A paper savings bond is a physical certificate representing a loan you made to the U.S. government, printed with your name, a serial number, an issue date, and a face value. The Treasury stopped issuing new paper certificates on January 1, 2025, through every channel, including the tax-refund option that had been the last way to buy them.1TreasuryDirect. Using Your Income Tax Refund to Buy Paper Savings Bonds If you already hold one, it is still fully valid: it keeps earning interest on its original terms, and you can cash it, convert it to electronic form, or replace it if it’s lost.
What the Certificate Shows
A paper bond is roughly the size of a standard check and printed on security paper. The front shows the owner’s name, any co-owner or beneficiary, the serial number, the issue date (month and year), and the face value. The serial number is what the Treasury uses to identify the bond in its records, so you’ll need it for almost anything you do with the bond.
The back has a payment request block where you write your Social Security number and sign when you redeem the bond. Do not sign that block until you are in front of a bank teller or certifying officer. A signed bond is a negotiable instrument, and anyone who gets hold of a signed certificate could try to cash it.
Which Series You Might Be Holding
Most paper bonds in circulation fall into one of a few series, and the series determines how (and whether) your bond is still earning.
Series EE
Paper Series EE bonds issued before June 2003 were sold at half their face value: a $100 bond cost $50. Older EE bonds earn at variable rates that have changed over time. EE bonds issued from May 2005 onward carry a fixed rate set at purchase, and the Treasury guarantees they will double in value at 20 years regardless of that stated rate.2TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds All EE bonds stop earning after 30 years.3eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE
Series I
Series I bonds were sold at face value and pay a composite rate that combines a fixed rate with a semiannual inflation adjustment. The composite rate effective November 2025 through April 2026 is 4.03%, built from a 0.90% fixed rate and a 1.56% semiannual inflation rate.4TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Interest Rates I bonds also earn for 30 years.5TreasuryDirect. I Bonds
Series E and HH
Series E bonds were issued from 1941 through 1980. All of them have reached final maturity and no longer earn interest, but the certificates can still be cashed for their full accumulated value. Series HH bonds paid interest directly into the owner’s bank account every six months rather than accruing it.6eCFR. 31 CFR 353.31 – Series HH Bonds The Treasury stopped issuing HH bonds in 2004, and the last ones reached final maturity in 2024.
When You Can Redeem
You cannot cash any savings bond during the first 12 months after it was issued.7TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds After the first year, you can redeem anytime, but cashing a Series EE or Series I bond before five years costs you the last three months of interest. A bond held two years, for example, pays 21 months of interest instead of 24.8eCFR. 31 CFR 359.7 – Series I Savings Bonds Early Redemption The redemption value will never fall below what you originally paid.9eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 Subpart B – Maturities, Redemption Values, and Investment Yields of Series EE Savings Bonds After five years there’s no penalty, and at 30 years interest stops entirely. A bond past its 30-year maturity is earning nothing; cash it or convert it.
How to Cash a Paper Bond
At a Bank or Credit Union
The fastest route is a bank or credit union that participates in the savings bond program. Bring the bond and a government-issued photo ID. The teller verifies your identity, has you sign the bond in their presence, and either deposits the funds or hands you cash.
A paper bond cannot be partially redeemed. Each certificate is cashed for its full value or not at all.10TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds Banks vary in how much they’ll cash at one time, and many won’t cash bonds for anyone who isn’t an established customer. The Secret Service recommends banks not cash bonds for people who have held an account less than 12 months, and many institutions follow that guidance. Call ahead to confirm policies and dollar limits.
By Mail Through the Treasury
If no local bank will handle the transaction, you can mail the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services. Don’t sign them. Complete FS Form 1522 from TreasuryDirect.gov, have your signature certified by a notary or an authorized officer at a bank, and send the unsigned bonds with the certified form by certified or insured mail. Payment comes by direct deposit, usually within a few weeks.
Officers and employees at banks, credit unions, and other depository institutions can act as certifying officers.11eCFR. 31 CFR 306.45 – Certifying Individuals Many banks do it free for customers; an independent notary typically charges under $15.
