If your Series E, EE, I, or HH savings bonds have hit final maturity, the right move with matured savings bonds is to cash them without delay, then report the accumulated interest on your next federal tax return. A matured bond earns nothing more, and the IRS treats the interest as taxable in the year of final maturity whether you redeem or not. You have three ways to redeem, one meaningful tax break available if you’re paying for higher education, and a few extra steps if the bondholder has died or the paper certificates have gone missing.
Confirm the Bond Has Actually Stopped Earning
The issue date printed on the bond sets the clock. Final maturity depends on the series:
- Series EE bonds mature 30 years from the issue date. A bond issued in June 1995 stopped earning in June 2025.1eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE
- Series I bonds also mature 30 years from issue, a 20-year original period plus a 10-year extension.2eCFR. 31 CFR 359.5 – What Is the Maturity Period of a Series I Savings Bond
- Series E bonds ran up to 40 years. Because the last ones were issued in 1980, every Series E bond has now matured.3TreasuryDirect. Questions and Answers About Series E/EE Savings Bonds and Savings Notes Issued Before November 1982
- Series HH bonds matured 20 years from issue. Treasury stopped selling them in August 2004, so the last of them matured by 2024.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 352 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series HH
Not sure where a bond stands? Enter the series, denomination, and issue date into the free calculator at TreasuryDirect.gov to see current value and whether it’s still accruing.5TreasuryDirect. Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bonds Electronic bonds show their status automatically inside your TreasuryDirect account.
How to Cash Matured Bonds
At Your Bank
Many banks will redeem paper bonds for established customers, though policies differ. Some cap the amount they’ll cash in a single visit; some won’t handle bonds at all. Call ahead. If you don’t have a longstanding account at the bank, expect resistance: the Secret Service recommends banks limit bond redemptions to customers who have held an account for at least 12 months, and many follow that guidance.6Federal Reserve Financial Services. Savings Bond Redemptions Frequently Asked Questions
Bring the bonds themselves, a valid government-issued photo ID, and your account information. For redemptions over $1,000, Treasury requires a certified signature, which a bank officer can usually provide at no charge using the institution’s seal or a medallion signature guarantee.7TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
Through TreasuryDirect
If your bonds already sit in a TreasuryDirect account, log in, select the matured securities, and redeem. Funds move to the bank account linked to your profile. Paper bonds you convert into TreasuryDirect after they’ve stopped earning interest are cashed automatically on conversion, and the proceeds land in a Certificate of Indebtedness that you can then transfer to your bank.8TreasuryDirect. Converting EE or I Paper Bonds to Electronic Bonds
By Mail to Treasury
When a bank can’t help, mail the bonds directly. Fill out FS Form 1522, sign the back of each bond exactly as the name appears on the front, and include your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit. Send everything to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.9TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Use a trackable mail service. Treasury lists a minimum processing time of six weeks for paper bond redemptions, and transactions involving bonds not in your name can run two months or longer.10TreasuryDirect. Contact Us If your name changed since the bond was issued because of marriage, divorce, or a court order, include the legal documentation.
Federal Tax on the Interest
The difference between what you originally paid and what you receive back is taxable interest at your ordinary federal income tax rate. Your original purchase price returns tax-free as principal. Savings bond interest is exempt from state and local income taxes under federal law shielding interest on U.S. government obligations from state and local taxation.11GovInfo. 31 USC 3124 – Exemption From Taxation
The Year of Final Maturity Is the Year You Owe
Most individual bondholders defer reporting the interest until they cash the bond or it reaches final maturity, whichever comes first.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 454 – Obligations Issued at Discount This trips people up. If your bond matured in 2020 and you never cashed it, the IRS considers the interest reportable income for 2020. Leaving a matured bond in a drawer doesn’t postpone the tax; it just means the tax was already due. If you missed the year of maturity, you may owe back taxes plus underpayment penalties, and amending the earlier return is usually the safer path when the interest amount is significant.
An alternative election lets you report the increase in redemption value each year as it accrues. Once chosen, it applies to all your EE and I bonds going forward. You can switch from deferred to annual reporting without IRS permission, but you must report all previously unreported accrued interest in the year you switch. Reverting to deferred reporting requires IRS approval.13Internal Revenue Service. Publication 550 (2024), Investment Income and Expenses
Form 1099-INT
After redemption, you’ll receive Form 1099-INT showing the taxable interest. When a bank cashes the bond, that bank issues the form, typically by January 31 of the following year. For TreasuryDirect redemptions, the 1099-INT appears in your online account by the same date.14TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds Bonds held for decades can generate surprisingly large interest totals, and skipping the report invites an IRS notice.
The Education Exclusion
If you use the proceeds to pay qualified higher education expenses, you may exclude some or all of the interest from federal income tax under IRC Section 135. Requirements are strict:
- The bond must have been issued after 1989.
- The bond owner must have been at least 24 at the time of purchase.
- Qualifying expenses are tuition and fees at an accredited postsecondary institution eligible for federal student aid; room, board, and recreational courses don’t count. Expenses can be for you, your spouse, or your dependents, and contributions to a 529 plan or Coverdell ESA also qualify.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 135 – Income From United States Savings Bonds Used to Pay Higher Education Tuition and Fees
The exclusion phases out at higher incomes. For the 2026 tax year, the phase-out begins at a modified adjusted gross income of $101,800 for single filers and $152,650 for joint filers, and the exclusion disappears entirely at $116,800 and $182,650 respectively.16Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 Married taxpayers must file jointly to claim it. Report the exclusion on IRS Form 8815 and attach it to your return.
If the Bondholder Has Died
How the bond was registered controls what happens next.
When the bond names a surviving beneficiary or co-owner, that person becomes the sole owner on proof of death, usually a certified death certificate. They can then redeem the bond or have it reissued in their name alone.17eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 Subpart L – Deceased Owner, Coowner or Beneficiary
When a bond was registered to a single owner with no beneficiary, it belongs to the estate. If both co-owners have died, it belongs to the estate of whichever co-owner died last. For estates holding $100,000 or less in Treasury securities (valued as of the date of death), a “voluntary representative” can handle the bonds without formal probate, using FS Form 5336 to redeem them or distribute them to entitled heirs in a single transaction.18TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates Priority for who can serve starts with the surviving spouse, then children of the deceased, and continues in a set order.17eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 Subpart L – Deceased Owner, Coowner or Beneficiary
Estates exceeding $100,000 in Treasury securities require formal administration through a court. The appointed representative must submit letters of appointment dated within one year of submission.19eCFR. 31 CFR Part 315 – Regulations Governing U.S. Savings Bonds
If You Can’t Find the Paper Bonds
Missing paper doesn’t mean missing money. File FS Form 1048, the claim for lost, stolen, or destroyed savings bonds, and mail it to Treasury Retail Securities Services.20TreasuryDirect. Filing a Claim for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed United States Savings Bonds and Notes If you know the serial number and issue date the process moves faster, but Treasury can also search using your Social Security number, the approximate month and year of purchase, the names on the bond, and your address at the time. Treasury currently estimates at least seven months to process lost bond searches.10TreasuryDirect. Contact Us
Treasury also periodically transfers records of unredeemed matured bonds to state unclaimed property programs, so if you suspect old bonds exist somewhere in your name, the state unclaimed property office is worth a search.21TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt