Series I Savings Bonds for Owners: Rates, Paper I Bonds and Cash-In Rules

Series I savings bonds have been issued at face value since September 1998, and they earn 4.08% to 7.75% a year for their 6-month periods starting November 2026 to April 2027. The fixed rate set at issue decides where a bond falls in that range.

Face value, the amount printed on the bond, is also an I bond's price. Every I bond earns for 30 years, so none has stopped yet. Paper I bonds came from banks and payroll savings until December 2011 and from tax refunds through 2024.

ClaimMyBonds is an independent private guide for owners and heirs, not the government, and gives no buying advice. Series I is the newest of the types of US savings bonds Treasury has issued. Every rate here comes from TreasuryDirect's tables, effective November 1, 2026.

What Are Series I Savings Bonds?

A Series I savings bond is a US Treasury savings bond sold at face value that earns a fixed rate plus an inflation rate for 30 years.

It pays its interest only when you cash it, and its offering rules sit in 31 CFR part 359. "I bond" is the short name for the same bond. The US Treasury issues every I bond; ClaimMyBonds is a private company, not the Treasury.

Paper I bonds also follow 31 CFR part 360. Electronic I bonds sit in TreasuryDirect, Treasury's online account system, since 2002. Interest is computed on a $25 unit and scaled to the face value (31 CFR 359.19). TreasuryDirect's Series I page gives the current terms, and Table 1 sums up the series in 12 rows.

Table 1: Series I savings bonds at a glance

Sources: TreasuryDirect I bond pages and 31 CFR part 359 (eCFR as of November 9, 2026), checked November 11, 2026.

How Long a Series I Bond Earns: 30 Years, First Final Maturity in September 2028

Every Series I bond earns interest for 30 years from its issue date: a 20-year original maturity plus a 10-year extension (31 CFR 359.5). The first I bonds, issued in September 1998, therefore reach final maturity, the date interest stops, in September 2028 (derived from 359.0 and 359.5).

Fiscal Data's savings bond count showed 0 matured paper Series I bonds and 24,002,047 paper Series I bonds outstanding on September 30, 2026. Those figures count paper bonds (pieces), not dollars, and leave out electronic I bonds.

After final maturity, an I bond stops growing and keeps its last value. Savings bonds have no deadline to cash (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745), so an I bond can still be cashed once it stops.

Final maturity differs by series, and the dates of every series are compared under when savings bonds mature and stop earning interest.

How Series I Bonds Earn Interest: A Fixed Rate Plus an Inflation Rate

A Series I bond's rate has 2 parts: a fixed rate kept for the bond's life and a semiannual inflation rate shared by every I bond. Treasury sets a new inflation rate every May 1 and November 1 from the CPI-U, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

They combine into the composite rate, also called the "combined rate" or "earnings rate" by TreasuryDirect. Neither the composite rate nor the fixed rate goes below 0.00% (31 CFR 359.10, 359.13; 73 FR 65543, November 4, 2008). The composite rate decides how fast the bond's value grows in each 6-month period.

The Fixed Rate: Set at Issue for the Life of the Bond

The fixed rate is announced every May 1 and November 1 for I bonds issued in the next 6 months and stays with each bond for its full 30 years (31 CFR 359.10). Each fixed rate belongs to the record of savings bond interest rates by issue date for I bonds since 1998.

The first fixed rate was 3.40% (September 1, 1998), and the highest was 3.60% (May 1, 2000). The fixed rate was 0.00% for 16 of the 58 issue periods since 1998, all between May 2008 and October 2022. I bonds issued November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027 carry a 1.40% fixed rate.

The fixed rate is not a guaranteed minimum rate (31 CFR 359.10): a negative inflation rate pulls the composite rate below it, though never below 0.00%. Table 2 gives your bond's fixed rate by issue month.

