TOOLS

Savings Bond Calculator - Detailed Instructions

To find what your bond is worth today:

  1. Click the 'Get Started' Link on the Savings Bond Calculator home page.
  2. Once open, choose the series and denomination of your bond from the series and denomination drop down boxes.
  3. Enter the issue date that is printed on the bond. Note: Enter two digit months (e.g. 01, 12) and four-digit years (e.g. 1985 or 2001). If you're not sure where to find the issue date or serial number of your bond, see our bond diagram.
  4. Click the 'Calculate' button.

To build an inventory of bonds:

  1. Repeat the above process for each of your bonds.
  2. The calculator will add each new bond to the top of your inventory listing.

To find what your bonds are worth in other months:

If you'd like to see what your bonds were worth in the past or will be worth in the near future:

  1. Change the 'Value as of' date at the top of the calculator to the desired date.
  2. Click 'Update'.
  3. Your inventory will update to show the values or your bonds as of the date you enter.
  4. The Calculator can show you what your bonds were worth from 01/1996 through the current rate period.

Not sure what data the Calculator is giving you?

If you have questions about any of the fields that are displayed, here are short descriptions of the fields displayed by the calculator.

  • Serial Number–The serial number can be found in the lower right corner of your savings bond. This information is not required, but is important for record-keeping purposes if your bonds are ever lost or destroyed.
  • ‘Value as of’ Date–When you first open the Savings Bond Calculator, it shows what your bonds are worth today. If you want to see what they're worth in other months, you can change the 'Value as of' date. The Calculator can show what your bonds are worth in any month from 01/1996 through the current rate period.
  • Series–The series can be found in the upper right corner of your savings bond. This calculator provides values for Series EE, I, E, and Savings Notes.
  • Denomination–The face value as shown in the upper left corner of your bond.
  • Issue Date–The date your bond was issued. It’s the month and year printed on the right side of your bond, below the Series.
  • # Bonds–The number of bonds you’ve entered into this inventory.
  • Total Price–The total money you paid to buy the bonds in this inventory.
  • Total Interest–The combined amount of payable interest accumulated by the bonds listed in this inventory through the date listed in the ‘Value as of’ box.
  • Total Value–The combined cash value of the bonds listed in this inventory as of the date in the ‘Value as of’ box. This is what you’d receive if you cashed all of these bonds.
  • Year-to-Date Interest–The total amount of interest accumulated by the bonds in this inventory from January of the year listed in the ‘Value as of’ box through the date given.
  • Issue Price–The money you paid to buy each bond in this inventory.
  • Interest–The amount of interest each bond has accumulated from its Issue Date through the ‘Value as of’ date.

    Note: If a bond was issued May 1997 or later and it’s cashed before it’s five years old, it’s subject to a 3-month interest penalty. The interest shown here incorporates this penalty.
  • Value–What each bond is worth as of the date given in the ‘Value as of’ field.
  • Interest Rate–The interest rate each bond is earning in the date listed in the ‘Value as of’ field. We use this rate to calculate the interest that accumulates on the Next Accrual Date.
  • Next Accrual Date–The first date after the date specified in the ‘Value as of’ box that each bond increases in value.
  • Final Maturity Date–The date each bond stops earning interest.
  • N/A–A bond’s current interest rate is not available. This means that
    a) The bond has stopped earning interest;
    or
    b) We won’t know the rate the bond earns during the ‘Value as of’ date until we announce new interest rates in 11/2007;
    or
    c) The rate the bond earns can’t be retrieved from the database.
  • Note–Here are brief descriptions about special bond designations.
    • Not Issued–You changed the ‘ Value As Of ’ date to a date before the bond was issued.
    • Not Eligible for Payment–Bonds with issue dates of 01/2003 or earlier can’t be cashed until they are at least 6 months old. Bonds with this designation can’t be cashed until they are at least 12 months old.
    • P5–Bonds issued May 1997 or later that are less than five years old include a 3-month interest penalty.
    • Matured–This bond is MAtured and not earning interest. (used with Value as of dates for September 2004 and after; replaces ME and MN).

Want to save your inventory?

Now you can save your inventory so you can update your bond values quickly and easily. All you need to do is use your browser's built in saving function. Click “View/Print/Save List”' and then when the list appears, click “File” and 'Save As' and name your inventory. Make sure that you save your file as an "HTML Only" file and click 'Save'. You've saved your file! If you'd like more detail, check out our Instructions for Saving Your Inventory Page.

Having problems loading your saved inventory file?

If you saved your inventory on the main calculator screen and then attempt to reopen the file, you will get a page that has words on the left-hand side of the screen and you won’t immediately see your data.

Scroll down the page until you see an area that says “Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s).” In that area there’s an Update button. See the image below:

screen shot of calculator update button

Click on the Update button and your inventory will be restored in the Savings Bond Calculator.

Be sure to click on the “How to Save Your Inventory” button before you resave your file to get complete instructions.

Do you report savings bond interest to the IRS every year as it accrues?

If you report interest annually, check out the calculator's YTD Interest feature. It reports the amount of interest your bonds have accrued from the start of a year through the date you enter in the "Value as of" section. Here's how you can use this feature to calculate the amount of interest your bonds accrued in one calendar year:

  1. List the bonds you want to report annually.
  2. Enter December of the tax year in the 'Value as of' box. For example, if you want to find the interest your bonds accrued in 1999, enter 12/1999 in the 'Value as of' box.
  3. Find the value in the 'YTD Interest' box. That's the amount of interest your bonds accrued that year.

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