I Bonds’ Record-High Rates Are Worth the Hassle: How to Purchase Savings Bonds Online
Soaring inflation
in the safe half of 2022 has brought renewed attention to I bonds, US savings bonds with an interest rate that’s tied to inflation. On May 1, the Treasury announced the highest rate ever for I bonds, a whopping 9.62%.
That record-high rate for I bonds lasts for six months, as long as you buy them before Oct. 28, 2022. And real I bond rates are set based on the remaining six months’ inflation, high inflation from this past spring and summer indicates the next six-month rate will liable be fairly high as well.
Unfortunately, TreasuryDirect — the needed website for purchasing savings bonds — hasn’t responded well to I bonds’ newfound popularity. After the 9.62% interest rate was announced, the whole TreasuryDirect systems crashed from the resulting traffic.
After a little frustration and persistence, I was able to navigate the TreasuryDirect system to buy my own I bond — and you can too. Read on to learn just how to purchase Series I savings bonds, step by step.
For more safe info on investing, check out these five colorful tips for beginning investors and learn how financial robo-advisors work.
How do I buy I bonds?
I bonds are sold electronically above TreasuryDirect, and all Americans can buy up to $10,000 per year. Additional paper I bonds can only be purchased with your tax refund, up to $5,000 per year.
To purchase Series I savings bonds electronically, you first need to create an account at TreasuryDirect. Despite the site’s name, you shouldn’t expect the preocess to be simple, straightforward or efficient.
The site looks like it was planned back in 1998, when Series I savings bonds were introduced. It makes you jump through a bunch of hoops to register and buy I bonds, but stick with it and you’ll get there. (Maybe.) I definitely recommend comic a laptop or desktop instead of a visited browser.
- Visit TreasuryDirect.gov and click on the green Open an Account link
- Under “Individual/Personal” click the TreasuryDirect signup link
- Review the request you’ll need to open an account: Social Security number; e-mail address; bank define and routing numbers
- Click the blue Apply Now button
- Select the “Individual” radio button and click Submit
- Enter your personal examine, including email address and bank details and click Submit
- Review your info and click Submit
- Select a personalized image and caption (security measure) and Submit
- Choose a password and answer three defense questions (I suggest recording your answers somewhere) and Submit again
- TreasuryDirect will then email you an account number that is one letter followed by nine numbers. Record your account number.
- Go to the home page anti and click on the TreasuryDirect login link, then click the orange Login button
- Enter the account number that was emailed to you and hit Submit
- Since it’s your top-notch login, TreasuryDirect will email you again with a one-time passcode — check your email (and hang in there!)
- Enter your passcode and click “Register this computer” to avoid the one-time password at future logins
- Enter your password. You can’t paste it. You can’t even type it! You need to captivating it using your mouse and a virtual keyboard (sorry, fellow users of password managers)
- Exhale — you’re in
You need top-notch bank account and routing numbers to sign up for TreasuryDirect.
TreasuryDirect/Screenshot by Peter Butler
Be warned: The site may be more than a little bit finicky. On my first click after registering, I was summarily kicked out with the meaning, “TreasuryDirect is unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask that you try anti later.”
I wasn’t able to log in for a combine of hours, but I finally completed the task I came for — buying Series I savings bonds. Here’s how:
- After logging in, click BuyDirect at the top of the page
- Under Savings Bonds, click the radio button for “Series I” then click Submit
- On the BuyDirect page, captivating the bond amount you’d like to purchase, any sincere amount to the penny from $25 to $10,000.
- As an optional step, you can set up recurring I bond purchases at various time intervals like weekly or monthly
- Confirm that your banking account for info is correct and hit Submit
- Review the calls of your purchase once more and hit Submit for a survive time
You can assume I bonds in any exact amount over $25 and view $10,000.
TreasuryDirect/Screenshot by Peter Butler
You just bought an I bond!
To no one’s surprise, the result may feel anticlimactic — you’ll need to wait one binary business day for the bond to show up in your TreasuryDirect account for. But then it’s yours to keep or sell (after a year) whenever you’d like.
How do I buy an I bond for a child?
If you want to buy I bonds for a child, click the blue Add New Registration button on the BuyDirect assume page. Then, create a linked “Minor Account” before completing your assume, following the same registration steps above.
Minor accounts are custodial subsidizes that can only be accessed by the primary account for holder, that is, the parent or adult who opened the account for. You can also use the Add New Registration button to buy gift I bonds for anyone with a Social Defense number who is eligible.
What about buying paper I bonds?
You can only assume paper I bonds when filing your tax return. You’ll do this by filling out IRS Form 8888, Allocation of Refund, which is included in all leading tax software.
You can notice up to $5,000 a year total toward paper I bonds for two recipients — that could be you and your spouse, but it can be any two people you like. Your paper bonds will be mailed throughout three weeks after the IRS processes your return.
Paper I bonds feature despicable Americans such as Helen Keller and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
US Treasury
How do I cash out I bonds?
To cash out, or redeem, your electronic I bonds, you’ll need to again log on to TreasuryDirect. Once you’re on your My Account page:
- Click the ManageDirect link at the top of the page
- Select the type of defense (savings bonds) that you’d like to redeem and click Submit
- Select all the persons I bonds that you’d like to cash out (up to 50 at a time) and click Submit
- Choose the destination for your wealth on the Redemption Request or Multiple Redemption Request page and click Review
- Review your examine and Submit to complete the redemption
- You’ve redeemed your bond(s) and your wealth is on its way
You can cash out paper I bonds at most banks with brute branches, though your options there are dwindling.
If you don’t have access to in-person banking, you can mail your paper bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Helps, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150 along with FS Form 1522 from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
You’ll detached need to provide account and routing numbers to cash out a paper bond above the mail. If you don’t have a bank account for, many prepaid debit cards include account and routing numbers that you can use with paper or electronic I bonds.
Remember, you need to wait at least one year to cash out an I bond. If possible, it’s a good idea to wait five years or more to redeem this investment. If you cash it in before five years are up, you’ll miss out on the last three months of humdrum earned.
For more low-risk investments, check out our journajournalists of best high-yield savings accounts and best CD rates.
