as ordinary business expenses on Schedule C or the applicable business return.
Fees on a Primary Residence
HOA and condo fees on the home you live in are generally not deductible. One exception exists for self-employed individuals who use part of their home exclusively and regularly as their principal place of business. If you qualify for the home office deduction, you can deduct the business-use percentage of your HOA fees.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home If your home office occupies 15% of your home’s total square footage, you can deduct 15% of your annual HOA dues. W-2 employees working from home do not qualify.
Fees on a Rental Property
If you rent out a condo or co-op unit, you can deduct the full amount of HOA or maintenance fees you pay as a rental expense on Schedule E. The IRS explicitly allows deduction of dues or assessments paid for maintenance of the common elements on rental condominiums, and cooperative owners who rent out their apartments can generally deduct all maintenance fees paid to the housing corporation. One important limit: special assessments that pay for capital improvements cannot be deducted as a current expense, though you may be able to depreciate your share of the improvement over time.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 527, Residential Rental Property