US Treasury Savings Bonds

Here is the scoop on savings bonds in a nice question-answer format.

What type of savings bonds are available?

* Series EE. Paper Series EE bonds can be purchased at half face value. For example, you pay $25 for a $50 bond. Bonds bought online must be purchased at face value. You can buy up to $30,000 ($60,000 face value) in EE bonds. They come in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000. If you redeem bonds less than five years after purchase, you forfeit the three most recent months' of interest. There is no penalty after five years.
* Series I. These inflation-indexed bonds can be bought only at face value in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000. The maximum purchase is $30,000. Like EE bonds you forfeit the three most recent months' of interest if you redeem I bonds less than five years after purchase.
* Series HH. The Treasury stopped issuing HH bonds on September 1, 2004. Prior to that date, the only way to invest in HH bonds was by trading in your EE bonds.

How are the interest rates determined?

As of May 1, 2005, newly issued Series EE bonds will have a fixed interest rate, based on 10-year Treasury note yields. The rate currently is 3.5%. These fixed rates will be announced every May and November and the rate that is in effect on the day you buy your bonds will stick with them for at least the first 20 years.
The Treasury will still guarantee that the value of an EE bond held for 20 years will at least double its purchase price. If a fixed-rate EE bond's stated rate won't get the job done, the government will make a one-time adjustment so that the average annual return over two decades will be the 3.5% needed to double your money.
You can check the latest rates on the Treasury's savings bond Web site.
If you happened to buy that bond in April 2005 before the fixed rate took effect, the rate on your bonds would change in October (and be based on the rate announced in May).
I bonds earn interest based on a combination of a guaranteed fixed rate and the rate of inflation. The current fixed rate for I bonds purchased between May 2005 and October 2005 is 1.2% and will stay with the bonds for their entire 30-year lifespan. The inflation-adjusted portion of the yield, now 3.58%, and the fixed rate are set every six months.
HH bonds, currently paying 1.5%, do not increase in value. Instead, investors are paid interest every six months and get face value for the bonds when they redeem them. The interest rate is set when you buy HH bonds and then again ten years after the issue date. They stop earning interest after 20 years.

Who can buy savings bonds?

Residents of the United States and its territories (as well as U.S. citizens living abroad) can buy savings bonds. Canadian and Mexican residents who work in the United States, have social security numbers and who can participate in the Payroll Savings Plan through work also can buy savings bonds.

How do bonds compare with other investments?

They're very safe (and conservative), and compared with a number of other safe investments, the yield isn't too bad. As of May 1, Series EE bonds earn 3.5%. That's about the same as a one-year certificate of deposit, beats money-market deposit accounts and certainly is more than the typical savings or interest checking account.
The current combined rate for I bonds is a respectable 4.8%. This beats many other conservative investments.
Savings bonds are also free of state and local income taxes, so that adds to your yield, too. Check out the effect on the tax advantages calculator.
But keep in mind that you can't redeem savings bonds for the first year. And if you redeem them in less than five years, you lose the most recent three months' interest.

Do savings bonds earn interest forever?

No. But "people are under the misconception that savings bonds earn interest as long as they hold them," says Dan Pederson of the Savings Bond Informer, a bond consulting service.
Americans sitting on bonds that have stopped earning interest are making an interest-free loan to the U.S. government to the tune of $9 billion.
If you've got savings bonds and aren't sure whether they still are earning interest, the Bureau of Public Debt's Treasury Hunt database can help you find out.
EE bonds earn interest for 30 years. Bonds issued after May 2003 are guaranteed to double in value within 20 years, which is referred to as the original maturity date. The new fixed rate for bonds issued after May 1, 2005, applies to those first 20 years then is extended for the next ten years unless the Treasury Department announces a different rate.
I bonds earn interest for 30 years. The interest accumulates monthly and is compounded every six months.
HH bonds stop earning interest at 20 years. The interest rate is set when you buy them then again at ten years after the issue date.

Bonds no longer earning interest as of April 2005

E
May 1941 through April 1965 and December 1965 through April 1975

H
June 1952 through April 1975

HH
January 1980 through April 1985

Savings Notes
May 1967 through October 1970

A, B, C, D, F, G, J, and K
All issues

How can I find out what my bonds are worth?

You can use the savings bond calculator on the Bureau of Public Debt's Web site.
You can also keep track of and value each bond with the free, easy-to-use, Windows-based Savings Bond Wizard program.
If you don't want to manage your savings bonds yourself, you can get help. For example, U.S. Savings Bond Consultant (www.savingsbonds.com) offers online bond-management tool called Savings Bond Guru.

Does it matter when I cash in a bond?

Yes. Interest is added to savings bonds at specific intervals. If you redeem your bond before the interest is posted, you lose it. For example, if interest is posted in, say, April and October, redeeming bonds in September instead of October would cost you six months' worth of interest. To see when interest is added to your bonds, use these tables.

Should I cash in my oldest bonds first?

Not necessarily. When figuring out what bonds to cash when, you can't go just by date. Older bonds are not by definition worse than newer bonds. Some of them still earn a 4% guaranteed minimum rate.
In addition, series E bonds issued before December 1965 have a 40-year maturity period, but starting in December 1965 E bonds began to be issued with 30-year maturities. (All series EE bonds and I bonds mature in 30 years.) A lot of bonds holders lose sight of that (and the government doesn't send statements) so they accidentally cash in bonds that are still earning interest and hold on to ones that aren't.
When you want to redeem bonds, start with any that have stopped earning interest.

Will I have any tax liability if I use my social security number when I buy a bond as a gift?

No, you shouldn't. The social security number on the bond is used for tracking lost bonds, for instance, and other record keeping. The person who cashes the bond -- normally the owner or a co-owner -- should get the 1099 form reporting the interest for tax purposes.
However, banks have been known to make mistakes, says Pederson. Just to be sure, try to use the social security number of the recipient.

What do I do if I've lost some savings bonds?

Complete Form PD F 1048.. Pederson suggests that everyone file this as a matter of routine to make sure there are no bonds belonging to you that you don't know about, such as gifts that were never delivered.
The key to getting the best search is putting as much information as you can on the form, including as many forms of your name as you can, your old addresses, whether the bonds were bought through payroll deduction and at what company and so on. A search generally takes three to six weeks. The Bureau of Public Debt's Treasury Hunt feature on its Web site may also help you find bonds that were never delivered (but not lost bonds).

Can I buy savings bonds online?

You can buy them at any Federal Reserve bank or branch, your bank and, often, through a payroll deduction plan. You can even buy them online through Treasury Direct with an automatic withdrawal from your checking or savings account.

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