You cannot buy I bonds at a bank. The U.S. Treasury ended over-the-counter savings bond sales on January 1, 2012, and electronic Series I savings bonds are now sold only through a TreasuryDirect account at TreasuryDirect.gov.1eCFR. 31 CFR Part 359 Subpart B – Definitive Series I Savings Bonds The one remaining paper-bond option, buying with a federal tax refund, was also discontinued on January 1, 2025, so TreasuryDirect is the only purchase channel that exists.
Why Banks Stopped Selling Savings Bonds
Before 2012, you could walk into a bank or credit union and buy paper savings bonds at the teller window. The Treasury ended that as part of a shift to a digital-only system.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 359 Subpart B – Definitive Series I Savings Bonds – Section 359.34 The payroll savings plan disappeared even earlier, in 2010 for federal employees and 2011 for everyone else.
The regulations governing electronic savings bonds now require every purchase to go through a TreasuryDirect account.3eCFR. 31 CFR Part 363 – Regulations Governing Securities Held in TreasuryDirect – Section 363.37 No broker, bank, or financial advisor can buy electronic I bonds for you. You deal directly with the Treasury’s online system.
Open a TreasuryDirect Account First
Before you can buy anything, you need a TreasuryDirect account. To open one you must be at least 18, legally competent, and have a valid Social Security number. You also need a U.S. address and a bank account at a U.S. financial institution that accepts ACH transfers.4GovInfo. 31 CFR 363.11 – TreasuryDirect Account Eligibility
Go to TreasuryDirect.gov, choose “Open an Account,” and select “Individual.” You’ll enter your Social Security number, your physical address, and the routing and account numbers for the bank account you want linked. That linked account is where the Treasury pulls your purchase money from and later deposits redemption proceeds. Get those routing and account numbers right; a wrong digit will cause the purchase to fail.
If TreasuryDirect Can’t Verify You Online
Sometimes the system can’t verify your identity through its online process. If that happens, you’ll need to fill out FS Form 5444, the TreasuryDirect Account Authorization form, and sign it in ink in front of a notary public or certifying officer, which you can often find at a bank or credit union.5Department of the Treasury. FS Form 5444 – TreasuryDirect Account Authorization Mail the completed form to Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. This is the one step that might send you to a bank branch, and even then you’re only getting a signature certified, not buying a bond.
How to Buy an I Bond Once Your Account Is Open
Log in to TreasuryDirect, click “BuyDirect,” and pick Series I Savings Bonds. Enter the amount you want to invest. Electronic I bonds are sold in any dollar amount from $25 to $10,000, down to the penny, so a purchase of $37.52 is perfectly valid.6TreasuryDirect. Buying Savings Bonds After you submit, the Treasury debits your linked bank account, and the bond appears under “Current Holdings” in your dashboard.
The Annual Purchase Limit
You can buy up to $10,000 in electronic Series I bonds per calendar year per Social Security number.6TreasuryDirect. Buying Savings Bonds That limit is separate from the $10,000 annual limit on Series EE bonds, so you can buy the maximum of each in the same year. Gift bonds count toward the recipient’s limit when delivered to their account, not toward yours when purchased.
The Paper Tax-Refund Route Is Also Closed
Until recently, you could use your federal income tax refund to buy paper Series I bonds by filing IRS Form 8888. That program ended on January 1, 2025.7TreasuryDirect. Using Your Income Tax Refund to Buy Paper Savings Bonds The Treasury cited cost, low usage, and the fraud and loss risk of mailing paper bonds. Form 8888 still exists, but it now only splits a direct-deposit refund among multiple bank accounts.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 8888 (Rev. December 2025) – Allocation of Refund No paper I bonds can be purchased by any method today.
Buying I Bonds for a Child or as a Gift
A parent or guardian can set up a minor linked account inside their own TreasuryDirect account for a child under 18. The child legally owns the bonds; the adult custodian controls the account.9eCFR. 31 CFR 363.10 – What Is a TreasuryDirect Account Only individuals, not businesses or trusts, can open a minor account. The child gets their own $10,000 annual limit, which lets a household buy beyond the single-person cap.
You can also purchase I bonds as gifts. You’ll need the recipient’s full name and Social Security number at purchase, because the bond is registered in the recipient’s name and that registration can’t be changed later.10eCFR. 31 CFR 363.96 – What Do I Need to Know if I Initially Purchase a Bond as a Gift You can deliver the bond right away or hold it in your account’s gift box until you’re ready. If you die before delivery, the bond belongs to the named recipient regardless of what your will says.
What You Can Still Do at a Bank
Banks and credit unions no longer sell savings bonds, but they still play a role for paper bonds already in circulation. If you own paper I bonds from before the program ended, you can redeem them at most banks and credit unions, or convert them to electronic form through TreasuryDirect’s SmartExchange feature. Those older paper bonds keep earning interest normally until you cash them or they hit final maturity at 30 years.11TreasuryDirect. I Bonds