The Inflation Rate: CPI-U, Reset Every May 1 and November 1

The semiannual inflation rate is the 6-month change in the non-seasonally adjusted CPI-U (U.S. City Average, All Items), rounded to 0.01% (31 CFR 359.11). The May rate measures the change from September to March. The rate set November 1, 2026 is 2.04%; the highest was 4.81% (May 1, 2022).

Treasury applies a negative inflation rate as it is: -2.78% on May 1, 2009 and -0.80% on May 1, 2015. The -2.78% rate set May 1, 2009 pulled every I bond issued September 1998 to October 2009 to a 0.00% composite rate for its 6-month period starting between May and October 2009.

Even bonds with the 3.60% fixed rate earned 0.00%, because the 0.00% floor stopped the fall (31 CFR 359.13). A bond's redemption value, the amount Treasury pays when you cash it, never drops from one month to the next (31 CFR 359.12).

How the Two Rates Combine: The Composite Rate Formula

The composite rate equals the fixed rate, plus 2 times the semiannual inflation rate, plus the fixed rate times the semiannual inflation rate.

That is TreasuryDirect's wording of 31 CFR 359.14; for I bonds issued November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, TreasuryDirect works it out as 0.0140 + 0.0408 + 0.0002856 = 0.0550856, rounded to 5.51%.

A bond with a 0.00% fixed rate keeps only the middle part, so the same inflation rate gives it 4.08%. Each rate is annual but applies for 6 months.

What Your I Bond Earns From November 2026, by Issue Date

From November 2026, an existing Series I bond earns 4.08% to 7.75% a year for its next 6-month period, depending on its fixed rate.

Bonds with a 0.00% fixed rate earn 4.08%; bonds issued May to October 2000 earn 7.75%. No single "I bond yield" exists, so Table 2 groups all 58 issue periods by rate.

Table 2: What each Series I bond earns from November 2026

Annual composite rate each existing Series I bond earns for its 6-month period that starts between November 1, 2026 and April 1, 2027, by issue period. Rates as announced November 1, 2026. A bond's 6-month periods start in its issue month and 6 months later (31 CFR 359.15). Source: TreasuryDirect I bonds interest rates, rates effective November 1, 2026; Fiscal Data I Bonds Interest Rates (updated November 2, 2026).

Your bond's current rate can differ from the rate Treasury just announced, because each bond starts its own 6-month periods (31 CFR 359.15). A bond issued in March, for example, picks up the November 2026 rate on March 1, 2027, and it earns the rate set in May 2026 until then.

Paper I Bonds: Three Ways They Were Issued, 1998 to 2024

Paper Series I bonds were issued through 3 routes: banks and payroll savings, the Gulf Coast Recovery Bond designation and federal tax refunds.

Before 2012, they sold at face in 8 values: $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 (31 CFR 359.25). The face values of tax-refund bonds are not stated on Form 8888 or in 31 CFR part 359.

Over-the-counter sales ended January 1, 2012 (31 CFR 359.34; 76 FR 66855), after payroll plans stopped on October 1, 2010 for federal employees and January 1, 2011 for others (359.35).

Then TreasuryDirect stated: "As of January 1, 2025, I bonds are only available electronically." Every paper I bond still earns interest, and Table 3 gives the dates of the 3 routes.

Table 3: Paper Series I bonds, three routes

Every route sold paper I bonds at face value. Sources: 31 CFR part 359; TreasuryDirect; IRS Form 8888 (Rev. November 2022, October 2024, December 2025), as of November 11, 2026.

Paper I Bonds Bought With Tax Refunds Are Still Valid

A paper I bond with an issue date from 2012 to 2024 came from a federal tax refund, and it is a valid bond that earns interest for 30 years. Part II of IRS Form 8888 (Rev.

November 2022) let a filer put up to $5,000 of a refund into paper I bonds. It allowed up to 3 registrations, each a multiple of $50, mailed to the filer.

TreasuryDirect's comparison page says: "You may own paper I bonds issued before 2012 that you bought at a bank or through payroll savings." That sentence leaves out tax-refund bonds. Form 8888 Rev.

