To cash an I bond, log in to TreasuryDirect and redeem it online if it’s electronic, or take a paper bond to your bank or mail it to the Treasury with FS Form 1522. You have to hold the bond for at least 12 months, and if you cash it before it turns five, you give up the last three months of interest.
When You Can Cash It
Every I bond is locked for a full 12 months from its issue date. Nothing gets you around that window except a federally declared disaster, in which case the Treasury will waive the requirement if you write “DISASTER” on the redemption form and envelope.1TreasuryDirect. Affected by a Disaster
After the first year, you can redeem whenever you want. But cashing before the bond’s fifth birthday costs you the last three months of interest. Redeem at 18 months and you collect 15 months of interest.2TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Wait past five years and you keep every cent.
Pick the Right Day of the Month
Interest posts on the first of each month and compounds semiannually.3eCFR. 31 CFR 359.16 – When Does Interest Accrue on Series I Savings Bonds There’s no partial-month credit. Redeeming on March 25 pays the same as redeeming on March 1, because the March interest was already credited on the first. Cash out early in a month, not late, so you’re not sitting through nearly a full month for nothing.
Cashing an Electronic I Bond Through TreasuryDirect
If you bought the bond online, the whole redemption stays online. Sign in to TreasuryDirect, open the ManageDirect tab, and choose the option to redeem securities. You can cash the entire bond or a portion of it, so long as you redeem at least $25 and leave at least $25 in the bond if you’re keeping part of it.4TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
Confirm the transaction, verify the linked bank account, and the Treasury schedules the transfer. Most people see the money within a few business days.
Cashing a Paper I Bond at a Bank
Many banks and credit unions will cash savings bonds, but usually only for their own account holders. Bring the physical bond and a government-issued photo ID. The teller verifies both, then either hands you cash or deposits the proceeds. Banks cap how much they’ll cash in a single visit, and some won’t do it at all, so call ahead.4TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
One thing to know before you go: paper bonds cannot be partially redeemed. Each paper bond has to be cashed for its full value.
Cashing a Paper I Bond by Mail
If your bank won’t help, you can send the bonds directly to the Treasury. Download FS Form 1522 and fill in your Social Security number, mailing address, and the serial number and issue date of each bond.5TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Whether you need your signature certified depends on the dollar amount. If the total redemption value is $1,000 or less, no certification is required; just include a copy of your driver’s license, passport, or state ID. Over $1,000, and you have to sign in front of a notary public or an authorized certifying officer at a bank or credit union. A bank’s official stamp, a notary seal, or a medallion signature guarantee all satisfy the rule. Notary fees run roughly $2 to $25 depending on the state.
Mail the signed form and the original bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.5TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities Use certified mail with a return receipt. The Treasury verifies everything by hand, so expect several weeks before payment shows up as a check or direct deposit.
If the Bond Belongs to a Child
A child under 18 can’t redeem their own bond. A parent or legal guardian handles it. At the bank, the parent writes a certification on the back of the paper bond stating the child’s name, age, Social Security number, and the fact that the child isn’t old enough to make the request, and then signs on the child’s behalf.6TreasuryDirect. Cashing Paper Bonds for a Young Child
If the bank won’t process it, the parent uses FS Form 1522 with the same information and mails the bonds to the Minneapolis address. The $1,000 certification threshold applies the same way.
If the Owner Has Died
What happens next depends on the bond’s registration. A surviving co-owner or named beneficiary can generally cash the bond by presenting a certified death certificate and their own ID, either at a bank or by mail. The mechanics look like a normal redemption.
If no living person is named on the bond and the estate isn’t going through formal probate, the Treasury offers a small-estate path. When the total redemption value of all the decedent’s Treasury securities is $100,000 or less at the date of death, a voluntary representative can handle the redemption using FS Form 5336 with a certified death certificate.7TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates The representative can cash the bonds outright or distribute them to the people entitled to receive them. Any recipient who wants cash also submits FS Form 1522.
If You’ve Lost the Paper Bond
A missing bond isn’t lost money. The Treasury keeps records and will reissue lost, stolen, or destroyed paper bonds as electronic securities in a TreasuryDirect account. File FS Form 1048 with whatever details you have: issue dates, face amounts, serial numbers, and the names and Social Security numbers printed on the bonds.8TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1048 – Claim for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed United States Savings Bonds
Don’t have the serial numbers? TreasuryHunt.gov can search for bonds issued in 1974 or later using your name and Social Security number. If it finds matches, the site generates a version of FS Form 1048 with a reference number that lets the Treasury process the claim without serial numbers.9TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond Sign in front of a notary or certifying officer and mail the form to the address printed on it.
What You’ll Owe in Taxes
Interest on I bonds is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income taxes.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3124 – Exemption from Taxation State estate and inheritance taxes can still apply. Federal tax comes due in the year you cash the bond or the year it reaches final maturity, whichever happens first.
You’ll get a Form 1099-INT showing the interest paid. For electronic bonds, TreasuryDirect posts it to your account by January 31 of the following year.11TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect Home Paper bonds cashed at a bank get their 1099-INT from the bank. The interest lands in Box 3, the line specifically for U.S. savings bond and Treasury obligation interest.
Using the Interest Tax-Free for Education
You can exclude I bond interest from federal taxable income if you use the proceeds for qualified higher education expenses, but only if you meet each condition. The bond has to have been issued after 1989, and the purchaser must have been at least 24 years old at the time of purchase.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 135 – Income from United States Savings Bonds Used to Pay Higher Education Tuition and Fees That age rule is the one families miss most often: a bond bought in a child’s name doesn’t qualify. The bond has to be registered to the parent or the student, and that person had to be at least 24 when it was issued.
Qualified expenses cover tuition and required fees at eligible institutions, plus contributions to a 529 plan or Coverdell education savings account. Room, board, and course materials don’t count. The benefit also phases out with income. For 2026, the exclusion starts shrinking at modified adjusted gross income above $101,800 for single filers or $152,650 for joint filers, and disappears entirely at $116,800 and $182,650.