Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s) (2024)

FAQs

How do I calculate the value of a bond? ›

The bond valuation formula can be represented as: Price = ( Coupon × 1 − ( 1 + r ) − n r ) + Par Value ( 1 + r ) n . The bond value formula can be broken into two parts for better understanding. The first part is the present value of the coupons, and the second part is the discounted value of the par value.

After 20 years, it doubled in value ($1,000) and continued to earn interest ($600) until reaching maturity after 30 years. If you redeem your bond today, you can redeem it for $1,600 and spend that on goods or services or reinvest that money in a new savings bond.

After 20 years, the Patriot Bond is guaranteed to be worth at least face value. So a $50 Patriot Bond, which was bought for $25, will be worth at least $50 after 20 years. It can continue to accrue interest for as many as 10 more years after that.

You can cash paper bonds at a bank or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's TreasuryDirect website. Not all banks offer the service, and many only provide it if you are an account holder, according to a NerdWallet analysis of the 20 largest U.S. banks.

Series EE savings bonds are a low-risk way to save money. They earn interest regularly for 30 years (or until you cash them if you do that before 30 years). For EE bonds you buy now, we guarantee that the bond will double in value in 20 years, even if we have to add money at 20 years to make that happen.

SERIES I BONDS ISSUED SEPTEMBER 1998 AND THEREAFTER All Series I bonds reach final maturity 30 years from issue. Series I savings bonds earn interest through application of a composite rate.

You can skip paying taxes on interest earned with Series EE and Series I savings bonds if you're using the money to pay for qualified higher education costs. That includes expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse or a qualified dependent. Only certain qualified higher education costs are covered, including: Tuition.

Key takeaways

A Patriot Bond is a special-edition Series EE savings bond the U.S. government issued between 2001 and 2011. They were issued at a 50% discount off their face value and were set to mature over a 30-year period.

They're available to be cashed in after a single year, though there's a penalty for cashing them in within the first five years. Otherwise, you can keep savings bonds until they fully mature, which is generally 30 years.

Why would anyone buy a 10 year Treasury bond? ›

As one of the lowest-risk investments on the market, the 10-year Treasury and its yield are important for several reasons. First, investors use the 10-year Treasury as a baseline against which to compare the risks and rewards of other investments.

Series EE bonds stop paying interest after 30 years or when you cash them in if you do so before 30 years. You are guaranteed a fixed interest rate for the first 20 years on Series EE bonds issued in May 2005 or later.

Savings bonds are sold at a discount and do not pay regular interest. Instead, as they mature, they increase in value until they reach full face value at maturity.

The redemption value is stated as a percentage of face value. For example, a $1000 bond redeemable at 105 is redeemed at 105% of $1000 = $1050.

The carrying value of a bond, or carrying amount, is the net amount of the bond's face value plus unamortized premiums or minus amortized discounts. Formula for bonds issued at a premium = Face value + unamortized premium. Formula for bonds issued at a discount = Face value - amortized discounts.

For instance, on the bond that's over 30 years old, it has a face value of $50 with a current value of $103.68. There's an 09/1994 $50 with a current value of $77.84 and an 09/1995 $50 with a current value of $56.90.

Expressed another way, the current selling price, present value, or market value of a bond = the total of the semiannual interest payments PLUS the amount that will be received when the bond matures both discounted by the current market interest rate.