You can cash in savings bonds three ways: take paper bonds to a bank or credit union where you have an account, redeem electronic bonds inside your TreasuryDirect account, or mail paper bonds to the Treasury with FS Form 1522. Every savings bond has a one-year minimum holding period, and cashing one before five years costs you the last three months of interest.1U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data. Treasury Savings Bonds Explained Which route works for you depends on whether the bonds are paper or electronic and who is named on them.
Cashing Paper Bonds at Your Bank or Credit Union
A bank or credit union where you already have an account is the fastest option. Federal regulations let financial institutions that act as paying agents redeem eligible bonds for established account holders who show proper identification.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 321 – Payments by Banks and Other Financial Institutions Bring a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport, and make sure the name on the bond matches your ID.
If you don’t have an account at the bank, or your account is new, the bank can decline. The U.S. Secret Service recommends that banks not cash bonds for anyone who has held an account for fewer than 12 months.3TreasuryDirect. Guide to Cashing Savings Bonds Once the teller verifies your identity and processes the bond, you get the money right away — cash in hand or a deposit into your account. Not every branch cashes bonds, and some cap the dollar amount they’ll redeem in a single visit, so it’s worth calling ahead.
Redeeming Electronic Bonds Through TreasuryDirect
If you bought savings bonds online after 2012 or converted older paper bonds, your holdings sit in your TreasuryDirect account.4U.S. Department of the Treasury. TreasuryDirect Log in, open ManageDirect, and select the option to redeem securities.5TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds The system shows each bond’s current value, including accrued interest, before you confirm.
You can cash all or part of a bond. For a partial redemption, the minimum you can cash is $25, and you must leave at least $25 in the bond.5TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds The Treasury sends the money to your linked bank account by ACH, and funds typically arrive within about two business days.
Mailing Paper Bonds to the Treasury
When no bank will cash your bond, you can send it to the Treasury directly. Download FS Form 1522 and fill in your mailing address plus the routing and account numbers for direct deposit — the Treasury pays bond redemptions electronically, so bank details are required.6TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment
If the total redemption value is more than $1,000, a notary or an authorized certifying officer at a bank or credit union must certify your signature, so wait to sign the form until you’re in front of that official.5TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds For $1,000 or less, skip certification and enclose a copy of your photo ID.6TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment
Do not sign the back of the bonds. Sign only the form. Mail the signed form and unsigned bonds by certified mail with return receipt to:
Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
Processing takes at least six weeks before the funds land in your bank account.7TreasuryDirect. Contact Us
When It Makes Sense to Cash
Both Series EE and Series I bonds earn interest for 30 years from their issue date.8TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds After 30 years the bond hits final maturity and stops earning. A matured paper bond loses purchasing power to inflation every day it stays in a drawer.
Series EE bonds carry a Treasury guarantee that they’ll double in value at 20 years. If the accumulated interest falls short at the 20-year mark, the Treasury adds a one-time adjustment to make up the difference.9TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds Cashing an EE bond before 20 years means giving up that guaranteed doubling. Series I bonds have no equivalent guarantee; their value depends on a fixed rate plus an inflation adjustment.
Electronic EE bonds held in TreasuryDirect pay out automatically to your linked account at 30-year maturity.9TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds Paper bonds don’t autopay. You have to submit them.
Special Situations
Your Name Has Changed
You don’t need to have the bond reissued first. When you redeem a paper bond, sign both the name printed on the bond and your current legal name, then note the reason, for example: “Mary Smith, Mary Jones (name changed due to marriage).”10TreasuryDirect. Changing Information About EE or I Savings Bonds The same works at a bank or by mail. For a court-ordered name change or the appointment of a guardian, you can request reissuance instead using FS Form 4000 with the court order or letters of appointment.
The Owner Has Died
If a bond names a co-owner or a payable-on-death (P.O.D.) beneficiary, that surviving person becomes the sole owner and can cash the bond as if it were registered in their name alone.11eCFR. 31 CFR Part 315 Subpart L – Deceased Owner, Coowner or Beneficiary Bring a certified copy of the death certificate to the bank or include it with a mailed submission.
If no living person is named and the estate won’t go through probate, the Treasury treats it as a non-administered estate as long as the deceased person’s total Treasury securities were $100,000 or less at the date of death.12U.S. Department of the Treasury. Non-Administered Estates A close relative age 18 or older can act as voluntary representative by filing FS Form 5336 with certified death certificates and the unsigned bonds. When the estate goes through formal probate, the court-appointed personal representative handles the bonds using letters of appointment.
The Bond Is a Child’s
A parent can cash a paper bond for a child under 18 who is too young to understand the transaction, as long as the child lives with the parent or the parent has legal custody.13TreasuryDirect. Cashing Paper Bonds for a Young Child On the back of the bond, write a statement that includes your relationship to the child, that the child lives with you or is in your legal custody, the child’s age and that the child is not of sufficient understanding to make the request, and the child’s Social Security number. Then sign your name “on behalf of [child’s name], a minor,” and show your photo ID. If the bank won’t process it, use FS Form 1522 and mail to the Minneapolis address.
The Bonds Are Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed
File FS Form 1048 to claim lost or destroyed bonds; every person named on the bonds must sign in front of a notary or certifying officer.14TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1048 – Claim for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed Savings Bonds If you don’t know the serial numbers, run a free lookup at Treasury Hunt using the owner’s Social Security number.15TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt Search When approved, you can take the value as a direct deposit or as replacement electronic bonds in a TreasuryDirect account; the Treasury no longer issues replacement paper bonds for Series EE or I.
Taxes on the Interest
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax.16TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds You can either report the interest each year as it accrues or defer it and report the full amount in the year you cash the bond or the year it matures, whichever comes first. Most people defer, which means all the accumulated interest hits one tax return.17Internal Revenue Service. Savings Bonds – Interest, Dividends, Other Types of Income The Treasury or your bank will send a Form 1099-INT for the year of redemption.
You may be able to exclude the interest from federal taxes entirely if you use the proceeds for qualified higher education expenses such as tuition and fees for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent at an eligible institution.16TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds To qualify, the bond must be a Series EE issued after 1989 or a Series I bond, you must have been at least 24 years old before the bond’s issue date, you can’t file as married filing separately, and your modified adjusted gross income must fall below the annual threshold. For 2025, the exclusion phases out between $99,500 and $114,500 for single filers and between $149,250 and $179,250 for married couples filing jointly, and the IRS adjusts these figures for inflation each year.18Internal Revenue Service. Publication 970 – Tax Benefits for Education Claim the exclusion on Form 8815 with your return.