US Treasury Dept. Now Offering 9.62% Interest Rate on Series I Savings Bonds

By Nicole | Staff Writer
May 03, 2022 @ 6:08 AM MDT

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The latest info on US Treasury Series I Bond rates.

small american flag on stack of $20 bills - latest information on us treasury series I savings bond rates

With the current state of the economy, you may be wondering if there’s anywhere you can earn an interest rate on your savings that won’t quickly be outpaced by historic levels of inflation.

Last year’s inflation rate hit a 39-year high of 7%, while current interest rates on most savings accounts are hovering around an abysmal 0.5%. Ouch!

money-savings-piggy-bank-new-year-post

If you have at least $25 to invest and you’re open to the idea of buying savings bonds, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is currently paying a 9.62% annual rate on Series I Bonds purchased now through October of 2022.

A Series I Bond is a nearly risk-free inflation-protected investment, making it an option worth considering for anyone trying to make sure that inflation rates aren’t chipping away at the value of their savings.

woman holding cash in front of face

While Series I bonds currently offer one of the most appealing interest rates around, this investment may not be right for everyone. It’s also important to note that there are two parts to Series I bond returns: a fixed rate and a variable rate, which changes every six months based on the Consumer Price Index.

While the annual rate is currently 9.62% through October, the Treasury will announce a new Series I bond rate in November, which could be either higher or lower. But the value of an I bond won’t decline, making them a very low-risk investment (even if rates do dip below 9.62%).

man holding money

If you do decide to buy Series I Bonds, they can be purchased in electronic form directly from the Treasury Department’s website. Note that individuals have a purchase limit of $10,000 per year, and you won’t be able to access those funds for a full year after your purchase.

Anyone who redeems their Series I Bonds within the first five years will lose the last three months of interest earned. Although you won’t pay state or local taxes on Series I bond interest, investors do pay federal taxes on this inonlinee, unless they use the money for qualified education expenses.

To learn more about this type of investment, check out the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s explanation of Series I Bonds here.

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About the writer:

Nicole has 7 years of blogging experience. While her primary background has been in the restaurant and hospitality industry, she is a self-taught couponer with over 10 years of hands-on experience and a desire to share her knowledge to help others save.

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  1. Liz

    Regardless of your political affiliation, let’s keep H2S’s site judgment free. Hope you have a great day. TIA

    Reply
  2. david

    I bonds are a great way to get some return on cash. The best banks are paying now is 0.3%, so this is a great risk-free way to tuck away some cash.

    Reply1
    • dylanfan

      Sofi is paying 1.25 on savings accounts if you have direct deposit. Capital one and Marcus are .6. Ally is .5. These are just many examples that offer more than .3.

      Reply
  3. GingerAle

    How. Do you cash-in your i-bonds? U can’t do it no more at the bank.

    Reply1
    • GK

      If you search how do I cash in I bonds, you can find information on how to cash in your bonds on line as well as at banks.

      Reply
  4. Nicole

    These are a fantastic investment right now! I just switched my emergency money that I had in CDs to series I Bonds. You can also choose to get your tax return in the form of paper Series I Bonds (up to $5k I think) even if you’ve maxed out for the calendar year.

    Reply
  5. NubianGoddess

    I don’t know that much about investing, but Clarke Howard, Suze Orman, and Dave Ramsey are helpful. I get Clarke Howard’s emails daily.

    Reply
  6. Nicole

    The interest rate is on an annual basis. So if you had $100 at 7% it would make $7 every year. The rates are variable however and change every 6 months based on inflation. I don’t imagine the rate will be going down soon, but even if it drops a little this is still way more than you can make on a savings account or CD.

    Reply
  7. **Lisa**

    Outstanding! Thank you Hip2Save!

    Reply
  8. TracyS

    Think of this as a 1 year CD. If you monitor the interest rate and it dips signigicantly after the year, it wont cost you anything to redeem (it’s just interest you lose). If you have a savings account that earns little or no interest, take what you can afford out and invest in the bonds.

    Reply
  9. GK

    Hi If you search I Bond Growth Calculator, you can enter different scenarios to determine the approximate values.

    Reply
  10. Christine

    Thanks H2S for bringing to everyone’s attention. Regardless of where we all live in the U.S., I think we are all feeling the inflation surge. Any money that we can save or earn helps!

    Reply1
    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      You’re SO very welonlinee!

      Reply
  11. Elsie

    I love that you included these savings bonds among all the other great money saving deals. Keep ‘‘em onlineing! I really appreciate all the time and creativity you guys put in. 💚

    Reply1
    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      You bet! Thanks so much for the kind feedback, Elsie! Glad this was helpful! 💖🤗

      Reply
  12. Kura

    Wish I had known about this many years ago! Thank you!

    Reply1
    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      You’re welonlinee, Kura! 💞

      Reply
  13. Jen

    @beth, can you explain a bit more? There should be some interest at the end of the year no?

    Reply
  14. Lisa

    Here’s to H2S staying “Switzerland!” (neutral!) 🙂

    Reply
  15. Mama

    Get crypto instead. The U.S. dollar is is a bust. The inflation we are seeing now is just the beginning. Look at what the onlinemunists of Venezuela have done to the Bolivar. Hyperinflation of the USD is the end of the dollar.

