To find savings bonds in your name, start with your state’s unclaimed property program through unclaimed.org, the free search site run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.1National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Unclaimed Property Programs If nothing turns up, file FS Form 1048 with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to claim bonds that are lost, missing, or unaccounted for. Once you locate them, electronic bonds redeem through TreasuryDirect and paper bonds can be cashed at most banks. Speed matters: bonds stop earning interest 30 years after issue, and matured bonds may already be generating a tax bill whether you cash them or not.
Gather Your Information First
Before you search anything, pull together identifying details about the person who bought the bond. The single most useful piece is that person’s Social Security number. Add every version of their legal name, including maiden names and former married names, plus any addresses they used around the time the bond was purchased.
You do not need serial numbers. The search tools and the Treasury claim process are built for people who lost track of that detail long ago. Approximate purchase dates and dollar amounts help narrow the results, but a name and Social Security number is enough to start.
If you are looking for bonds that belonged to a relative who has died, you will also need a death certificate and something documenting your relationship to the owner.
Where to Search Now
State Unclaimed Property Databases
Under the SECURE Act 2.0, the Treasury now shares data about matured, unredeemed savings bonds with the states so state programs can help reunite bonds with their owners. A bond gets shared if it is more than three years past final maturity, exists in paper form (or in electronic form without valid bank information on file), and has not been redeemed.2TreasuryDirect. 2024 Report to Congress Under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 The states can use that information only to find the owner, not to take the bond.
Begin at unclaimed.org, which links to every state’s database.1National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Unclaimed Property Programs Search each state where you or the original owner ever lived. MissingMoney.com covers multiple participating states in one search and is worth running as well.
Treasury Hunt Has Been Shut Down
Older articles often point to Treasury Hunt, a federal search tool that used to list matured, unredeemed bonds. It was retired on September 30, 2025 as part of the SECURE 2.0 changes, and all inquiries now route through state unclaimed property programs.3TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt If a guide tells you to use Treasury Hunt, skip that step.
Check TreasuryDirect if You Already Have an Account
If you ever bought bonds through TreasuryDirect or converted paper bonds to electronic form, log in. Your holdings, current values, and maturity dates are all visible there. Electronic bonds that reach final maturity are automatically swept into a Certificate of Indebtedness inside the account.
Filing FS Form 1048 for Lost or Missing Bonds
When the state search does not find your bonds, or when you know paper bonds were lost, stolen, or destroyed, file FS Form 1048.4TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond The form asks for the owner’s Social Security number and approximate purchase dates. For bonds issued in 1974 or later without known serial numbers, the form’s instructions walk you through an alternative lookup.
Sign the form in front of a notary or certifying officer and mail it to the address printed on the form. If Treasury finds a match, you can either take a replacement bond electronically in a TreasuryDirect account or have Treasury cash the bond and send you the money.4TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond Electronic replacement requires opening a TreasuryDirect account if you don’t have one.
Why It Pays to Move Quickly
Series EE and Series I bonds earn interest for 30 years from the issue date.5eCFR. Subpart B – Maturities, Redemption Values, and Investment Yields of Series EE Savings Bonds6TreasuryDirect. I Bonds After that, nothing. A bond sitting in a drawer past 30 years is dead money.
Series HH bonds, which the Treasury stopped issuing in 2004, earned interest for only 20 years.7TreasuryDirect. Cashing HH Savings Bonds Every one still out there is fully matured and should be redeemed.
There is also a tax reason not to sit on matured bonds, covered further down.
Cashing Your Bonds Once You Find Them
Electronic Bonds Through TreasuryDirect
Redeem straight from your TreasuryDirect account. Funds land in the bank account linked to your profile, usually within one business day. You can cash all or part of an electronic bond as long as at least $25 is redeemed at a time, or the whole bond if less than $25 remains.
Paper Bonds at a Bank
Most banks and credit unions will cash paper EE and I bonds, with three catches. A paper bond must be cashed for its full face value; partial redemption is not allowed.8TreasuryDirect. Cash EE or I Savings Bonds Many banks will only cash bonds for established customers, and some require you to have held an account for at least 12 months.9Federal Reserve Financial Services. Savings Bond Redemptions Frequently Asked Questions Each bank sets its own dollar limit on how much it will cash at one visit. Call ahead.
Mailing Paper Bonds to the Treasury
If no bank will help, send the bonds directly to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service with FS Form 1522, the payment request form. Signature rules depend on the total value. For redemptions of $1,000 or less, you can skip the notary and enclose a copy of your driver’s license, passport, or state ID. Above $1,000, you must sign in front of a notary or certifying officer.10TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Claiming Bonds That Belonged to Someone Who Died
The route depends on how the bond was registered and whether the estate is going through probate.
If You Are a Co-Owner or Named Beneficiary
A bond registered with a co-owner or a payable-on-death beneficiary passes automatically to the survivor. It never becomes part of the deceased person’s estate.11TreasuryDirect. Death of a Savings Bond Owner Bring the paper bond, a death certificate, and your ID to a bank, or request reissue into your own TreasuryDirect account.
Estates With a Court-Appointed Representative
When no co-owner or beneficiary is named and the estate’s Treasury securities total more than $100,000 in redemption value, court administration is required.11TreasuryDirect. Death of a Savings Bond Owner The executor or administrator can either redeem the bonds into the estate using FS Form 1522 with a certified signature, a death certificate, and proof of appointment, or distribute them to specific heirs using FS Form 1455.12TreasuryDirect. Court-Appointed Representatives Either way, the unsigned paper bonds go to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service along with the court paperwork.
Small Estates Without Court Involvement
When everyone named on the bond has died, no probate is happening, and all Treasury securities in the estate total $100,000 or less, a “voluntary representative” can handle the bonds without a court appointment. Complete FS Form 5336 and sign it in front of a certifying officer.13TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates If the total is over $100,000, this route is closed and court administration is required.14TreasuryDirect. FS Form 5336 – Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration
Taxes When You Cash a Bond
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax and exempt from state and local income tax. When you cash a bond, or when it hits final maturity, you get a Form 1099-INT showing all interest earned over the bond’s life. Bonds held in TreasuryDirect generate a 1099-INT in your account by January 31 of the following year.15TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
Here is the surprise for people finding old bonds. Most owners defer the interest rather than reporting it each year. If a deferred-interest bond reached final maturity years ago, federal income tax on the entire accumulated interest was owed for the year the bond matured, whether or not it was ever cashed. Leaving the bond in a drawer does not postpone the tax bill once maturity hits.
Two Reporting Options
You can defer interest and report it all in the year the bond is cashed or matures, which is what most people do. Or you can elect to report interest annually as it accrues. Under the annual method, the 1099-INT at redemption still shows lifetime interest, and IRS Publication 550 explains how to tell the IRS you already reported some of it in earlier years.15TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
The Education Exclusion
Interest from qualifying savings bonds can be excluded from federal income tax if the proceeds pay qualified higher education expenses for you, your spouse, or a dependent.15TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds The requirements:
- Only Series EE or I bonds issued after 1989 qualify.
- The bond owner must have been at least 24 years old before the bond’s issue date.
- Married filing separately is not eligible.
- 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 entirely at $114,500 and $179,250. Thresholds adjust annually for inflation, so check the current Form 8815 when you file.16IRS.gov. Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989
Claim the exclusion by attaching IRS Form 8815 to the return for the year you cash the bonds and pay the expenses.