How do I cash a Treasury bond?
The only option for cashing electronic savings bonds is by logging in to your TreasuryDirect account online. If you have paper savings bonds, you can fill out the appropriate form and mail it and the bonds you want to cash to the Treasury Retail Securities Services — the address is listed on FS Form 1522.
Where do I cash in a savings bond? You can cash paper bonds at a bank or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's TreasuryDirect website.
A paper savings bond must be cashed for its entire value. At a bank: Banks vary in how much they will cash at one time – or if they cash savings bonds at all. With us: We have no limit on the value or number of savings bonds you can cash at one time as long as the bonds meet the requirements for cashing.
Log into your primary TreasuryDirect® account. Click the ManageDirect tab at the top of the page. Under the heading Manage My Securities, click "Transfer securities". On the Transfer page, choose the button beside the security type you want to transfer and click "Submit".
Securities are generally issued to your account within two business days of the purchase date for savings bonds or within one week of the auction date for Bills, Notes, Bonds, FRNs, and TIPS.
| Face Value | Purchase Amount | 20-Year Value (Purchased May 2000) |
|---|---|---|
| $50 Bond | $100 | $109.52 |
| $100 Bond | $200 | $219.04 |
| $500 Bond | $400 | $547.60 |
| $1,000 Bond | $800 | $1,095.20 |
You can redeem a savings bond online at the Treasury Department's TreasuryDirect website, by mail or at your local bank or credit union, if they offer the service. Your savings bond must be at least a year old, and you'll need government-issued identification to prove that the bond is yours.
You can skip paying taxes on interest earned with Series EE and Series I savings bonds if you're using the money to pay for qualified higher education costs. That includes expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse or a qualified dependent. Only certain qualified higher education costs are covered, including: Tuition.
While the Treasury will not penalize you for holding a U.S. Savings Bond past its date of maturity, the Internal Revenue Service will. Interest accumulated over the life of a U.S. Savings Bond must be reported on your 1040 form for the tax year in which you redeem the bond or it reaches final maturity.
| Total Price | Total Value | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|
| $50.00 | $69.94 | $19.94 |
When you receive a savings bond worth $100 you can cash it for $100 right away?
Most bonds can be cashed in after one year, but you will lose three months' worth of interest if you cash them in before five years. If you are holding hundreds of dollars in savings bonds, you will still get them back at their current value.
- Go to your TreasuryDirect account.
- Choose the Manage Direct tab.
- Choose the option for making this type of transfer.
- Fill out the required information.
Savings Bond purchases are generally issued to your TreasuryDirect account within one business day of the purchase date.
In Treasury Direct, when you buy a Treasury marketable security, you must hold it in your TreasuryDirect account for 45 days before selling or transferring it.
Bonds and Notes
Bonds are long-term securities that mature in 20 or 30 years. Notes are relatively short or medium-term securities that mature in 2, 3, 5, 7, or 10 years. Both bonds and notes pay interest every six months. The interest rate for a particular security is set at the auction.
When you buy a U.S. savings bond, you lend money to the U.S. government. In turn, the government agrees to pay that much money back later - plus additional money (interest).
Series EE savings bonds are a low-risk way to save money. They earn interest regularly for 30 years (or until you cash them if you do that before 30 years). For EE bonds you buy now, we guarantee that the bond will double in value in 20 years, even if we have to add money at 20 years to make that happen.
| Total Price | Total Value | YTD Interest |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000.00 | $2,094.00 | $89.60 |
One of the most attractive benefits of EE bonds is the guaranteed return. The U.S. Treasury pledges that these bonds will double in value if held for 20 years, translating to an effective interest rate of about 3.5% per year over that period.
If you have paper savings bonds, you can fill out the appropriate form and mail it and the bonds you want to cash to the Treasury Retail Securities Services — the address is listed on FS Form 1522. Additionally, you may be able to cash your paper savings bonds at your bank or credit union.
Can I cash my deceased parents savings bonds?
TO CASH BONDS FOR A DECEDENT'S ESTATE:
Series EE, Series E, and Series I bonds can be cashed at a local financial institution. Some of these transactions may have to be forwarded for further processing. Series HH and Series H bonds must be sent to one of the addresses shown at the bottom of the following page.
Chase will cash U.S. savings bonds for customers who have banked with Chase for more than a year. But there are limits on how much in savings bonds can be cashed and how much money you can get on the spot.
In general, you must report the interest in income in the taxable year in which you redeemed the bonds to the extent you did not include the interest in income in a prior taxable year.
If you cash a paper savings bond by mailing it to Treasury Retail Securities Services, we mail you a 1099 by January 31 of the following year. (You can call us for a duplicate statement, if needed, beginning February 15.)
Interest income, which is typically paid on a semiannual basis. Whether this income is taxable will depend on the issuer. Interest from corporate bonds is generally taxable at both the federal and state levels. Interest from Treasuries is generally taxable at the federal level, but not at the state level.
