The US savings bond calculator on TreasuryDirect tells you what a paper savings bond is worth on a given date: you enter the bond series, the face amount and the issue month and year. Electronic bonds do not need a calculator, because their current value is shown in your TreasuryDirect account.
This guide explains how to use the calculator, what makes Series EE and Series I bonds grow, and the rules that matter before you cash a bond in.
Paper or electronic: which bond do you have?
| Paper bond | Electronic bond | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | A printed certificate | Your TreasuryDirect account |
| How to check its value | The savings bond calculator | "Current Holdings" in your account |
| How to cash it | Through the Treasury or eligible institutions | Inside TreasuryDirect, paid to your bank |
Most bonds bought today are electronic. Paper bonds are usually older gifts, often found in a drawer or a relative's papers.
How to use the US savings bond calculator
- Open the savings bond calculator on TreasuryDirect.
- Choose the date you want the value for (today's date is the default).
- Select the series: EE, E or I are the most common.
- Enter the denomination, the face amount printed on the bond.
- Enter the issue date, month and year, also printed on the bond.
- Optionally add the serial number, then calculate.
The result shows the bond's current value, the interest earned and the current rate. You can add several bonds to build a list, which is useful when you find a stack of old certificates.
How much is my savings bond worth? What drives the value
Series EE bonds
- Earn interest monthly for 30 years, at a fixed rate set when the bond was issued.
- If you hold an EE bond for 20 years, the Treasury guarantees it will be worth at least twice its purchase price.
- After 30 years, the bond stops earning interest. Holding it longer adds nothing.
Series I bonds
- Also earn interest for 30 years.
- The rate combines a fixed rate, set at purchase, and an inflation rate based on the consumer price index, which is updated every six months.
- That makes I bonds track inflation: their value grows faster when inflation is high.
Interest compounds
Savings bond interest is added to the bond's value, so later interest is earned on a larger amount. That is why a bond held for decades can be worth far more than its face value.
A worked example
Suppose you bought an electronic Series EE bond for $100. If you hold it for 20 years, the Treasury guarantees it will be worth at least $200 at that point. If its fixed rate on its own would not get it there, the Treasury adds a one-time adjustment to make up the difference. After that, it keeps earning its fixed rate until the 30-year mark.
Older paper EE bonds work slightly differently: they were sold at half of their face value, so a $100 paper bond originally cost $50. That is why the face value printed on an old certificate is not the same as what it is worth today, and why the calculator is the only reliable way to check.
Lost or forgotten bonds
If you think a relative held savings bonds that were never cashed, TreasuryDirect's Treasury Hunt tool lets you search for matured, unredeemed bonds by Social Security number. It is worth checking after a death in the family or when sorting old papers. Bonds that have stopped earning interest are not lost, but every year they sit unclaimed is a year the money could have been working elsewhere.
Rules to check before cashing in
- Minimum holding period: you cannot cash a savings bond in during its first 12 months.
- Early redemption penalty: if you cash it in before five years, you lose the last three months of interest.
- The 30-year mark: a bond older than 30 years has stopped growing, so there is no reason to wait.
- Taxes: interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax. Check the details with the IRS or a tax professional for your situation.
Savings bonds vs other ways to put money to work
A savings bond is close to the safest kind of savings, because the US government backs it. The trade-off is that your return is limited to the bond's rate.
Other assets work very differently. Stocks can go up or down without limit, and the contracts traded on a prediction market pay a fixed amount only if a specific event happens, so you can lose the whole stake. If you want to compare how different instruments price time and risk, read about theta decay in prediction markets, prediction markets vs futures contracts and how expected value works. Our profit calculator shows the payoff of an event contract at a given price.
None of this is investment advice: a savings bond and an event contract solve different problems, and the right choice depends on your goals and your tolerance for risk.
Next step
In the United States, the regulated route is the Polymarket US app. Read our guides on signing up and depositing to get started, start small and only use money you can afford to lose.