How To Check Savings Bond Value: Step-by-Step Instructions

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Introduction to Savings Bonds

Savings bonds are a classic, conservative investment often gifted by parents and grandparents to their progeny. But savings bonds have more than sentimental value — they’re also worth real money. At some point, you may want to cash out any savings bonds you hold, and the first step is determining how much they are worth. 

Figuring out the current value of a savings bond isn’t too hard. In fact, the U.S. Treasury, which issues savings bonds, has a website that offers helpful tools for valuing them.

Here are a few ways to check your savings bond value, whether they are paper bonds or digital.

How To Check the Value of Your Savings Bond

You can follow these simple steps to check savings bond values.

Using the U.S. Treasury’s Savings Bond Calculator

The best way to check the price of your savings bond is to go to the source. The U.S. Treasury issues savings bonds via its Treasurydirect.gov website, and it is there that you can check savings bond values.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Go to the TreasuryDirect website and search for the “Savings Bond Calculator Help” page.
2. Near the bottom of the page, click the large, blue “Get Started” button.
3. Use the drop-down boxes to select the series and denomination of your paper bond.
4. Find the issue date on your paper bond and enter it into the calculator. You should use two-digit months and four-digit years. Note that you do not need the serial number using this method.
5. Click the “Calculate” button.

If you successfully follow the steps above, you’ll find the value of your savings bond.

Checking Value Through Banks

Some banks, but not all, will be able to determine the value of your savings bonds. You’ll need to provide your bank with specific information about your bonds, such as the series and denomination. You may also have to provide the bonds’ serial numbers.

Checking Value for Paper Savings Bonds

While paper savings bonds are less common than they once were, there are still some out there. And if you inherited an old paper savings bond, the face value of the bond is not the true value. That’s why it’s important to check savings bond values to find out what they’re really worth. 

As outlined above, you can visit either the TreasuryDirect website or certain banks in order to track down the value of your bonds. But you’ll need information off the bond to succeed. Be ready to provide the issue date, denomination and/or serial number.

You can find a bond’s serial number in the lower-right corner of your savings bond, according to the U.S. Treasury. The series will be displayed in the upper-right corner, while the denomination will appear in the upper-left corner.

Keep in mind that the value presented is what you’d get if you cash the bond in today. You can also use the tool to project the value of the bond if you cash it in on a future date.

You can plug in multiple paper bonds at a time to view the total value of all paper bonds you hold.

Checking Value for Electronic Savings Bonds

Most savings bonds are purchased digitally these days using a TreasuryDirect online account. You can log into the account you created to purchase bonds online and check the current savings bond value at any time.

The current value for any bonds you purchase will show in your TreasuryDirect account at all times.

What To Do If You Lose Your Savings Bond

Electronic bonds cannot be lost or misplaced, which is one of the main reasons why the U.S. Treasury no longer issues paper bonds. But the good news is that even if you lose, destroy, mutilate or simply misplace your paper savings bonds, you can get replacements. 

You will need to fill out Form 1048 if you want to replace your savings bonds. You can find this form on the TreasuryDirect website. The specific version of Form 1048 that you will use may vary, per the Treasury’s instructions. You’ll use the standard Form 1048 if you know your bonds’ serial numbers. If you do not, you’ll have to fill out a different version. 

Common Mistakes When Checking Bond Values

There’s a difference between the principal value and the current value of your savings bond.

The principal value, also known as the face value, is the amount that you paid for the bond. But semiannually, savings bonds pay interest, and this amount is added to the current value of your bond. Thus, over time, your current value will be larger than the principal value. These two terms are easy to confuse, especially for beginning investors.

Another common mistake when valuing savings bonds is not understanding that their value changes over time.

If you check the value of a savings bond before maturity, you may think that it is lower than it should be. That’s because savings bonds continue to grow in value until they mature.

For Series EE bonds, for example, the U.S. Treasury guarantees that their value will at least double by the time they reach their 20-year maturity date. But if you check the value after only 5 years, the bond value will not have doubled because it still has 15 more years to grow.

When To Redeem Your Savings Bonds

Cashing in bonds is a fairly straightforward process, but there are a few considerations to review before cashing them in:

• Tax implications: Interest earned from savings bonds is taxable at the federal level but is exempt from state and local taxes. However, you can elect to defer paying taxes on your savings bond until it matures. This can be a great way to push your tax liability into future years. If you cash in your bond early, however, you’ll have to immediately pay tax on all the interest that you’ve earned.
• Penalties for cashing in early: You can cash in your savings bonds after one year if you’d like, but there are penalties for doing so. For both Series I and Series EE savings bonds, you’ll lose three months of earned interest if you cash in your bonds before five years.

The best way to get the maximum value from a savings bond is simply to hold it until it matures. Note that to really maximize your interest, you can actually hold a Series EE bond for an additional 10 years after its 20-year maturity date, during which time it continues to accrue interest. 

Conclusion

The easiest way to check savings bond values is to visit the TreasuryDirect website. Paper bonds have all the information you’ll need to find their value thanks to the nifty lookup tool on the TreasuryDirect website.

It’s even easier to find the value of electronic bonds, as the information is displayed within your TreasuryDirect account automatically.

Just remember to understand the tax implications and potential penalties if you plan to cash in your savings bonds early. 

Jacob Wade contributed to the reporting for this article.

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