Complete a Claim for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed United States Savings Bonds to register a claim for a savings bond that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed (FS Form 1048). Please sign the form in the presence of a certifying officer who is authorized to do so (available at a bank, trust company, or credit union).
What are my options for finding bonds in my name?
Ask your family members whether they have ever opened a bond in your name to see if there are any outstanding bonds in your name. Call your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and anybody else you think might have bought a bond in your name in the past. After sifting through their filing cabinets, the family member may be able to discover the bond and hand it over to you for redemption.
What happens to savings bonds that aren’t claimed?
The majority of savings bonds have a 20- to 40-year original maturity. The Bureau does not notify bondholders when savings bonds reach their final maturity and stop earning interest. The Bureau has no active program to find bondholders and pay them the proceeds to which they are due for fully matured notes that have not been redeemed. The registered owner has traditionally been responsible for remembering to redeem the matured bond decades after the initial purchase. As a result, the US Treasury holds around $26 billion in matured savings bonds that have gone unclaimed.
How can I get free stock and bond searches?
Go to www.treasurydirect.gov and type in your Social Security number or the name of any family member who may have owned a missing bond. You can start your “Treasury Hunt” to determine if you are owed any money so that you can get it for free.
How long does it take to restore savings bonds that have been lost?
The Bureau of the Public Debt could usually locate down and reissue your bonds within three to four weeks if you had the serial number. However, without all of that data, the procedure could take months.
You can also use the Treasury Hunt tool to discover if the Bureau of the Public Debt has any undeliverable savings bonds for your children or any bonds that are no longer earning interest. Because Treasury Hunt may not have a record of all savings bonds (only Series E savings bonds issued after 1974 that have attained maturity), submitting a form for lost or stolen savings bonds is still necessary.
Even if nothing appears on TreasuryHunt, you can check the Treasury Securities That Have Stopped Earning Interest table to see the status once the bonds are reissued, as most bonds stop earning interest after 30 years, which is right around the age of the bonds you’re looking for.
If the bonds are still collecting income, you can verify their current value using TreasuryDirect.gov’s Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bonds tool.
Is it possible to cash savings bonds that are not in your name?
When it comes time to cash in your savings bonds, as long as you have the necessary documentation, the process will be relatively simple. It’s important to keep in mind that savings bonds cannot be sold, exchanged, or given away. The only person who can cash in the bond is the person whose name is on it (with a few exceptions, which we’ll discuss shortly).
First and first, you’ll need the bond (unless it’s an electronic bond, in which case there’s no step at all). The monies are deposited into your bank account once you cash it in via the Treasury Web site). However, make certain that the bond may be cashed: It’s been at least a year since it was published (some bonds only require a six-month retention period).
What is the procedure for redeeming an old savings bond?
- Whether you have a local bank account and it accepts savings bonds, inquire if it will accept yours. The answer may be contingent on the length of time you’ve had an account there. If the bank will cash your check, find out if there is a monetary restriction on redemptions and what kind of identification and other documentation you’ll need.
- Send these, along with FS Form 1522, to Treasury Retail Securities Services (download or order). The bonds are not required to be signed. You’ll need to verify your identity. The instructions are on FS Form 1522, in the “Certification” section. Our address is also included in the form.
When you cash in your savings bonds, do you have to pay taxes?
Taxes can be paid when the bond is cashed in, when the bond matures, or when the bond is relinquished to another owner. They could also pay the taxes annually as interest accumulates. 1 The majority of bond owners choose to postpone paying taxes until the bond is redeemed.
What am I supposed to do with my old savings bonds?
Your link has finally matured after three decades of waiting. If you wish to cash in your bonds, you must follow specific requirements depending on the type of bond you have (paper or electronic).
- You can cash electronic savings bonds on the TreasuryDirect website, and you’ll get your money in two days.
- Most major financial institutions, such as your local bank, accept paper savings bonds.
If you can’t find your fully matured paper savings bond, you can have it electronically replaced by going to the TreasuryDirect website and filling out the necessary papers.
You’ll need the serial number of the bond, which serves as a unique identity. If this isn’t accessible, you’ll need other information, such as the exact month and year the bond was purchased, the owner’s Social Security number, and the names and addresses of the bond’s owners. Even if you’ve misplaced the bond, it’s possible to find it with a few efforts.
You can keep your bond after it matures, but you will not get any extra interest. On the one hand, because you can’t spend a savings bond without redeeming it, the value of your bonds is considered “secure.” On the other side, if your bond isn’t redeemed, you’ll miss out on additional sources of interest. With current inflation rates, it doesn’t make much sense to hold a bond that pays nothing and is losing money to inflation every day.
Finally, regardless of whether you redeem your bonds or not, you will owe taxes on them when they mature. In the year of maturity, make sure to include all earned and previously unreported interest on your tax return. If you don’t, you may be subject to a tax penalty for underpayment.