Yes, Bank of America cashes paper savings bonds, with two conditions. A financial center redeems a bond only for its owner or co-owner, and only with an active Bank of America checking or savings account. That rule is on the bank's own FAQ page, checked November 11, 2026.
Anyone without a Bank of America account, the page says, goes to another financial institution or to Treasury. Treasury cashes every eligible paper bond by mail with FS Form 1522, with no limit on value or number.
ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent site: not Bank of America, not a bank and not Treasury. We read the bank's own page and date it.
Policies change, so confirm with the financial center before you go. Which banks cash savings bonds differs by bank; our guide to what banks cash savings bonds compares the policies, each dated.
Bank of America's Savings Bond Policy in Its Own Words (Checked November 11, 2026)
Bank of America states its policy in one sentence: "To redeem a bond you must be the owner or co-owner of the bond and you must have an active checking or savings account with Bank of America."
The same answer on its financial center FAQs page adds a route for people without an account, covered below.
The page sets no account age, no dollar limit and no list of identification documents (checked November 11, 2026). Still, Bank of America is 1 of only 3 institutions, among 18 we checked, that publish a cashing policy at all.
We quote only the bank's own page, never forum posts or news reports. The table below sets each point beside the Treasury rule for every bank.
| Point | What bankofamerica.com says | Treasury rule for every bank |
|---|---|---|
| Cashes paper savings bonds? | Yes, at a financial center | May pay eligible bonds (321.7(a)) |
| Who may present | Owner or co-owner | Either co-owner alone (353.37) |
| Account needed | Active Bank of America checking or savings account | Non-customers and new customers at the bank's option (FS Publication 0022) |
| Account age | Not stated | Established account holder: 12 months; Secret Service recommends 12 months (a recommendation) |
| Dollar limit | Not stated | ID document alone up to $1,000; no Treasury daily cap; mail unlimited |
| ID list | Not stated | 3 ways to identify a presenter (FS Publication 0022) |
| Fee | Not stated | None allowed (321.23(c)) |
| No account | "a different financial institution or ... Treasury using TreasuryDirect" | FS Form 1522 by mail; paper never cashed online |
Bank of America page we read: financial center FAQs (checked November 11, 2026). Rules: 31 CFR parts 321 and 353 (eCFR as of November 6, 2026); FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022); TreasuryDirect (as of November 11, 2026). "Not stated" means the page is silent, not that no limit exists.
Who Counts as "Owner or Co-Owner" of a Paper Savings Bond at Bank of America
"Owner or co-owner" means a person named on the bond: the owner, or a second person joined by the word "OR". Either co-owner may cash the bond alone, and the other then loses any ownership interest (31 CFR 353.37).
A beneficiary named after "P.O.D." (payable on death) has no rights while the owner lives (353.38). A name after "Mail to" confers no ownership.
FS Publication 0022, Treasury's guide for banks, names four presenters a bank may never pay. They are an attorney-in-fact (acting under a power of attorney), a step-parent for a minor, a same-name person known not to be the owner, and a "Mail to" name only.
A parent may cash a child's bond only with residence or custody (31 CFR 321.7(c)), and then at the bank's option. Bank of America's page says nothing about parents or beneficiaries. Our guide on how to read a paper savings bond shows where the owner and co-owner lines sit.
What "Active Checking or Savings Account" Does Not Tell You
Bank of America's page sets 2 conditions and leaves 3 questions open: account age, the amount per visit, and the identification to bring. TreasuryDirect, Treasury's savings bond website, advises asking your bank about the amount and documents first. Ask the financial center these three questions.
- How long must my checking or savings account be open?
- How much will you cash at one time?
- What identification or other documents do I need?
Note the date, the financial center and the answer. Treasury's guide marks one service "Required" for banks that act as paying agents: cashing eligible bonds for an established account holder, a customer whose account is at least 12 months old, with proper identification. You cannot enforce it, so ask anyway.
Can You Cash Savings Bonds at Bank of America Without an Account?
No: without a Bank of America checking or savings account, its page says, "you'll need to redeem your bond at a different financial institution or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury using TreasuryDirect." We checked that wording on November 11, 2026.
For a paper bond, "using TreasuryDirect" means its mail instructions: you send the bond with FS Form 1522 to Treasury Retail Securities Services, the Treasury office that processes mailed bonds. Paper bonds are never cashed online; only electronic bonds are. Bank of America's rule fits Treasury's guidance: FS Publication 0022 (Rev.
