How to Cash Old Savings Bonds in 2026 (And Check for the $70 Billion in Unclaimed Money You Might Be Owed)

If you’ve got a paper EE or I savings bond from a parent or grandparent sitting in a drawer, there’s a good chance your own bank won’t cash it anymore. Most banks stopped taking paper bonds from non-customers years ago, and plenty won’t touch them even if you do have an account there.

That’s not the same as the bond being worthless or stuck. It just means the easiest path now runs straight through the Treasury Department itself, not your local branch.

Why Your Bank Won’t Cash a Paper Savings Bond Anymore

Banks aren’t required to redeem savings bonds for the public, and most have quietly stopped bothering. The paperwork, fraud risk, and thin margins just aren’t worth it for a teller-window transaction.

Some banks will still cash small paper bonds for long-standing customers, but don’t count on it. Call ahead before you drive over with a stack of bonds from 1995. A wasted trip is the most common complaint I see on this.

If your usual bank won’t help, it may be worth comparing how local banks and credit unions tend to treat these requests differently before you give up and mail everything to Treasury.

How to Cash a Bond Yourself Through Treasury

If your bank says no, you have two solid options. Both are free.

Option 1: Mail it directly to Treasury. Fill out FS Form 1522, list each bond’s serial number and issue date, and provide your direct deposit information. Processing can take several weeks, so don’t mail it the week you need the money.

If your bonds are worth $1,000 or less in total, you just sign the form and enclose a copy of your driver’s license, passport, state ID or military ID. Over $1,000, you sign it in front of a notary or a certifying officer at a bank or credit union.

Option 2: Convert to electronic bonds in TreasuryDirect. If the bonds are still earning interest, you can move them into your free TreasuryDirect account and cash them online whenever you want. If they’ve already stopped earning interest, Treasury cashes them as soon as the conversion goes through, and the money lands in your TreasuryDirect account for you to move to your bank.

I’d lean toward the TreasuryDirect conversion route if the bonds still have years of interest left to earn, since it gives you flexibility later. If they’re long past maturity and just sitting dead, mailing FS Form 1522 gets you paid faster.

Inherited a Bond That’s Not in Your Name?

This is where most of the confusion actually lives. If you’re a named co-owner or beneficiary on the bond and the original owner has died, you typically just need a certified copy of the death certificate along with FS Form 1522.

If the bonds were only in the deceased person’s name with no co-owner or beneficiary listed, it usually falls to the estate’s executor or legal representative. For larger estates or formal probate, that means FS Form 1455 (Request by Fiduciary for Distribution), plus proof of your appointment as executor and the death certificate. If the estate is being settled without probate, Treasury’s FS Publication 0065 explains the small-estate route.

Don’t skip settling the estate paperwork just to speed things up. If you’re also sorting out other inherited accounts, my guide to avoiding costly mistakes with an inherited IRA covers a lot of the same beneficiary-documentation issues that come up with bonds.

What About Taxes on the Interest?

Whoever cashes the bond owes the tax on the accumulated interest, reported for that calendar year, not spread out over the decades the bond was maturing (unless the owner chose to report the interest each year). You’ll get a 1099-INT from Treasury after redemption.

It’s federal income tax only. Savings bond interest has always been exempt from state and local income tax.

If you inherited the bond, ask the executor one question first: did they report the interest earned before the death on the owner’s final tax return? The IRS lets them choose to, and then you only owe tax on interest earned after the date of death. If they didn’t, all of the interest is yours to report when you cash the bond. It gets stacked on top of your other income for the year, which is what actually determines which federal tax bracket it gets taxed at.

A large redemption in one year can push more of your income into a higher bracket than you’d expect.

Current Rates, If You’re Deciding Whether to Buy More

Series I bonds issued November 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027 earn a 5.51% composite rate, according to TreasuryDirect. That’s a 1.40% fixed rate, which stays with the bond for life, plus a 2.04% semiannual inflation rate.

New Series EE bonds issued in the same window pay a stated 2.90%, up from 2.40%. Treasury also guarantees EE bonds will double in value over 20 years no matter what, even if it has to add money at the 20-year mark to make that happen.