October 2024 and the current Form 8888 (Rev. December 2025) say buying paper bonds with a refund "has been discontinued". Form 8888 does not state the last 2024 issue date.

Gulf Coast Recovery Bonds: Paper I Bonds of 2006 and 2007

A Gulf Coast Recovery Bond is a paper Series I bond with a special designation, issue dates March 29, 2006 to September 30, 2007. It sold at face in the same 8 denominations, earns for 30 years and was encouraged by the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (TreasuryDirect historical bonds).

March and April 2006 issues carry a 1.00% fixed rate, May 2006 to April 2007 issues 1.40% and May to September 2007 issues 1.30%. For the 6-month period starting November 2026 to April 2027, they earn 5.10%, 5.51% and 5.41%. Final maturity falls between March 2036 and September 2037 (issue date plus 30 years).

Reading a Paper I Bond: Series I, Not "Series 1"

The series letter "I" printed on a paper bond identifies a Series I bond. A "Series 1 savings bond" means Series I, because no Series 1 exists: series carry the letters A to K, plus EE and HH.

The face also shows the issue date, the owner, any "OR" co-owner (a second owner) and any "P.O.D." (payable-on-death) beneficiary, the core of how to read a paper savings bond.

The issue date, the first day of the month the bond was paid for, sets its rates and value. An I bond cost its face value, while a paper EE bond cost half its face.

What Is My Series I Bond Worth? Looking Up the Value in November 2026

A paper Series I bond's value in November 2026 depends on its face value and issue month: a $50 I bond issued November 2001 is worth $156.98. Our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published Value Files, prices paper Series EE and E bonds. Paper I bonds are priced in TreasuryDirect's free Savings Bond Calculator.

TreasuryDirect's calculator prices paper Series EE, I and E bonds and Savings Notes from the series, face value and issue date, with past values back to January 1996. It needs no serial number and does not check ownership. Electronic I bonds are priced only inside the owner's TreasuryDirect account.

The same November 2001 bond with a $100 face is worth $313.96, 4 times the $78.49 value of Treasury's $25 unit. It earns 6.12% for its period starting November 2026 and stops earning interest in November 2031.

Values can change on the 1st of each month, and a bond that still earns rises or holds. The value of a bond under 5 years old already has the 3-month penalty taken off (31 CFR 359.40(b)). The penalty never cuts a value below the price paid (31 CFR 359.7).

Series I Cash-In Rules: Holding Period, 3-Month Penalty and Where to Cash

A paper Series I bond is cashed at a bank that chooses to pay it or by mail to Treasury, and 2 timing rules apply to every I bond.

An I bond cannot be cashed in its first 12 months (6 for issues on or before January 1, 2003), and one cashed before 5 years loses 3 months of interest. The routes for how to cash savings bonds are the same for every series.

The timing rule and four cash-in routes for a Series I bond are listed below.

• Timing: the holding period (31 CFR 359.6) and the penalty on every I bond under 5 years (359.7), already in Treasury's values (359.40(b)), set when you can cash savings bonds.
• Banks: a bank may pay Series I (31 CFR 321.7(a)) but need not (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022); it charges no fee and takes no mobile deposit (321.23(c), 321.25), and the answer to what banks cash savings bonds differs by bank.
• Mail: FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) to Treasury Retail Securities Services (Treasury's savings bond office), P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150; a notary or certifying officer (an authorized bank officer) signs only above $1,000 total; payment by direct deposit.
• Electronic: TreasuryDirect pays a whole bond, or part of one of $25 or more with at least $25 left (31 CFR 363.54), behind an ID.me login since October 28, 2026; electronic savings bonds follow account rules.
• Conversion: SmartExchange is optional and one-way (31 CFR 363.161, 363.164); nobody has to convert paper savings bonds to electronic to cash them.

