EE bonds — TreasuryDirect (2024)

Electronic or paper? New EE bonds are electronic only. You must have a TreasuryDirect account to buy and manage new EE bonds. You may own a paper EE bond that we issued between 1980 and 2012.

Some paper EE bonds that we sold between 2001 and 2011 say "Patriot Bond" on them. They were a special edition to fund anti-terrorism. Everything about EE bonds applies to these Patriot Bonds.

How does an EE bond for sale today earn interest? EE bonds earn interest monthly.

Interest is compounded semiannually, meaning that every 6 months we apply the bond’s interest rate to a new principal. The new principal is the sum of the prior principal and the interest earned in the previous 6 months. Thus, your bond's value grows both because it earns interest and because the principal gets bigger.

Since May 2005, new EE bonds earn a fixed rate of interest that is set when you buy the bond. They earn that interest for the first 20 years. We may adjust the rate or the way they earn interest after 20 years.

For older EE bonds, rules concerning interest may have varied.

See more about interest for EE Bonds that we issued:

• May 2005 and later
• May 1997 through April 2005
• May 1995 through April 1997
• Before May 1995

How long does an EE bond earn interest? 30 years (unless you cash it before then) When do I get the interest on my EE bond? With a Series EE bond, you wait to get all the money until you cash in the bond.

Electronic EE bonds: We pay automatically when the bond matures (if you haven’t cashed it before then).

Paper EE bonds: You must submit the paper bond to cash it.

See Cash in (redeem) an EE or I savings bond.

Can I cash it in before 30 years? You can cash in (redeem) your EE bond after 12 months.

However, if you cash in the bond in less than 5 years, you lose the last 3 months of interest. For example, if you cash in the bond after 18 months, you get the first 15 months of interest.

See Cash in (redeem) an EE or I savings bond.

How do I find the value of my EE savings bond? If you have an electronic EE bond, you can see what it is worth in your TreasuryDirect account.

To see what your paper EE bond is worth, use our Savings Bond Calculator.

Must I pay tax on what the bond earns? Federal income tax: Yes

State and local income tax: No

Federal estate, gift, and excise taxes; state estate or inheritance taxes: Yes

You choose whether to report each year's earnings or wait to report all the earnings when you get the money for the bond.

If you use the money for qualified higher education expenses, you may not have to pay tax on the earnings.

See more in

Tax information for EE and I savings bonds

Using savings bonds for higher education

How much does an EE bond cost? $25 minimum or any amount above that to the penny. For example, you could buy an EE bond for $36.73. Is there a maximum amount I can buy? In any one calendar year for one Social Security Number, you may buy up to $10,000 in EE bonds. The limit applies to the Social Security Number of the first person named on the bond.