To buy U.S. savings bonds today, you open a free account at TreasuryDirect.gov, link it to a U.S. bank account, and purchase bonds electronically. Paper bonds are no longer issued. The Treasury sells two series — Series I and Series EE — and each person can buy up to $10,000 of each per calendar year.1eCFR. 31 CFR 363.52 – What Is the Principal Amount of Book-Entry Series EE and Series I Savings Bonds That I May Acquire in One Year?
The Two Bonds You Can Actually Buy
Series I bonds pay a composite rate made of two parts: a fixed rate locked in for the life of the bond, plus an inflation rate that resets every six months against the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 359 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series I If inflation falls to zero, the combined rate can’t go negative, so you don’t lose principal.
Series EE bonds pay a fixed rate that never changes, and they come with a guarantee: hold one for 20 years and the Treasury adjusts its value to exactly double what you paid, whatever the stated rate would otherwise have produced.3TreasuryDirect. About U.S. Savings Bonds After that adjustment the bond keeps earning the fixed rate for another 10 years. Both series stop earning interest 30 years after the issue date.4TreasuryDirect. I Bonds
For bonds issued from November 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026, the Series I composite rate is 4.03% (a 0.90% fixed rate plus a 1.56% semiannual inflation rate).5TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Interest Rates Series EE bonds bought in the same window carry a 2.50% fixed rate; the 20-year doubling guarantee works out to roughly 3.5% annualized if the stated rate alone wouldn’t get you there.6TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds The Treasury announces new rates each May 1 and November 1.
What You Need Before You Start
To open a TreasuryDirect account you need a Social Security Number, a U.S. address of record, a checking or savings account at a U.S. bank that accepts ACH transfers, and an email address. You also have to be at least 18 and legally competent.7TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect FAQ Citizens living abroad can still participate, but they need to keep a U.S. address and a U.S. bank account to do it.
Children under 18 can own bonds through a linked minor account set up by an adult who already has a TreasuryDirect account.8TreasuryDirect. Giving Savings Bonds as Gifts Trusts, corporations, LLCs, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and estates can also hold bonds using an Employer Identification Number, though unincorporated associations, government organizations, and tribal organizations cannot open entity accounts.9TreasuryDirect. User Guide Sections 291 Through 300
Opening the Account and Placing the Order
Registration happens online. You’ll enter your Social Security Number, address, and bank routing and account numbers, then set a password and security questions.10TreasuryDirect. Open an Account – TreasuryDirect Most individual accounts activate right after signup. In some cases the Treasury requires extra identity verification through FS Form 5444, which has to be signed in front of a certifying officer at a bank or credit union; a notary public won’t do. Entity accounts always go through that paper step.11Bureau of the Fiscal Service. TreasuryDirect Account Authorization If your account needs it, you can’t buy bonds until the form is received and approved.
Once the account is active, log in and click the BuyDirect tab. Pick Series I or Series EE, enter the dollar amount, review the details, and confirm. The Treasury pulls the money from your linked bank account by ACH.12TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect Help – How Do I…? The bond typically shows up in your account within one business day. Orders placed on weekends or holidays roll to the next business day.7TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect FAQ
Purchase amounts are flexible. Any figure from $25 up to $10,000, down to the penny, is allowed, so $37.50 or $4,218.63 both work. Bonds sell at face value, meaning $100 buys a $100 bond.13TreasuryDirect. Buying Savings Bonds If you’d rather not do this manually every time, TreasuryDirect will schedule recurring purchases at intervals from weekly to annually, up to five years out.14TreasuryDirect. Setting Up Recurring Purchases in TreasuryDirect
Annual Limits, and the Gift Route Around Them
The cap is $10,000 per person per calendar year in electronic Series I bonds and another $10,000 in electronic Series EE bonds, tracked by Social Security Number.1eCFR. 31 CFR 363.52 – What Is the Principal Amount of Book-Entry Series EE and Series I Savings Bonds That I May Acquire in One Year? The old option to buy up to $5,000 in paper I bonds with a federal tax refund ended on January 1, 2025, so $10,000 electronic is now the ceiling for I bonds, full stop.15TreasuryDirect. Using Your Income Tax Refund to Buy Paper Savings Bonds
Gifts open one legitimate workaround. Bonds you buy for someone else count against that recipient’s annual limit, not yours, once the bond is delivered. So a couple can each buy their own $10,000, then buy $10,000 in gift bonds for each other, moving $20,000 per person into I bonds in a single year. To buy a gift bond you need the recipient’s full name, Social Security Number, and TreasuryDirect account number, and the bond has to sit in your account for at least five business days before you can deliver it.8TreasuryDirect. Giving Savings Bonds as Gifts
When You Can Get Your Money Out
You can’t cash a savings bond in the first 12 months. After that you can redeem at any time, but if you cash in before five years you forfeit the last three months of interest.16TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds On a bond earning around 4%, that’s roughly a 1% haircut. After five years, no penalty.
Electronic bonds are redeemed inside TreasuryDirect, with proceeds sent to your linked bank account. Both series stop earning interest at 30 years, so bonds older than that are just sitting still; the Treasury’s site has a calculator to check.
How the Interest Is Taxed
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax, which matters more if you live in a high-tax state.17TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds You choose when to report it. Most people defer and report all the interest in the year they cash the bond or it matures. The alternative is to report interest annually as it accrues, which can help if you’re in a low bracket now and expect a higher one later. Whichever you pick, you have to apply it consistently across your bonds.
There’s a separate education break worth knowing about. If you use bond proceeds for qualified higher education expenses — tuition and required fees at an eligible school, or contributions to a 529 or Coverdell — you may be able to exclude some or all of the interest from federal tax.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 135 – Income From United States Savings Bonds Used to Pay Higher Education Tuition and Fees Room and board don’t count. The bond owner has to be the taxpayer claiming the exclusion, and the buyer must have been at least 24 when the bond was purchased, so bonds registered in a child’s name don’t qualify even if a parent pays the tuition. For 2026, the exclusion phases out between $101,800 and $116,800 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers, and between $152,650 and $182,650 for joint filers.