War bonds, in the branded wartime sense, are no longer sold. The federal government stopped issuing conflict-specific bonds after World War II, and the last successor product carrying patriotic branding — Patriot Bonds, issued after September 11, 2001 — was discontinued in 2011.1TreasuryDirect. Historical and Retired Bonds What survives is the underlying product: Series EE and Series I savings bonds, which work exactly the way war bonds always did. You lend money to the Treasury, and the Treasury pays you back with interest. If you already own old paper bonds from the war era, you can still redeem them, and roughly $39 billion worth sit uncashed across the country.
What Happened to War Bonds
The Series E savings bond was the backbone of World War II fundraising. The Treasury sold Series E bonds at 75 percent of face value starting in 1941 and kept issuing them long after the war, through June 1980. Every Series E bond has now reached final maturity and stopped earning interest; the last of them matured in 2010.2TreasuryDirect. Savings Securities Maturity Chart
Patriot Bonds were a special designation applied to paper Series EE bonds issued from December 2001 through December 2011, with proceeds supporting anti-terrorism efforts. The name retired when the Treasury ended its paper bond program. Series EE bonds themselves continue, now in electronic form.
The Modern Equivalent: EE and I Bonds
The Treasury currently sells two savings bonds, and the choice between them comes down to whether you want a guaranteed return or inflation protection.3TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds
Series EE bonds earn a fixed interest rate set at the time of purchase. The rate for bonds issued November 2025 through April 2026 is 2.50%. The Treasury guarantees that an EE bond will double in value after 20 years, even if the stated rate alone wouldn’t get it there, and total maturity runs 30 years.4TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds
Series I bonds earn a composite rate that combines a fixed rate with an inflation adjustment recalculated every six months, in May and November. The composite rate for I bonds issued November 2025 through April 2026 is 4.03%, and the rate can never drop below zero.5TreasuryDirect. I Bonds
Both series require a minimum $25 purchase and cap at $10,000 per series per Social Security Number per calendar year. One person could buy up to $10,000 in EE bonds and $10,000 in I bonds in the same year.6TreasuryDirect. Buying Savings Bonds There is one extra route for I bonds: you can direct up to $5,000 of a federal tax refund toward paper Series I bonds using IRS Form 8888, purchased in $50 increments.7Internal Revenue Service. Use Your Refund to Buy Savings Bonds That tax-refund method is the only way to get a paper bond today.
Old Paper Bonds You Already Own
If you have paper bonds in a drawer or safe deposit box, start by figuring out whether they still earn interest. Every Series E bond has already reached final maturity and pays no further interest.2TreasuryDirect. Savings Securities Maturity Chart Series EE bonds reach final maturity 30 years after the issue date and stop earning at that point.8eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 Subpart B A matured bond earns nothing by sitting there, so there’s no reason to hold it.
If you suspect you or a relative owns bonds but you can’t find them, the Treasury’s free Treasury Hunt tool lets you search by Social Security Number or name for matured unredeemed bonds tied to your records.9TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt Search
Cashing Paper Bonds
Some banks will cash paper savings bonds. Policies vary widely, so call first and ask whether they handle redemptions, what their dollar limits are, and what ID you’ll need.10TreasuryDirect. Cash EE or I Savings Bonds If no local bank will take them, which is common with very old or damaged bonds, mail the bonds with FS Form 1522 to Treasury Retail Securities Services.1TreasuryDirect. Historical and Retired Bonds A paper bond cannot be partially cashed; each one is redeemed for its full value.
Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Bonds
You can still be paid for a paper bond you no longer have. File FS Form 1048 with whatever information you can supply about the series, denomination, and issue date. The Treasury uses its records to verify ownership and either pay you or issue a replacement.11TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond
How to Buy a Savings Bond Today
All electronic purchases go through TreasuryDirect.gov. Opening an individual account takes a Social Security Number, a U.S. address, and a checking or savings account with routing and account numbers.12TreasuryDirect. Open an Account Once the account is live, go to BuyDirect, pick Series EE or Series I, enter the amount, and the Treasury pulls funds from your linked bank. No certificate arrives in the mail; the bond exists as an electronic entry you can check anytime you log in.
To cash an electronic bond, log in, open ManageDirect, and choose “Redeem securities.” You can redeem any amount of $25 or more, and if you only cash part of a bond, at least $25 must remain in it. A 1099-INT appears in your TreasuryDirect account the following January.10TreasuryDirect. Cash EE or I Savings Bonds
Rules to Know Before You Buy
Both EE and I bonds share the same timing restrictions. You cannot cash either one until 12 months after purchase; the money is locked for that first year with no exceptions. Redeem anytime during the first five years and you forfeit the last three months of interest. Cash a bond at 18 months, for instance, and you keep 15 months of interest.5TreasuryDirect. I Bonds After five years, no penalty applies.
Interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax.13TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds You can defer the federal tax until you redeem the bond or it reaches final maturity, whichever comes first, or elect to report interest annually as it accrues. Once you pick annual reporting, you have to stick with that method for all your savings bonds unless the IRS lets you switch back.14Internal Revenue Service. Savings Bonds If the interest is used for qualified higher education expenses in the same year you redeem, you may be able to exclude some or all of it under the Education Savings Bond Program, subject to income phase-outs.15eCFR. 31 CFR 351.81
Bonds You Inherit
If a bond names a beneficiary and the owner dies, the beneficiary becomes the sole owner and can redeem the bond or have it reissued in their name alone, usually by providing a certified death certificate.16eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 Subpart L
With no surviving beneficiary or co-owner, the bonds pass through the deceased person’s estate. For non-administered estates where the total redemption value of Treasury securities is $100,000 or less and no probate is planned, a voluntary representative can handle the process by submitting FS Form 5336 with certified death certificates and the unsigned bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services.17TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates Each person entitled to a distributed bond then files their own form: FS Form 1522 to receive cash, or FS Form 4000 to keep the bond. Larger or more complex estates need formal probate documentation such as court-approved accountings or decrees of distribution.