To deposit savings bonds into your bank account, you take one of three routes: redeem an electronic bond inside your TreasuryDirect account and let the proceeds land in your linked bank, bring a paper bond to a bank that still handles redemptions, or mail the paper bond to Treasury with a completed FS Form 1522. Which path fits you depends on whether the bond is electronic or paper, whether your bank participates, and how the bond is registered.
Confirm the Bond Is Eligible to Cash
Before you start any of the three routes, check the issue date. Every Series I bond and every Series EE bond issued on or after February 1, 2003, must be held at least 12 months before you can redeem it.1eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE2TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Older Series EE bonds with issue dates on or before January 1, 2003, have a six-month minimum. A request made before the holding period ends will be rejected.
Cash a bond within the first five years and you give up the last three months of interest. Treasury builds the penalty into the redemption value rather than charging it separately, and the same rule applies to Series I bonds.3eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE – Section: 351.64eCFR. 31 CFR 359.7 – Series I Savings Bonds Early Redemption Penalty A bond redeemed at 18 months pays you 15 months of interest.
At the other end of the timeline, Series EE and Series I bonds stop earning interest 30 years after issue.5TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds If a paper bond in your drawer is that old, holding it longer earns nothing. Look at the issue date on the face of the paper bond or in your TreasuryDirect account before you decide what to deposit.
Deposit an Electronic Bond Through TreasuryDirect
If the bond lives in TreasuryDirect, this is the fastest route. Log in, open ManageDirect, and choose “Redeem securities” under Manage My Securities.6TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds Pick the specific bonds and the amount you want to cash, and the proceeds go to the bank account linked to your TreasuryDirect profile.7TreasuryDirect. Redeem Savings Bonds If you need the money to land somewhere other than the account on file, update the linked bank through ManageDirect before you redeem.
Deposit a Paper Bond at a Bank
For paper bonds, a bank is still the quickest path when it works. Bring the physical bond and a valid government-issued photo ID: a driver’s license, passport, or military ID. You sign the back of the bond in front of a teller, who verifies you and the bond, and then deposits the funds or hands you cash.
Call first. Not every bank still redeems savings bonds, and the Federal Reserve leaves the decision to each institution.8Federal Reserve Financial Services. Savings Bond Redemptions Frequently Asked Questions Banks are not required to cash bonds for people who are not customers, and some that do redeem will only do so for customers whose accounts are at least 12 months old. If the first bank says no, your options are opening an account that meets its rules, trying another bank, or mailing the bond to Treasury.
Mail a Paper Bond to Treasury
When no bank will take the bond, send it to Treasury with FS Form 1522, the Special Form of Request for Payment.9TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities The form asks for each bond’s serial number, issue date, and the name printed on it, along with your taxpayer identification number. You also fill in your bank’s routing and account numbers so Treasury can deposit the payment directly.
Signature certification is the detail that catches people off guard. If the bonds total more than $1,000 in redemption value, your signature on FS Form 1522 must be certified by a notary public or an authorized certifying officer at a bank or credit union.9TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities10TreasuryDirect. Signature Certification If the total is $1,000 or less, you can skip certification and enclose a copy of your photo ID instead.
Mail the package to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Use a traceable shipping method, since bonds in transit cannot be replaced if lost. Treasury says to expect at least six weeks of processing when the bonds are in your name, and at least two months when the transaction involves bonds not registered to you.11TreasuryDirect. Contact Us Heavy mail volume sometimes stretches those windows, so don’t start the process when you need the money fast.
If the Paper Bond Is Lost or You’d Rather Go Digital
A lost, stolen, or destroyed paper bond can be replaced electronically or paid out in cash by filing FS Form 1048 with Treasury.12TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bonds Knowing the serial numbers makes it straightforward; without them, Treasury provides different versions of the form depending on when the bond was issued. If a replaced or cashed bond later turns up, you have to return it.
If you’d prefer to stop handling paper altogether, you can convert Series EE and I paper bonds into electronic bonds inside TreasuryDirect for free. Open a TreasuryDirect account, set up a Conversion Linked Account, and follow the online instructions to mail the unsigned bonds in.13TreasuryDirect. Convert Paper to Electronic Do not sign the bonds before mailing. Once converted, the change is permanent, and you can redeem them through your account whenever you want.
Depositing as a Co-Owner, Beneficiary, or Trustee
A named co-owner can cash a bond without the other owner’s consent, following the same bank or mail process as a sole owner.6TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
If the owner has died and you are the named beneficiary or surviving co-owner, you can still redeem the bond, but you need to send a certified copy of the death certificate with the bonds and FS Form 1522.14TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates Only send copies, never the original, because Treasury does not return documents.15U.S. Treasury Savings Bonds Information. Savings Bonds – Redemption and Reissue Instructions for Surviving Registrants Estates in formal administration may need additional forms, such as FS Form 5336, and the two-month-or-longer processing window applies.
A trustee named in the bond’s registration can cash it by mailing the bond and FS Form 1522 to Treasury. A trustee not named in the registration also needs to include relevant pages from the trust document or a certification of trust.16TreasuryDirect. Trusts – How to Cash, Reissue, Distribute, or Claim Savings Bonds in a Trust Leave the bonds unsigned; sign only the FS Form 1522.
Taxes on the Money You Deposit
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax. After you redeem, the bank or TreasuryDirect issues a Form 1099-INT showing the total interest, and you should expect it by January 31 of the year after redemption.17TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
Most people defer the interest, letting it build tax-free until the bond is cashed or hits final maturity. That’s the default. You can instead report interest each year as it accrues, but you have to apply that method consistently to all your bonds going forward.17TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds Cashing a large stack of long-held bonds in a single year can produce a sharp tax bill, so splitting redemptions across tax years is worth considering if you have the flexibility.
If you use the proceeds of Series EE or I bonds to pay qualified higher education expenses, you may be able to exclude some or all of the interest from federal tax. The rules are specific: the bonds must be issued after 1989, you must have been at least 24 when they were issued, they must be in your name (or jointly with a spouse), you cannot file as married filing separately, and the exclusion phases out at higher incomes. For 2025, the phase-out starts at a modified adjusted gross income of $99,500 for single filers and $149,250 for joint filers, and disappears at $114,500 and $179,250 respectively.18IRS. Form 8815 – Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989 Qualified expenses cover tuition and required fees, plus contributions to a 529 plan or Coverdell ESA; room, board, and recreational courses don’t. You also can’t use the same expenses to claim an education credit. Report the exclusion on IRS Form 8815 with your return for the year you cashed the bonds.