To cash savings bonds at a bank, take the unsigned paper bond and a government-issued photo ID to a bank or credit union where you hold an account, sign the back of the bond in front of the teller, and the redemption value is credited to you, usually within minutes. Most banks act as authorized paying agents for U.S. savings bonds, but they can refuse service to non-customers and are capped at $1,000 in redemption value when they cash bonds for someone they can only identify by documents.
Check the Bond Before You Go
Every savings bond has a one-year minimum holding period. You cannot redeem a bond younger than that. If the bond is less than five years old, you will lose the last three months of interest as an early-redemption penalty. After five years there is no penalty, and Series EE and I bonds keep earning interest for 30 years, at which point they stop growing but remain payable.
Look up what the bond is actually worth before you walk in. The Treasury’s Savings Bond Calculator at TreasuryDirect.gov gives you the current redemption value once you enter the series, denomination, and issue date. That is the number the teller will pay you.
Bring a valid photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport, and know your Social Security Number. The SSN is written on the back of the bond and is used for the 1099-INT the bank will issue.
Do not sign the back of the bond at home. Federal rules require you to sign in front of a certifying officer or bank employee. A pre-signed bond can be rejected.
At the Teller Window
Hand the bond and your ID to the teller. You will sign the back of the bond while the teller watches, and the funds are credited to your account, typically on the spot. If you have several bonds, the teller will process them together and issue a single 1099-INT covering the interest portion.
When a Bank Can Turn You Away
Banks are not required to cash savings bonds for people who don’t hold an account there. The U.S. Secret Service recommends that banks refuse to cash bonds for any customer who has held an account for fewer than 12 months. When a person can only be identified through documents rather than an established banking relationship, Treasury guidance caps the transaction at $1,000 in total redemption value. Above that, the bank will decline.
If you’re not an established customer, you have two practical options: open an account at that bank and wait out the identification period, or skip the bank entirely and redeem by mail through the Treasury.
Who Is Allowed to Sign
The registration on the front of the bond controls who can cash it. A bond that reads “John Doe OR Jane Doe” can be cashed by either person alone. A bond that reads “John Doe AND Jane Doe” needs both signatures. A bond with a “POD” (payable on death) beneficiary can only be cashed by the primary owner during that owner’s lifetime.
Bonds Registered to a Child
A parent can cash a bond registered in a child’s name if the child is too young to understand the transaction, the parent is the child’s legal parent, and the child lives with the parent or the parent has legal custody. Sign the back with your own name followed by “on behalf of [child’s name], a minor.” Add a short statement certifying that you are the parent, that the child resides with you (or that you have legal custody), the child’s age, and the child’s Social Security Number. Then present the bond as you would your own.
If No Bank Will Cash Them
When you cannot get a bank to help, you can mail the bonds directly to the Treasury. Download FS Form 1522 from TreasuryDirect.gov and fill it out. Your signature must be certified by a notary or by an officer at a financial institution. For bonds with a total redemption value of $1,000 or less, you can skip the certification and instead enclose a copy of your government-issued photo ID.
Send the signed form and the original bond certificates to:
Treasury Retail Securities Services
PO Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
Treasury processes the redemption and pays you by ACH transfer to the bank account you list on the form.
Electronic Bonds Are Not Cashed at a Bank
Only paper bonds go through a bank. Electronic Series EE and I bonds held in TreasuryDirect are redeemed inside your online account. Log in, go to ManageDirect, pick the bond from Current Holdings, and confirm the redemption; the money is sent by ACH to the bank account linked to your profile, usually within a couple of business days. Electronic bonds also allow partial redemptions of at least $25, as long as at least $25 in value stays in the bond.
Cashing a Deceased Owner’s Bond
If you are the named co-owner or beneficiary on a paper bond, you can generally cash it at a bank by presenting the bond, your ID, and a certified death certificate for the owner.
When there is no surviving co-owner or beneficiary and the total redemption value of the deceased person’s Treasury securities is $100,000 or less, formal court administration can be avoided. A blood relative, legally adopted child, or surviving spouse files FS Form 5336 as a voluntary representative of the estate, certifying that no court is administering the estate.
If the total value is above $100,000, Treasury regulations require formal estate administration. The court-appointed legal representative must present letters of appointment dated within the past year.
Taxes on the Interest
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax and exempt from state and local income tax. Most people report the interest in the year they cash the bond, and the taxable amount is the difference between what you paid for the bond and what you received at redemption. Reporting the interest annually as it accrues is allowed but uncommon; IRS Publication 550 covers switching methods.
The bank that cashes your bond will issue IRS Form 1099-INT by January 31 of the following year. Report the amount on the interest line of your federal return, and complete Schedule B if your total taxable interest for the year is more than $1,500.
If you used the proceeds to pay tuition and required fees for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent in the same tax year, you may be able to exclude the interest from federal tax by filing IRS Form 8815. The exclusion has strict rules on bond registration, your age when the bond was issued, filing status, and income, and the income thresholds change each year, so review the current Form 8815 instructions before counting on it.