    Reply1
    • Fred

      If we invested in crypto 1 year ago today…we’d be down 20-30%….I don’t think that’s the return people are looking for 🙂

      Reply1
      • Delia

        It’s truly contingent on taking profit when it starting busting out. Crypto is extremely volatile and not the same as trading stocks because of that volatility which is why studying the chart to enter at support is so important. You take profit and reenter when the price drops. Even Doge has dropped to new support and new resistance which is key in why you take profit.

        Reply
  16. BikingBev

    Reminder: It is best to invest in savings bonds at the very end of the month because you will get the interest on the bond for the entire month in which you purchase it. So buy them this month on Jan. 31. There is a 3 month interest penalty if you withdraw your money before 5 years and you cannot withdraw your money for 1 full year. It’s still a good deal, even if the interest rates drops to the worst case scenario of 0% for months 6 thru 12. In that case your yearly interest would be 3.56% which is pretty good onlinepared to other savings rates. I hope this info helps a bit. Savings bonds are confusing and onlineplicated.

    Reply1
    • Lisa

      Helpful. Thank you, BikingBev.

      Reply
  18. Karla

    Amen to that!!!

    Reply
  19. Melissa

    What is NIO and PYPL?

    Reply
  20. abbyac

    Didn’t locking in at this rate expire 4/28?

    Reply1
    • vicki

      4/28 was the 7% rate…the new rate is now even higher.

      Reply
  21. Deb

    Important: Don’t cut it too close to the end of the month, or else you may miss a month worth of interest. It takes one business day to issue the bonds and possibly more days if there’s a delay. If you buy close to the end of the month, your issue date may be in the following month and you won’t get the interest for the previous month. Purchase to a date at least a week before the end of the month. Also, when you cash out, you will not receive a 1099. You will need to visit the website and print it off.

    Reply
  22. Jen

    Can you buy I-bond for your children ( minors) ? It seems like a great long term investment.

    Reply2
    • JonL

      Yes, you can buy them in your child’s name.

      Reply1
      • kp

        So how can we register for minors? I mean use their name for Account but TIN etc use parents info?

        Reply
    • Jessica

      You can, but that can onlineplicate things slightly. Some items to be aware of:

      thefinancebuff.online/buy-i-bonds-kids-name.html

      When you cash out I Bonds from a Minor Linked Account for your kid, the money goes to the linked bank account. After that, you can transfer the money to a custodial account elsewhere for some other investments for your kid or spend the money on expenses that specifically benefit the kid.

      Just like cashing out I Bonds in any other account, the accumulated interest is taxable to the kid in the year you cash out. TreasuryDirect will generate a 1099-INT form but it won’t send it by mail. You’ll have to remember to onlinee into the Minor Linked Account and download or print the 1099 form. You use the 1099 form to file the tax return for your kid.

      Reply
  23. MCou

    How is it an annual rate when it changes in less than a year? I am trying to understand how bonds work but the government seems to be making it so confusing.

    Reply1
    • Jessica

      The inflation rate for I-Bonds is calculated (and often changes) twice a year on May 1 and Nov 1. and you always get six months of any given rate. The rate that is in place when you purchase your bond is the rate you get for your first six months. When you hit month seven, you move to the next rate that was announced after you purchased your bond and then you keep that rate for six months. The rates will continue to adjust every six months for the life of the bond.

      After one year, you are able to cash out your bond whenever you wish, but you will lose the last three months of interest payments if you have owned the bond for less than five years.

      It’s important to note that the rate of return can go down to 0% but this is still a good deal for many people because if you earned 9.62% for 6 months and then 0% for the next case (very worst case scenario), you are still earning 4.81 as a rate of return for the first 12 months.

      Suze Orman did a podcast in April about it (she’s admitted not my favorite person but it is very well explained)
      https://www.suzeorman.online/blog/Podcast-Episode-Suze-School:-Series-I-Bonds-Master-Class

      Reply1
      • MCou

        Better explanation than I could have hoped for. Thank you so much!

        Reply
  24. Rho

    My husband and I have had I bonds for years now. We bought them with a small amount of money from some E bonds that we cashed in and wanted to keep in government bonds. They have mostly been getting a little interest but we are quite excited to see what this year brings.

    Reply
  25. Amy Kay

    Savings bonds are reported as assets on the FAFSA so if you have high schoolers you may want to take this into consideration.
    Great post Hip2Save, I love the variety of content on this site!

    Reply1
    • Alli (Hip Sidekick)

      Thanks so much for your onlinement, Amy Kay 💕

      Reply
  26. Emily

    If you are thinking of getting bonds, register for a treasury account in advance. I wanted to buy i bonds in April but when I went to register for a treasury account in the middle of the month they had to “verify” my info which caused me to have to go to the bank and get a special medallion stamp on paperwork and mail it in to them. Two weeks later I got an email saying they got my paperwork and it could be another 8 weeks before my account is approved. So if they don’t like your info when you set up an account, you’ll be several weeks out from being able to have it set up.

    Reply
  27. Camille

    Buying physical silver and gold is a great investment too. As the stock market goes down gold and silver go up.

    Reply
    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      Aww, You’re SO very welonlinee, Justine! Thank YOU for the super sweet feedback. So happy you’ve been loving the deals and tips and that this post was so helpful! 🥰🙌❤️ I’ll be sure to pass this along to the team. 🤗

      Reply

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