October 2022) makes paying non-customers and new customers "at the option of your financial institution." 31 CFR 321.10(a) still says "whether or not a customer"; part 321 has not been amended since 77 FR 16165 (March 20, 2012). In practice, the bank's page and Treasury's newer guide both leave non-customers to the bank's decision.
A newly opened account meets the page's words, but Treasury's guide leaves recently opened accounts to the bank's option, so ask first. Other banks that cash savings bonds without an account do so at their own option, never because a rule requires it.
Bank of America Savings Bond Limits: What the Bank and Treasury Set
Bank of America publishes no dollar limit for savings bonds (checked November 11, 2026), so only Treasury's rules for every bank apply for sure. The "$1,000" in forum posts is Treasury's ceiling for identifying a person by an ID document alone.
FS Publication 0022 says an ID document is "used only for payments of $1,000 or less." Part 321's Appendix, item 11(a), says paying more than $1,000 on documents alone "should be particularly avoided."
An established account holder is identified by the account instead. The $1,000 line is neither a Bank of America limit nor a daily cap.
Treasury sets no daily cap for banks. TreasuryDirect says only that banks vary in how much they cash at one time, and whether they cash savings bonds at all.
A bank may not pay part of a bond's value (31 CFR 321.9(l)), so each paper bond is cashed whole. Nor may it charge you: a paying agent (a bank qualified to pay bonds) "shall not make any charge whatever" (321.23(c)).
By mail, Treasury has "no limit on the value or number of savings bonds you can cash at one time," and the steps below use that route.
What to Bring to a Bank of America Financial Center to Cash Savings Bonds
Bring the original paper bonds and your ID to a Bank of America financial center, as the owner or co-owner with an active account there. FS Publication 0022 lets a bank identify you in 3 ways.
You can be an established account holder (account 12 months or older) or be identified by another person; an ID document alone covers $1,000 or less. Bank of America's page lists no ID (checked November 11, 2026), so ask question 3 above.
Treasury's guide gives banks tools to check a bond's serial number against Treasury's file of bonds reported lost, stolen or never received (FS Publication 0022). It pays the full current redemption value, what the bond is worth in the month you cash it.
A name changed by marriage may be paid at the bank (31 CFR 321.7(b)). Other name changes need evidence and go by mail (321.9(i)); the paperwork for cashing savings bonds after a name change depends on the kind of change.
Can You Deposit a Paper Savings Bond in the Bank of America Mobile App?
No: no bank, Bank of America included, may cash a paper savings bond by mobile app or ATM. 31 CFR 321.25 bars accepting "an image, or other copy or reproduction" of a bond. The Bank of America FAQ we read says nothing about mobile deposit (checked November 11, 2026).
Savings Bonds Bank of America Cannot Cash Under Treasury Rules
Bank of America cannot cash 7 kinds of savings bonds and requests under Treasury's rules, and neither can any other bank. The table lists them after 2 eligible groups shown for contrast.
| Bond or request | At Bank of America or any bank | Rule | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series EE (paper, January 1980 to December 2011) and Series I (paper, from September 1998) | May pay, under the bank's own conditions | 321.7(a); FS Publication 0022 | Series EE savings bonds |
| Series E (May 1941 to June 1980) and Savings Notes (May 1967 to October 1970) | May pay, under the bank's own conditions | 321.7(a); FS Publication 0022 | Series E savings bonds |
| Series HH (all at final maturity since August 1, 2024) | May not pay; Treasury only, by direct deposit | 321.9(b); TreasuryDirect | Series HH savings bonds |
| Series H | May not pay | 321.9(b) | Series H savings bonds |
| Series F, G, J, K | May not pay | 321.9(b) | Series F, G, J and K savings bonds |
| Retirement Plan Bonds and Individual Retirement Bonds | Not a bank series; Treasury by mail | Not in 321.7(a); TreasuryDirect | retirement plan bonds |
| Presenter not entitled: attorney-in-fact, step-parent for a minor, same-name non-owner, "Mail to" name only | May not pay | 321.9(c); FS Publication 0022 | cashing savings bonds for someone else |
| Image, copy, mobile or ATM deposit | May not accept | 321.25 | |
| Part of a bond's value | May not pay | 321.9(l); TreasuryDirect |
Source: 31 CFR part 321, eCFR as of November 6, 2026; FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026.
Series HH bonds all reached final maturity, when interest stops, by August 1, 2024. They are worth face value, the amount printed on the bond, and Treasury alone pays them, by direct deposit (TreasuryDirect HH page).