For a quick sense of scale: Dana puts $1,000 into an I bond in November. At 5.51%, it earns about $27.55 over the first six months before the inflation part of the rate resets.

Older I bonds don’t get the new 1.40% fixed rate. They keep their original fixed rate and pick up the new 2.04% inflation rate at their next six-month anniversary.

If you’re weighing whether to reinvest bond proceeds into new I bonds versus something else entirely, I break down the purchase limits and tradeoffs in my Treasury I bond guide. Once the cash lands in your account, a high-yield savings account or CD is worth comparing too, especially if you want the money liquid rather than locked up again.

Beyond Savings Bonds: The $70 Billion States Are Holding

Old savings bonds aren’t the only forgotten money sitting around. State unclaimed-property programs are holding roughly $70 billion, and NAUPA, the association that represents those programs, says about 1 in 7 people have unclaimed property waiting for them.

A big chunk of that is exactly the kind of thing people never think to check:

• A utility deposit from an apartment you moved out of years ago
• An old uncashed paycheck
• A forgotten brokerage or bank account
• A security deposit a landlord never returned

Utility deposits get overlooked because most people assume the company just keeps them. In many states, utilities have to refund the deposit, often with interest, once you’ve built up a year or so of on-time payments.

If the utility can’t find you after the account closes, the deposit is supposed to be turned over to the state as unclaimed property.

How to Check and Claim Unclaimed Money

The search itself costs nothing. MissingMoney.com is the official multi-state database run on behalf of state unclaimed-property offices, and it covers most states in one search. For a state that isn’t listed there, go straight to that state’s treasury or comptroller website instead.

Search every state you’ve lived in, not just your current one. Companies turn unclaimed money over to the state of your last address on their records, so it’s often sitting in a state you moved away from years ago.

It’s also worth checking under old last names, maiden names, or a deceased relative’s name if you’re the heir.

Where Bond Redemptions and Unclaimed-Money Claims Go Wrong

Banks refusing even small bond amounts. I hear this constantly. People assume a $50 or $100 bond is small enough that any bank will cash it as a courtesy, and increasingly that’s not true. Call first, or skip the trip and mail it to Treasury.

Lost bonds with no serial number. If the physical bond itself is lost or destroyed, Treasury can still often locate it using your Social Security number and approximate purchase date. File FS Form 1048 rather than assuming the money’s gone. Treasury’s old Treasury Hunt search tool shut down on September 30, 2025, so the claim form is now the way in.

Getting the wrong kind of signature check. Over $1,000, FS Form 1522 has to be signed in front of a notary or a bank or credit union certifying officer. A signature from a branch employee who isn’t certifying the form doesn’t count. Under $1,000, skip the notary and enclose a copy of your ID instead.

Assuming unclaimed-property searches or “finder” services require a fee. They don’t. Legitimate state programs never charge to search or to return money that’s rightfully yours.

If someone contacts you demanding an upfront fee to “release” funds, that’s a scam. It follows the same red flags I cover in my post on spotting a fake IRS notice or letter: unsolicited contact, urgency, and a demand for payment before you get anything back.

Confusing a utility deposit refund with a credit on your final bill. Some utilities apply the deposit to your last bill automatically and only mail a check for the leftover balance. If you never got either, check the state’s unclaimed-property database rather than assume the utility already handled it.

What Happens to Savings Bond Rates on May 1, 2027

Treasury resets savings bond rates every May 1 and November 1. The 5.51% I bond rate and 2.90% EE rate hold for bonds bought through April 30, 2027, and the next announcement lands on May 1, 2027.

What I’m watching for that reset:

• The inflation rate: it’s based on the change in CPI-U from September 2026 to March 2027, so the spring inflation reports drive it.
• The fixed rate: Treasury doesn’t publish a formula, but it has tracked real yields on Treasury securities. A 1.40% fixed rate could drop if those yields fall.
• The EE rate: it moves with longer-term Treasury yields, so it can rise or fall on its own.

I’ll update this page with the new rates once Treasury posts them. States also periodically change how long they hold property before it’s escheated for good in some categories, so it’s worth rechecking these databases every couple of years even if a past search came up empty.