Converting Paper Bonds to Electronic
If you’d rather stop storing certificates without cashing them, you can convert paper bonds to electronic form through TreasuryDirect at no cost beyond postage.12TreasuryDirect. Convert Paper to Electronic The converted bonds keep their original issue dates, interest rates, and maturity terms. Only the format changes.
Open a TreasuryDirect account (or log into one you already have), set up a Conversion Linked Account under ManageDirect, and follow the prompts to generate a manifest. Do not sign the back of the bonds. Mail the unsigned certificates to the address TreasuryDirect provides, and the electronic versions appear in your account. From there you can track values and redeem online without visiting a bank.
Replacing a Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Bond
A paper bond can be replaced even if you no longer have the physical certificate. The claim form is FS Form 1048.13TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond If you know the serial numbers, complete the standard version and mail it to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. If you don’t know the serial numbers and the bonds were issued in 1974 or later, the Treasury’s free Treasury Hunt tool at TreasuryHunt.gov can search by Social Security number and, if it finds matches, produce a special version of FS Form 1048 with a reference number so the claim can be processed without serial numbers.
For bonds issued before 1974, use the standard FS Form 1048 and supply whatever you can: Social Security number, approximate purchase dates, denominations. Sign the form in front of a notary or certifying officer. The Bureau has to verify the bond exists in its records and that you have a legal right to it.14eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 Subpart F – Relief for Loss, Theft, Destruction, Mutilation, Defacement, or Nonreceipt of Bonds Replacement bonds are typically issued electronically to a TreasuryDirect account rather than reprinted on paper.
When the Owner Dies
If the bond names a co-owner, the survivor automatically becomes sole owner on providing proof of the other’s death and can cash or reissue it.15eCFR. 31 CFR Part 315 Subpart L – Deceased Owner, Coowner or Beneficiary A named beneficiary has similar rights, but only once the primary owner has died; while the owner is alive, the beneficiary has no access.
One point that surprises people: either co-owner can cash the bond at any time during both their lifetimes, without the other’s consent.16eCFR. 31 CFR Part 315 – Regulations Governing US Savings Bonds, Series A Through E and Series EE and I Once one co-owner redeems it, the other’s interest is gone. That’s worth thinking about when choosing between a co-owner and a beneficiary.
If no one named on the bond is still living and the estate won’t go through formal probate, a family member can act as a “voluntary representative” and handle the bonds, as long as the total redemption value of all bonds and Treasury securities in the estate is $100,000 or less. The representative completes FS Form 5336, gathers a certified copy of the death certificate for each deceased person named on the bonds, and mails everything (bonds unsigned) to Treasury Retail Securities Services.17TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates A paper bond still cannot be split; each one is cashed or distributed whole.
Taxes on the Interest
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income taxes.18TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds That exemption makes the real yield a little better than the headline rate for residents of high-tax states.
Most holders defer the federal tax until redemption, so the full accumulated interest hits in one tax year when you cash the bond. The Treasury sends a 1099-INT reflecting the lifetime interest earned. Cashing a large batch at once can push you into a higher bracket, so spreading redemptions across years is worth considering. You can instead elect to report interest annually as it accrues, but once you choose that method you have to apply it to all your savings bonds going forward.18TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
Watch the maturity trap. When a bond reaches final maturity at 30 years, the Treasury issues a 1099-INT for all the lifetime interest even if you haven’t cashed it, and you owe federal income tax that year regardless. Holding an unredeemed matured bond doesn’t defer the tax; it just means paying tax on money you haven’t collected.
You may be able to exclude the interest from federal tax entirely by using the proceeds for qualified higher education expenses. The bonds must be Series EE or I, issued after 1989, and bought when the owner was at least 24. Married filing separately is excluded, and your modified adjusted gross income has to fall below the annual thresholds; for 2025 returns, those are $114,500 for single filers and $179,250 for married filing jointly, with the 2026 thresholds not yet announced. The exclusion is claimed on IRS Form 8815.19IRS. Form 8815 – Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I US Savings Bonds Issued After 1989