Do savings bonds ever lose value?
Answer: No. In periods of deflation, the bond's redemption value won't decline. Question: What are some tax advantages of the Series I bond? until redemption, final maturity (30 years after issue date), or other taxable disposition, whichever occurs first.
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.
| Face Value | Purchase Amount | 30-Year Value (Purchased May 1990) |
|---|---|---|
| $50 Bond | $100 | $207.36 |
| $100 Bond | $200 | $414.72 |
| $500 Bond | $400 | $1,036.80 |
| $1,000 Bond | $800 | $2,073.60 |
They're available to be cashed in after a single year, though there's a penalty for cashing them in within the first five years. Otherwise, you can keep savings bonds until they fully mature, which is generally 30 years.
We guarantee that the value of your new EE bond at 20 years will be double what you paid for it.
| Total Price | Total Value | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|
| $50.00 | $69.94 | $19.94 |
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.
If you want full value, you should hold the Series EE bonds at least until maturity, and if you want extra, you can hold them until 30 years. But once 30 years have passed, it's a good idea to cash them in because you won't get any extra benefit.
Series I savings bonds, commonly referred to as "I Bonds," fully mature after 30 years. However, you can redeem them as early as one year after purchase. If you do redeem them early, you'll give up the last three months of interest, so you'll need to make sure you really need the money if you want to cash out early.
You can get your cash for an EE or I savings bond any time after you have owned it for 1 year. However, the longer you hold the bond, the more it earns for you (for up to 30 years for an EE or I bond). Also, if you cash in the bond in less than 5 years, you lose the last 3 months of interest.
Why is my savings bond worth so little?
There are two primary reasons a bond might be worth less than its listed face value. A savings bond, for example, is sold at a discount to its face value and steadily appreciates in price as the bond approaches its maturity date. Upon maturity, the bond is redeemed for the full face value.
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). For EE bonds you buy now, we guarantee that the bond will double in value in 20 years, even if we have to add money at 20 years to make that happen.
TO CASH BONDS FOR A DECEDENT'S ESTATE:
Series EE, Series E, and Series I bonds can be cashed at a local financial institution. Some of these transactions may have to be forwarded for further processing. Series HH and Series H bonds must be sent to one of the addresses shown at the bottom of the following page.
You cannot redeem either type of bond during the first year of ownership. If you decide to cash in between years 1 and 5, you forfeit three months of interest. If you cash in a series EE bond before 20 years, you miss out on the guarantee for your investment to double.
Just be mindful that if you don't hold them for five years after your purchase, you will sacrifice the last three months of interest as an early-withdrawal penalty. The maximum waiting period for EE bonds purchased after May 2005 is 20 years to double in value and 30 years until they reach maturity.
Paper savings bonds
If you mail in the bond for redemption, the funds will be deposited into the checking or savings account you designated on the redemption form. If you take your savings bonds to a bank, you'll receive the cash value for each bond. However, banks may limit how much they will cash at a time.
Where do I cash in a savings bond? 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.
You can cash in an EE savings bond after you've owned it for one year—but the longer you own the bond, the more you'll earn. Paper Series EE savings bonds: You may be able to cash these bonds in at your bank if it provides that service. You can also cash them in by mail through TreasuryDirect.gov.
U.S. Savings Bonds mature after 20 or 30 years, depending on the type of bond: Series EE bonds mature after 20 years. They are sold at half their face value and are worth their full value at maturity. Series I bonds are sold at face value and mature after 30 years.
If you hold savings bonds and redeem them with interest earned, that interest is subject to federal income tax and possibly federal gift taxes (highly unlikely as the per-person cap is $10,000 and the gift tax exemption is $17,000).
Do I have to report savings bonds on my taxes?
If your total interest isn't more than $1500 for the year, and you're not otherwise required to report interest income on Schedule B, report the savings bond interest with your other interest on the "Interest" line of your tax return. For more information, see the Instructions for Schedule B (Form 1040).
Interest from EE U.S. savings bonds is taxed at the federal level but not at the state or local levels for income. The interest that savings bonds earn is the amount that a bond can be redeemed for above its face value or original purchase price.
After 20 years, the Patriot Bond is guaranteed to be worth at least face value. So a $50 Patriot Bond, which was bought for $25, will be worth at least $50 after 20 years. It can continue to accrue interest for as many as 10 more years after that.
You can report the interest each year you earn it or when you cash the bond. You will report it on Schedule B of your 1040. You can avoid these taxes by using the money for qualified higher education expenses.
All Series EE bonds reach final maturity 30 years from issue. Series EE savings bonds purchased from May 1995 through April 1997 increase in value every six months.
