Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s) (2024)

FAQs

How do I find out how much my paper savings bonds are worth? ›

The bond valuation formula can be represented as: Price = ( Coupon × 1 − ( 1 + r ) − n r ) + Par Value ( 1 + r ) n . The bond value formula can be broken into two parts for better understanding. The first part is the present value of the coupons, and the second part is the discounted value of the par value.

You can determine the value for an electronic savings bond by logging into your TreasuryDirect account. For paper bonds, use the savings bond calculator.

An old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. The company may have merged with another company or simply changed its name.

These days, you can only purchase electronic bonds, but you can still cash in paper bonds. There are a few types of bonds you may have: Series E/EE, Series I, or Series H/HH. A series E/EE bond earns a fixed rate of interest for up to 30 years.

Series EE bonds mature in 20 years but earn interest for up to 30 years. The U.S. Treasury guarantees Series EE bonds will double in value in 20 years.

EE bonds you buy now have a fixed interest rate that you know when you buy the bond. That rate remains the same for at least the first 20 years. It may change after that for the last 10 of its 30 years. We guarantee that the value of your new EE bond at 20 years will be double what you paid for it.

While the Treasury will not penalize you for holding a U.S. Savings Bond past its date of maturity, the Internal Revenue Service will. Interest accumulated over the life of a U.S. Savings Bond must be reported on your 1040 form for the tax year in which you redeem the bond or it reaches final maturity.

Visit the TreasuryDirect website and navigate to the “Tools” section, where you'll find the Savings Bond Calculator. Enter the required information for each bond such as the series, denomination, serial number and issue date. The calculator will display the bond's current value, including interest earned to date.

What happens to EE bonds after 30 years? ›

If you moved your EE bond into a TreasuryDirect account, we pay you for the bond as soon as it reaches 30 years and stops earning interest. If you still have a paper EE bond, check the issue date. If that date is more than 30 years ago, it is no longer increasing in value and you may want to cash it.

Series EE savings bonds are a low-risk way to save money. They earn interest regularly for 30 years (or until you cash them if you do that before 30 years).

Investors who still have paper savings bonds can go to the TreasuryDirect website and use the calculator for savings bonds. The website will ask for the issue date, bond series and denomination of the bonds. The only way to buy a Series I paper bond now is to use your tax refund as payment.

You just bought a security from the U.S. Treasury. Securities are generally issued to your account within two business days of the purchase date for savings bonds or within one week of the auction date for Bills, Notes, Bonds, FRNs, and TIPS.

Interest on I bonds is exempt from state and local taxes but taxed at the federal level at ordinary income-tax rates.

You can cash paper bonds at a bank or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's TreasuryDirect website. Not all banks offer the service, and many only provide it if you are an account holder, according to a NerdWallet analysis of the 20 largest U.S. banks.

While the Treasury will not penalize you for holding a U.S. Savings Bond past its date of maturity, the Internal Revenue Service will. Interest accumulated over the life of a U.S. Savings Bond must be reported on your 1040 form for the tax year in which you redeem the bond or it reaches final maturity.