You found an old paper bond. Maybe it was tucked inside a dusty birthday card from 1994, or perhaps you just unearthed a stack of them while cleaning out your late grandfather’s safe deposit box. Now you're staring at that ornate, government-stamped paper wondering: what is the value of my savings bond?
It’s rarely the number printed on the front. Honestly, that "face value" is often a total lie—or at least a very confusing half-truth.
If you have a Series EE bond, you probably bought it for half of what it says on the paper. A $100 bond actually cost $50. If you have a Series I bond, you bought it for the full price. But both of them have been sitting there, quietly soaking up interest like a sponge for years, or maybe decades. Tracking down the actual cash value isn't just about curiosity; it’s about making sure you don’t let the U.S. Treasury keep money that belongs in your pocket.
The Paper Bond Trap: Why the Face Value Lies to You
Let’s get the biggest misconception out of the way immediately. If you are holding a Series EE savings bond and it says "$100" in big, bold ink, you might think you have a hundred bucks. You don't. At least, not necessarily.
Paper Series EE bonds were sold at a discount. You paid $50 to get that $100 piece of paper. The government promised that, eventually, it would be worth at least the face value. Back in the day, they guaranteed the bond would reach its face value in 18 or 20 years. If the interest didn't get it there, the Treasury would just make a one-time adjustment to "bump" it up to that $100 mark.
Series I bonds are different. They were sold at face value. If you bought a $100 I bond, you paid $100. Every penny of interest added since then is pure profit.
But here is the kicker: bonds stop earning interest. If your bond is from the late 70s or early 80s, it might be "dead." It’s reached final maturity. Holding onto it now is essentially giving the government an interest-free loan while inflation eats your buying power. Knowing the current value helps you decide if it’s time to cash out or keep waiting.
How the Treasury Calculates Your Earnings
The math behind your bond value isn't exactly "napkin-friendly." For Series EE bonds, the interest rate depends entirely on when you bought it. Bonds issued from May 1997 to April 2005 earn interest at 90% of the average yield on five-year Treasury securities. Bonds issued after May 2005 have a fixed rate.
Series I bonds are a whole different beast. They use a "composite rate." This is a mix of a fixed rate (which stays the same for the life of the bond) and a variable inflation rate that changes every six months based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
When inflation spikes, I bonds become the darlings of the financial world. You might remember the frenzy in 2022 when I bond rates hit a staggering 9.62%. If you held bonds during that window, your "what is the value of my savings bond" question would have had a very pleasant answer.
Using the Official Treasury Tools Without Losing Your Mind
The most direct way to get an answer is the TreasuryDirect website. Specifically, the Savings Bond Calculator. It’s a bit of a legacy tool—it looks like it hasn't been redesigned since the era of dial-up internet—but it works.
To use it, you need:
- The Series (EE, I, E, or Savings Notes).
- The Denomination (the amount printed on the bond).
- The Serial Number (not strictly required for the calculator, but good for your records).
- The Issue Date (the month and year printed on the top right).
You don't have to create an account to use the calculator. You just plug in the details and it spits out the current value, the interest earned, and the next accrual date.
One weird quirk: the calculator shows the value as of the current month. If you check it on January 1st, it might show a different value than January 30th if your bond happens to hit an interest accrual milestone in the middle of the month. Savings bonds usually accrue interest monthly, but they only compound semiannually.
The Cashing-In "Penalty"
If your bond is less than five years old, you’re going to lose the last three months of interest if you cash it. It’s a small sting, but if you’re trying to squeeze every cent out of the investment, it’s something to watch. If the bond is older than five years, that penalty disappears.
Digital vs. Paper: The Modern Valuation Struggle
If you’ve converted your paper bonds to digital or if you bought them through TreasuryDirect in the last 20 years, finding the value is much easier. You just log in.
But "just logging in" to TreasuryDirect can be a hurdle. The site is famous for its strict security, including a virtual keyboard where you have to click letters with your mouse. Once you are in, your "Current Value" is listed right there on the account summary page. This value includes all the interest that has accrued up to that point.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Old Bonds
People often assume that if a bond is old, it must be worth a fortune. That isn't always true.
Series E bonds (the ones from WWII era) stopped earning interest decades ago. If you find one now, its value is frozen. You should have cashed it years ago. On the flip side, some people think that once a bond reaches "face value," it's done. Nope. Many bonds continue to earn interest for up to 30 years.
Take a Series EE bond issued in May 1993. It had a 18-year original maturity, but it carries a 30-year final maturity. It only stopped earning interest in May 2023. If you had cashed it in 2011 because it "hit the number on the paper," you would have missed out on 12 years of guaranteed growth.
Taxes: The Hidden Bite
When you finally ask "what is the value of my savings bond" and see a number you like, don't forget that Uncle Sam wants his cut.
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax. The good news? It is exempt from state and local taxes. This makes them particularly attractive for people living in high-tax states like California or New York.
You have two choices for paying taxes:
- Pay every year on the interest earned (almost nobody does this).
- Defer the taxes until you cash the bond or it reaches final maturity (what almost everyone does).
If you cash $5,000 worth of bonds and $2,000 of that is interest, you’ll receive a 1099-INT and you’ll need to report that $2,000 as income on your federal return.
The Education Loophole
There is one way to keep all the money. If you use the bond proceeds to pay for qualified higher education expenses (tuition and fees) for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent, you might be able to exclude the interest from your income. There are income limits, though. If you make too much money, the IRS won't let you use this "Education Savings Bond Program" perk.
How to Handle a Mutilated or Lost Bond
Sometimes the question isn't just "what is it worth," but "where is it?"
If you have a bond that was partially eaten by a dog, caught in a flood, or just plain lost, you aren't necessarily out of luck. You’ll need to file FS Form 1048.
The Treasury Department is surprisingly good at tracking these down if you can provide the serial numbers. If you don't have the serial numbers, you'll need to provide the Social Security number of the purchaser, the approximate dates of purchase, and the name on the bond. It takes months—sometimes a year—to process, but they can reissue the bonds in electronic form to a TreasuryDirect account.
Actionable Steps to Value and Manage Your Bonds
Don't just let those bonds sit in a drawer. Inflation is a constant thief.
- Inventory Your Stack: Grab every bond you own. Create a simple spreadsheet. List the Series, the serial number, and the issue date.
- Use the Official Calculator: Go to the TreasuryDirect Savings Bond Calculator. Plug in your inventory.
- Check the Maturity Dates: Identify any bonds that have reached "Final Maturity." These are no longer earning interest. They are essentially losing value every day due to inflation. Cash these immediately.
- Look for the Five-Year Mark: If you have I bonds and need cash, check if they are older than five years. If they are four years and 11 months old, wait one more month to avoid the interest penalty.
- Decide on Digital Conversion: You can mail your paper bonds to the Treasury to have them converted to digital. This prevents them from being lost or destroyed in a house fire, but it does make them a bit more "out of sight, out of mind."
- Consult a Tax Pro for Large Amounts: If you are cashing in a significant "inheritance" of bonds, your tax bill could jump. Plan ahead so you aren't surprised by a massive federal tax hit in April.
Knowing the value of your savings bonds is about more than just a balance sheet. It’s about reclaiming money that you or your family set aside for the future. Whether it's a few hundred dollars for a weekend trip or a few thousand for a down payment, that money is yours. Go get it.
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The U.S. Treasury currently holds billions of dollars in matured, uncashed savings bonds. Don't let your money be part of that statistic. Check the dates, run the numbers, and decide if those pieces of paper are doing more work in your drawer or in your high-yield savings account.
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