TreasuryDirect cashes a paper I bond, Gulf Coast and tax-refund bonds included, only for its whole value, although 31 CFR 360.41 still describes partial redemption at Treasury. Mailed requests take 3 months or longer, or 5 months for bonds not in your name (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026).

Federal income tax falls on I bond interest for the year you cash the bond or it reaches final maturity, whichever comes first, unless you report the interest yearly (26 U.S.C. 454).

For a bond that reached final maturity in an earlier year, that earlier year is the year the rule names. State and local income tax does not apply (31 U.S.C. 3124).

Series I bonds can qualify for the education exclusion (IRC 135, Form 8815) if the owner was 24 or older before the issue date and does not file married filing separately.

For tax year 2026, it phases out at modified adjusted gross income of $101,800 to $116,800 single and $152,650 to $182,650 joint (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sec. 4.17). A tax professional advises on your return, and the rules on federal tax on savings bond interest explain reporting.

What Owners and Heirs Do With Series I Bonds

Owners and heirs take 5 steps with a Series I bond: read it, value it, check its rate, settle ownership after a death and replace it if lost. The steps are numbered below.

1. Read the series letter, issue date, face value and names ("OR" co-owner, "P.O.D." beneficiary), as with any found old savings bonds in a relative's papers.
2. Look up the value in TreasuryDirect's calculator, or in the account for an electronic bond.
3. Check the bond's rate in Table 2 and its final maturity, the issue date plus 30 years.
4. Follow the survivor or estate route if the owner died. Estates whose Treasury securities (savings bonds at redemption value) total more than $100,000 at the date of death need administration (31 CFR 360.71(d)). Paper I bonds are reissued only as electronic (360.48(a); FS Form 4000, Rev. April 2026) under the rules for savings bonds after death.
5. File FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) for a lost, stolen or destroyed bond; Series I claims filed 10 years or more after final maturity are barred (31 CFR 360.29(c)).

Treasury pays an I bond only to its owner or another person entitled to it (31 CFR 360.39(b)); keeping or cashing it is the owner's decision.

Series I Bonds and the Other Savings Bond Series

Two confusions bring owners of Series I bonds to the wrong series: Series EE bonds kept in the same envelope, and the "Series 1" misreading of the letter I. Both series still earn in November 2026: every I bond, and paper EE bonds issued December 1996 or later.

Series EE and Series I Bonds: How to Tell Them Apart

Series EE and Series I are 2 different series: paper EE bonds (January 1980 to December 2011) were bought at half of face and earn under 4 rate rules by issue date. Rates and values for Series EE savings bonds follow those 4 rules.

Paper I bonds (from September 1998) were bought at face and earn a fixed rate plus an inflation rate. Both earn for 30 years, and the printed letter settles which one you hold.

Series I FAQ

When Can I Redeem My I Bonds?

You can redeem an I bond 12 months after its issue date, or 6 months after it for bonds issued on or before January 1, 2003. It loses the last 3 months of interest when cashed before 5 years (31 CFR 359.6, 359.7). Those two limits answer when can you cash savings bonds for every I bond.

How Much Is My I Bond Worth?

It depends on face value and issue month: a $50 I bond issued November 2001 is worth $156.98 in November 2026. TreasuryDirect's calculator gives any paper I bond's value, and electronic I bonds show their value in the owner's TreasuryDirect account.

Can I Sell an I Bond?

No. Savings bonds are not transferable and cannot be sold or pledged (31 CFR 360.15, 360.16). Treasury pays only the owner or another person entitled, so cashing is the way to turn it into money.

Is a "Series 1" Savings Bond an I Bond?

Yes. "Series 1" is a misreading of the letter I on the bond, and no Series 1 savings bond exists. A bond marked I follows every rule on this page.

When Did I Bonds Start?

I bonds started on September 1, 1998, when the Series I offering took effect (31 CFR 359.0). The first I bonds carry September 1998 issue dates and reach final maturity in September 2028.

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