Old Savings Bonds: Do They Still Earn Interest?
Correction: An earlier version of this article said the tax question splits along one line — federal income tax yes, state and local income tax no. TreasuryDirect answers it in three, and the third was added on August 12, 2026 — federal estate, gift and excise taxes, and state estate or inheritance taxes, yes.
Somewhere in the house there is a drawer that collects things nobody wants to throw away. Expired passports, a watch that needs a battery, and sometimes a paper savings bond with a grandparent’s handwriting on the envelope.
An EE or I bond earns interest for 30 years from its issue date, then stops. A bond from Series A through K, or a Savings Note, earns nothing at all; those series have finished their interest-earning life. For EE and I bonds the issue date settles it. For the older ones, the series name does.
How long a savings bond earns interest
TreasuryDirect draws the line by series, then by date. EE and I bonds earn interest for 30 years from the issue date. HH bonds earn interest for 20 years from the issue date and follow their own rules on a separate page.
For an EE or I bond bought in the 1980s or 1990s, that 30-year clock decides everything else. Paper EE bonds were issued between 1980 and 2012, and some sold between 2001 and 2011 carry the words “Patriot Bond” on the face — a special edition, with everything about EE bonds applying to them.
What that bond has been earning along the way depends on when it was issued. Treasury’s EE page says that for older EE bonds, rules concerning interest may have varied, and it sorts the detail by issue period: May 2005 and later, May 1997 through April 2005, May 1995 through April 1997, and before May 1995.
Treasury also keeps a Treasury Hunt page for finding savings bonds a person may have forgotten about.
Series A through K bonds and Savings Notes
Here the pages are blunt in a way government pages usually aren’t. If a savings bond comes from Series A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J or K, or if it is a Savings Note, it no longer earns interest. No issue-date test.
Treasury puts the same fact the other way around on the same page: the only savings bonds that still earn interest are I bonds and some EE and HH bonds, and for those, the issue date settles it.
That flatness matters for a bond found in a drawer. A Series E bond is not quietly compounding away; whatever it is worth now, more time will not add to it.
Electronic bonds never reach this situation. Treasury’s page for older series says it isn’t relevant to electronic savings bonds, because Treasury pays for them automatically as soon as they stop earning interest.
Four kinds of old bond, side by side
Four kinds of old bond, as described on TreasuryDirect’s savings bond pages:
| Bond in the drawer | Still earning interest? | Where it is cashed | Which tax form arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper EE or I, within 30 years of issue | Yes — EE and I bonds earn interest for 30 years from the issue date | A bank where the owner has a bank account, or by mail to Treasury at the address on FS Form 1522 | A bank that cashes it is responsible for getting the owner a 1099-INT; when Treasury cashes it, Treasury mails the 1099-INT the following January |
| Electronic EE or I, within 30 years of issue | Yes — the same 30 years from the issue date | In the TreasuryDirect account, under Redeem securities | The 1099-INT is available in the TreasuryDirect account in January of the year after the bond is cashed |
| Paper EE or I, past 30 years from issue | No — the 30-year interest-earning life has ended | A bank where the owner has a bank account, or by mail to Treasury at the address on FS Form 1522 | A bank that cashes it is responsible for getting the owner a 1099-INT; when Treasury cashes it, Treasury mails the 1099-INT the following January |
| Series A through K, or a Savings Note | No — those series no longer earn interest | A bank where the owner has a bank account, or by mail to Treasury at the address on FS Form 1522 | For most savings bonds, a form for the year the bond is cashed; none for Series A, B and C of all years, or Series D issued through February 1941 |
Two of those rows describe a bond that has stopped growing. The cashing route is the same for both. What differs is why the interest stopped, and which tax form the pages attach.
The holding rules that come before five years
These apply to an EE or I bond still inside its 30 years, and they are short.
Cash is available for an EE or I bond any time after a year of ownership. Cashing it in less than five years costs the last three months of interest. Treasury’s own example: a bond cashed after 18 months pays the first 15 months of interest.
How much can come out at once also depends on the form the bond takes. A paper savings bond cannot be partly cashed — it must be cashed for its entire value. An electronic bond can be partly cashed, as long as at least $25 stays in the account, and the owner gets the interest on the part cashed.
Signatures come with their own threshold. For paper EE and I bonds sent to Treasury, a certified signature is required when the value of the bonds being cashed is more than $1,000, with FS Form 1522 carrying the details of the requirement.
The older-series page reads differently on this point. It says a signature is certified if required, and sends the reader to the instructions on the form itself.
Both cashing pages handle the bank step the same way, by naming questions for the bank: whether it will cash savings bonds, how much it will cash at one time, and what identification or other documents it needs. On the paper EE and I bond page, Treasury adds that banks vary in how much they will cash at one time, or whether they cash savings bonds at all, and that Treasury itself holds no limit on the value or number of bonds it will cash at once, as long as the bonds meet its requirements. Money that then sits in a bank account is a different subject, one I’ve written about in How FDIC Insurance Really Protects Your Money.
Which tax form arrives, and where it comes from
Who does the cashing, and whether the bond is paper or electronic, changes where the 1099-INT comes from. The routes are easy to mix up.
These routes are the ones Treasury sets out on its page for cashing EE and I bonds. When a bank cashes one, the bank is responsible for getting the owner a 1099-INT. It may hand over or mail the form as soon as the bond is cashed, or it may wait until the following January.
When Treasury cashes a paper EE or I bond, Treasury mails the 1099-INT the following January.
For an electronic bond, the form is posted rather than handed over. The 1099-INT appears inside the TreasuryDirect account in January of the year after the bond is cashed.
Then there is the question of whether a form comes at all. For most savings bonds, yes — a form for the year the bond is cashed. For Series A, B and C bonds of all years, and Series D bonds issued through February 1941, no, because they are not subject to federal income tax.
Treasury answers the tax question in three lines. Federal income tax: yes. State and local income tax: no. Federal estate, gift and excise taxes, and state estate or inheritance taxes: yes.
Timing has a choice built into it. Treasury describes reporting each year’s earnings, or waiting to report all the earnings when the money for the bond comes in. And if the money goes to qualified higher education expenses, the pages say the owner may not have to pay tax on the earnings — a hedge worth keeping intact, because the conditions live elsewhere. A qualified tax professional can say how a particular bond, in a particular year, lands on a particular return.
A drawer bond is a small, specific object with a series letter and a date printed on it. Those two marks answer the interest question before any general rule about savings bonds gets involved. What form arrives afterward is a separate question, and the pages answer it by the shape of the bond and by who does the cashing.
This article is general information, not professional advice. For decisions about your money or health, consult a qualified professional.