Series H, F, G, J and K and both retirement bonds also go to Treasury with FS Form 1522. Such a refusal applies at every bank.
If Bank of America Will Not Cash Your Savings Bonds
Mail the bonds to Treasury with FS Form 1522 if Bank of America says no: Treasury cashes every eligible paper savings bond by mail, with no limit on value or number.
Treasury's guide tells a bank that declines: "If you choose for any reason not to cash a bond, you may refer the customer to the TreasuryDirect.gov website and its instructions for cashing by mail." Bank of America's page names the same route. Work through these five steps in order.
- Check a paper EE or E bond's value in our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, and match its series against the table above.
- Ask which condition failed: owner or co-owner, active account, amount, series or signer.
- Try the bank or credit union where you have held an account longest; Treasury's guide lists that as a paying agent's basic service, but ask first.
- Mail the bonds with FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Above $1,000 in total current redemption value, sign before a notary or certifying officer (an official who certifies signatures); otherwise enclose a copy of your driver's license, passport, state ID or military ID. Payment is by direct deposit only: three months or longer in your name, five months or longer if not (as of November 11, 2026).
- Turn down offers to buy the bond or cash it for a cut: "Do not buy savings bonds from someone else or in an online auction site. You cannot cash them" (TreasuryDirect). Such offers fit savings bond scams.
Treasury Retail Securities Services answers questions at 844-284-2676 (toll free).
Other Banks and Ways to Cash Savings Bonds If Bank of America Says No
Banks set their own savings bond rules, so a refusal at Bank of America says nothing about your other bank or credit union.
Of 18 institutions whose sites we checked on November 11 and 12, 2026, 3 publish a cashing policy, Bank of America among them; 2 say they do not cash savings bonds (USAA and Capital One); 13 publish none.
Paper bonds are cashed at a bank or by mail; only electronic bonds are cashed online. Our guide on how to cash savings bonds compares the bank, mail and online routes.
Five other banks show how far policies differ (checked November 11, 2026).
- Chase: no published policy
- U.S. Bank: signer on an account open at least five years, owner or co-owner
- Wells Fargo: no published policy
- PNC: no published policy
- USAA: says it does not redeem savings bonds
Bank of America Savings Bond FAQ
Seven short answers cover what Bank of America customers ask next.
Does Bank of America sell savings bonds?
No: no bank has sold paper savings bonds since January 1, 2012 (76 FR 66855). New savings bonds are electronic, bought only in TreasuryDirect.
Will Bank of America cash Series EE bonds?
Yes, a financial center may cash a paper Series EE bond for its owner or co-owner with an active account; banks may pay Series EE (31 CFR 321.7(a)). The page names no series (checked November 11, 2026). Paper EE bonds date from 1980 to 2011, all past the 12-month minimum (321.9(a)).
Does Bank of America set savings bond interest rates?
No: Treasury sets savings bond rates, announced May 1 and November 1. A bank's own deposit rates have nothing to do with them. Treasury's savings bond interest rates follow each bond's issue date.
Will Bank of America give you a 1099-INT for a cashed savings bond?
Yes: a bank that cashes your bond is responsible for your 1099-INT, the IRS interest form, at cashing or the following January (TreasuryDirect), for interest of $10 or more (31 CFR 321.7(g)). The interest is federally taxable but exempt from state and local income tax (31 U.S.C. 3124); ask a tax professional. Who sends Form 1099-INT for savings bonds depends on where you cash.
Can Bank of America cash a savings bond after the owner dies?
Possibly: the page names only owners and co-owners, and Treasury leaves surviving beneficiaries and estate representatives to each bank (31 CFR 321.10(a); FS Publication 0022). A surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary of a Series EE bond becomes sole owner (353.70(b)(1), (c)(1)). By mail, bonds not in your name take five months or longer (as of November 11, 2026); how heirs cash or reissue inherited bonds depends on the registration.
Can Bank of America cash electronic savings bonds from TreasuryDirect?
No: a bank cannot cash electronic savings bonds. Owners cash them in their TreasuryDirect account, $25 or more, leaving at least $25 (31 CFR 363.54); electronic savings bonds never exist on paper.
How much is your savings bond worth before you go to Bank of America?
Our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published Savings Bonds Value Files, shows a paper EE or E bond's value this redemption month; values can change on the 1st. A bank pays that full value. See how much a $100 savings bond is worth by series and issue year.
Bank of America page checked November 11, 2026; rules checked against the Treasury sources named above. See how we check bank policies.