How to cash savings bonds

Paper vs electronic, banks vs mailing Treasury, and what the tax form will say — the official process, step by step.

• Paper EE and I bonds can be cashed at banks that offer the service, or mailed to Treasury with FS Form 1522 (TreasuryDirect).
• Electronic bonds are cashed in a TreasuryDirect account (ManageDirect → Redeem securities); minimum $25 (TreasuryDirect).
• If the bonds are worth more than $1,000, FS Form 1522 requires a certified signature (TreasuryDirect).
• Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax (TreasuryDirect).
• You get a Form 1099-INT for the year you cash the bond — from the bank that paid it or in your TreasuryDirect account (TreasuryDirect).

Paper bonds

Option 1 — a bank where you have an account

Many banks and credit unions cash savings bonds for their own customers. TreasuryDirect's advice is to ask three things first: whether they cash savings bonds at all, how much they will cash at one time, and what identification they require (TreasuryDirect: cashing a bond). Banks are not required to offer this, and policies vary.

Option 2 — mail them to Treasury (FS Form 1522)

1. Download FS Form 1522 and fill it out.
2. If the total value is over $1,000, have your signature certified as the form instructs.
3. Mail the form and the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Treasury pays by direct deposit (TreasuryDirect, TreasuryDirect).

This is also the route for old-series bonds (E, H, and earlier) that banks often will not handle, and for special situations — cashing from outside the US, bonds of a young child, trusts, or an inherited bond (details).

Electronic bonds

Log in to TreasuryDirect → ManageDirect → Redeem securities. You can cash any amount of $25 or more (leaving at least $25 if you cash part of a bond), and the money goes to your linked bank account. Electronic bonds that reach final maturity are redeemed automatically (TreasuryDirect, TreasuryDirect).

Worth checking before you cash

• Is it still earning? A bond short of final maturity keeps growing; one past final maturity earns nothing by waiting. Check the status and see EE maturity dates.
• EE and I bonds cashed before 5 years forfeit the last 3 months of interest; they cannot be cashed at all in the first 12 months (TreasuryDirect, TreasuryDirect).

Taxes, briefly

Interest is federally taxable and exempt from state and local income tax. Most people defer reporting until they cash the bond (or it matures — whichever comes first) and receive a 1099-INT for that year; you may instead report interest annually. Interest may be excludable when the money pays for qualified higher education — rules and limits are on TreasuryDirect's tax page. This site describes the official process only; for how the rules apply to you, see the linked Treasury and IRS guidance.