Savings Bonds: Cash Redemption

U.S. savings bonds have an original maturity, which is the amount of time to reach face value. Each series will have a different number of years in which it earns interest:

Series	Date of Issue	Number of Years the Bond Earns Interest
E	May 1941 - November 1965	40 years
E	December 1965 - June 1980	30 years
H	June 1952 - January 1957	29 years and 8 months
H	February 1957 - December 1979	30 years
EE	all issues	30 years
I	all issues	30 years
HH	all issues	20 years

If your bond has reached maturity, or if you wish to cash in your bond to use the funds for other purposes, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

• Series EE bonds and Series I bonds can be redeemed at any financial institution.
• There is no limit to the dollar amount you redeem if you are a customer at the financial institution where you wish to redeem the bonds. However, if you wish to redeem the bonds at a financial institution where you do not have an account, you will be required to show proper identification and will be limited to cashing in $1000 worth of bonds per transaction.
• You must have owned the bonds for at least six months after the issue date.
• Bonds redeemed within the first five years of ownership will be penalized three months of interest.
• If you are a beneficiary of a savings bond that you wish to cash in, you must present the proper identification and documents as well as a copy of the death certificate.
• Interest earned will be reported to you and the IRS. Your bank will send you Form 1099-INT shortly after you cash your bond or will send you the form at the end of the year.

Series HH bonds can be redeemed at any Federal Reserve Bank, but they cannot be redeemed at your local financial institution. As with Series I and Series EE bonds, Series HH bonds must be at least six months old, and you must identify yourself as owner with proper identification. Your local financial institution can help you redeem your HH bonds by helping complete the correct forms, verifying your signature on the back of the bond, and forwarding all paperwork and documents to a Federal Reserve Bank.

Receiving payment via direct deposit when you cash in your HH bond will speed up the process. You will need to fill out form PD F 5396 or SF 119A and attach a voided check with your account information. You may also get direct deposit by using your bank’s Form SF 1199A and including the name of the bank, the nine digit bank routing number, your account number, and indication of whether your account is a checking or savings account.