Because of the following reasons, electronic securities provide you with more flexibility and convenience than paper securities:
- You can cash your electronic bonds in whole or in part at any time 24 hours a day, seven days a week and have the funds deposited into a savings or checking account of your choice. You don’t need to go to a bank, and once the minimal requirements are satisfied, there are no limits on the number of bonds or their value that can be cashed at any given moment.
- At any time, you can see your online holdings and their current valuations. You don’t have to be concerned about paper securities being misplaced or destroyed.
- At any moment, you can amend the bond registration or transfer the securities to a different account. (There are some ownership restrictions, and transfers may trigger a taxable event.)
- When electronic bonds reach their full maturity and no longer generate interest, they will be immediately paid out and the proceeds put into your Primary Account’s Zero-Percent C of I. You can utilize the proceeds in full or in part to buy additional securities or cash the C of I into your bank account.
Is it possible to redeem a paper savings bond via the internet?
Paper savings bonds, unlike bonds purchased online, cannot be redeemed using the Treasury Direct platform. You must instead take your paper certificates to a bank or other financial institution that processes Treasury Department redemptions.
To convert paper bonds to electronic bonds, you can use the Treasury Direct SmartExchange facility. The bonds can be redeemed online once they’ve been converted to electronic form. You must wait at least one year after purchasing the bonds before redeeming them as part of bond ownership. If you redeem them in fewer than five years, you will lose three months’ interest.
Paper bonds
Your bank or credit union should be able to cash in your paper savings bonds. If you’re going to a financial institution where you’re not a member or customer, check to see if they’ll cash your bond before you go.
Confirm what documents you’ll need to bring with you by contacting the bank. Here’s what you should bring with you in general.
It’s important to remember that bonds can’t be cashed by just anyone. Savings bonds can only be cashed by the bond owner or co-owner, which includes “survivors,” or those identified on the bond who received ownership after the original owner died. You are not the registered owner (a savings bond is nontransferable) and cannot cash in the bond if you purchased it through an auction site like eBay.
If the child is too young to sign the payment request and the child lives with the parent or the parent has legal custody of the child the parent may cash in the child’s savings bond.
Anyone else who wants to cash in a bond must show proof of legal authority to do so.
You’ll sign each bond and receive the cash value at the bank. The bank will either hand you a 1099 tax form or mail it to you before the end of the tax year after you’ve cashed in your bond.
Paper bonds can also be redeemed through the mail. To cash in by mail, obtain an FS Form 1522 from the US Department of Treasury, have your signature certified, then mail the form to the address shown on the form.
Electronic bonds
By connecting into your TreasuryDirect account and setting up a direct payment to your bank or savings account, you can cash in your electronic bonds. Within two business days, the cash amount may be credited to your bank account.
Should I invest in electronic bonds instead of paper bonds?
Financial institutions discontinued issuing paper versions of Series EE and Series I savings bonds on January 1, 2012. Many of us still own bonds in paper form, even though any bonds purchased after this date are stored electronically. Since the United States Treasury shut down the Savings Bond Wizard in May 2018, you have two options for getting information about your paper savings bonds:
- Visit www.treasurydirect.gov/ to use the Savings Bond Calculator. indiv/tools/tools savingsbondcalc.htm
Converting your US savings bonds to an electronic version allows you to examine their current rate and value, as well as the interest received and the tax implications of cashing them now or at maturity, which is crucial as you plan for retirement.
A tool called SmartExchange can help you convert your paper bonds to electronic bonds. After you’ve gathered your paper bonds and sorted them by registration, go to www.treasurydirect.gov/ R S / U N – A c c o u n t C r e ate.do to create an account. Mail your paper bonds to the US Treasury after you’ve set up your online account. You can convert paper bonds from Series E, EE, or I. Series H and HH bonds cannot be converted since they must be redeemed through the US Treasury and cannot be redeemed at a local financial institution.
Converting paper bonds to an electronic format is helpful for various reasons:
- You will be able to log in to your account at any time, seven days a week. The current values will be displayed clearly.
- There is no need to store bonds or be concerned about them being lost, stolen, or damaged.
- Bond registration can be changed, although some bonds will require a signed owner release.
- Bond proceeds can be automatically paid into your bank account or deposited into a Zero-Percent Certificate of Indemnity for future TreasuryDirect online purchases. Keep in mind that when the bonds reach maturity, they will be automatically redeemed. The owner will not be able to choose when to redeem the bonds and pay tax on the accumulated interest because interest will be reported in the year of maturity. This can be a benefit if you want to reinvest the proceeds, or it can be a disadvantage if the tax consequences are unforeseen.
While transferring bonds to an electronic version takes some time, the effort is well worth it. Savings bonds should be stored and managed safely at all stages of life, but especially as you prepare for and enter retirement.
After 30 years, how much is a $50 EE savings bond worth?
Savings bonds are regarded as one of the most secure investments available. The underlying principle is that the value of a savings bond grows over time, but it’s easy to lose track of how much it’s worth over time.
The TreasuryDirect savings bond calculator, fortunately, makes determining the value of a purchased savings bond a breeze. You’ll need the bond series, face value, serial number, and issuance date to figure out how much your savings bond is worth.
If you bought a $50 Series EE bond in May 2000, for example, you would have paid $25. At maturity, the government committed to repay the face amount plus interest, bringing the total value to $53.08 by May 2020. A $50 bond purchased for $25 30 years ago is now worth $103.68.
I don’t have a bank account, therefore how do I cash a savings bond?
If you want to cash a bond at a bank where you don’t have an account, you’ll need to present photo identification like a driver’s license or a state-issued ID card. The form of identification, as well as the number and issue date, will be noted on the bond by the bank official. A bank’s maximum amount of savings bonds it can cash for a non-customer is $1,000. The bank will not redeem a savings bond with a redemption value of more than $1,000. If the total amount of lesser bonds is less than $1,000, you can cash them all.
When cashing in savings bonds, how do I avoid paying taxes?
Cashing your EE or I bonds before maturity and using the money to pay for education is one strategy to avoid paying taxes on the bond interest. The interest will not be taxable if you follow these guidelines:
- The bonds must be redeemed to pay for tuition and fees for you, your spouse, or a dependent, such as a kid listed on your tax return, at an undergraduate, graduate, or vocational school. The bonds can also be used to purchase a computer for yourself, a spouse, or a dependent. Room and board costs aren’t eligible, and grandparents can’t use this tax advantage to aid someone who isn’t classified as a dependent, such as a granddaughter.
- The bond profits must be used to pay for educational expenses in the year when the bonds are redeemed.
- High-earners are not eligible. For joint filers with modified adjusted gross incomes of more than $124,800 (more than $83,200 for other taxpayers), the interest exclusion begins to phase out and ceases when modified AGI reaches $154,800 ($98,200 for other filers).
The amount of interest you can omit is lowered proportionally if the profits from all EE and I bonds cashed in during the year exceed the qualified education expenditures paid that year.
Is it possible to deposit a savings bond at an ATM?
Can I use an ATM or a night drop to deposit my savings bonds? Any savings bond transaction, whether depositing or cashing, must be completed in person. The teller processing the transaction must witness the endorsement of the bond, and acceptable identification must be presented.
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).