To deposit a U.S. savings bond into your bank account, you take one of three routes: redeem an electronic bond inside your TreasuryDirect account and have the money sent to your linked bank, bring a paper bond to a bank that handles redemptions, or mail the paper bond to Treasury with FS Form 1522 and a routing and account number for direct deposit. Which route fits you depends on whether the bond is electronic or paper, whether your bank still cashes bonds, and whether the bond is eligible to be redeemed yet.
Check That the Bond Is Eligible to Cash
Every Series I bond and every Series EE bond issued on or after February 1, 2003, has to be held at least 12 months before it can be redeemed.1eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE2TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Older Series EE bonds with issue dates on or before January 1, 2003, have a shorter six-month minimum. Try to cash a bond before that window closes and Treasury will reject the request.
Cash the bond in the first five years and you give up the last three months of interest. Treasury doesn’t bill this as a fee; the payout you receive is already reduced. The same three-month penalty applies to Series I bonds redeemed early.3eCFR. 31 CFR 359.7 – Series I Savings Bonds Early Redemption Penalty A bond cashed at 18 months, in practical terms, pays 15 months of interest.
Both series stop earning interest at 30 years.4TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds Check the issue date on the paper bond or in your TreasuryDirect account. Once a bond is past that point, holding it longer earns you nothing.
Depositing an Electronic Bond Through TreasuryDirect
If the bond already lives in a TreasuryDirect account, this is the shortest path. Log in, open ManageDirect, and choose “Redeem securities” under Manage My Securities.5TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds Pick the specific bonds and the amount, and Treasury sends the proceeds to the bank account linked to your profile.6TreasuryDirect. Redeem Savings Bonds No paperwork, no mailing.
If the bank account on file is out of date, fix it through ManageDirect before you redeem so the money lands where you want it.
Depositing a Paper Bond at a Bank
For paper bonds, the traditional route is walking into a bank. Bring the bond and a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID. You sign the back of the bond in front of the teller, who verifies your identity and the bond, then either deposits the funds into your account or hands you cash.
Not every bank still does this. Call ahead. Banks are not required to cash bonds for non-customers, and Federal Reserve guidance leaves the choice entirely to each institution.7Federal Reserve Financial Services. Savings Bond Redemptions Frequently Asked Questions Some will only redeem for customers whose account is at least 12 months old. If your bank turns you away, your options are to open an account somewhere that will help or to mail the bond to Treasury.
Mailing a Paper Bond to Treasury
When no bank will take the bond, you can send it directly to Treasury with a completed FS Form 1522, the Special Form of Request for Payment.8TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities The form asks for each bond’s serial number, issue date, and registered name, plus your taxpayer identification number. You also enter your bank’s routing number and your account number so the payment arrives by direct deposit.
The detail that catches people out: if the bonds you’re mailing total more than $1,000 in redemption value, your signature on the form has to be certified by a notary public or an authorized certifying officer at a bank or credit union.8TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities For $1,000 or less, you can skip certification and enclose a copy of your photo ID instead.9TreasuryDirect. Signature Certification
Send the package to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Use a traceable shipping method, because lost paper bonds in transit are hard to replace. Treasury tells owners to expect at least six weeks for bonds held in their own name, and at least two months when the bonds are registered to someone else.10TreasuryDirect. Contact Us Heavy mail volume can stretch that further, so don’t start this process if you need the money right away.
Co-Owners, Beneficiaries, and Trusts
A named co-owner can cash a bond alone, without the other owner’s consent, using the same process as a sole owner.5TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
If the registered owner has died and you’re the named beneficiary or the surviving co-owner, you can still redeem the bond, but you send the bond and a completed FS Form 1522 to Treasury along with a certified copy of the death certificate.11TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates Send only copies. Treasury does not return documents.12U.S. Treasury Savings Bonds Information. Savings Bonds – Redemption and Reissue Instructions for Surviving Registrants Estates going through formal administration may need additional forms such as FS Form 5336, and the longer two-month-plus timeline applies.
A trustee named in the bond’s registration can cash it by mailing the bond and FS Form 1522 to Treasury. A trustee whose name isn’t in the registration has to include the relevant pages of the trust document or a certification of trust. Do not sign the bonds; sign only the form.13TreasuryDirect. Trusts – How to Cash, Reissue, Distribute, or Claim Savings Bonds in a Trust
What the Deposit Costs You in Tax
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax. Whoever pays out the bond, whether a bank or TreasuryDirect, issues you a Form 1099-INT showing the total interest earned. Expect it by January 31 of the year after redemption.14TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
Most owners defer the tax and let interest build up untaxed until they cash the bond or it reaches final maturity. That’s the default; no election is required. You can instead report interest each year as it accrues, but if you do, you have to keep doing it for every bond you own going forward.14TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds Cashing a large batch of long-held bonds in a single year can produce a hefty tax bill, so spreading redemptions across tax years is worth considering.
There is a narrower exclusion for qualified higher education expenses. If you use the proceeds from Series EE or I bonds to pay tuition and required fees, or to fund a 529 plan or Coverdell ESA, you may be able to exclude some or all of the interest from federal tax. Every condition below has to be met:
- The bonds are Series EE or I, issued after 1989.
- You were at least 24 years old when the bonds were issued. Bonds a parent bought in a child’s name don’t qualify for either of them.
- The bonds are in your name, or jointly with your spouse.
- You are not filing as married filing separately.
- Your modified adjusted gross income is under the phase-out ceiling. For 2025, the exclusion phases out between $99,500 and $114,500 for single filers, and between $149,250 and $179,250 for joint filers. The thresholds adjust for inflation each year.
Room, board, and recreational courses aren’t qualified expenses, and you can’t use the same expenses to claim an education tax credit on Form 8863. Claim the exclusion on IRS Form 8815, filed with your return for the year you cashed the bonds.