I savings bonds

Series I Savings Bonds (often called I Bonds) are government savings bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury that offer inflation protection. I Bonds offer tax-deferral for up to 30 years and are free from state and local taxation. I Bonds are not marketable securities and cannot be traded in the secondary market.

Note: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) also provide inflation protection. TIPS are considered alternatives to I Bonds. See I Bonds vs TIPS for similarities and differences between the two instruments.

History
I bonds were first issued in September, 1998. Historical interest rates, along with computation metrics, for I bond issues can be found at TreasuryDirect.

Composite rate
I Bonds have two components that make up their composite rate (total yield): a fixed rate and an inflation rate.
 * The fixed rate is fixed for the entire life of any given I Bond. The fixed rate for newly-issued I Bonds is announced on May 1 and November 1 of each year, and applies to all I Bonds issued during that six month period.
 * The inflation rate is based on the Consumer Price Index and is also announced every six months, on May 1 and November 1. This inflation adjustment applies to both existing I Bonds and newly-issued ones, but the timing of that adjustment is dependent on the original issue date of any particular I Bond.

The composite rate can never go below zero, which protects investors in times of inflation.

Six-month cycle of composite earnings rates
I Bond interest is calculated in six month cycles, based on the original date of issue. Each I Bond's composite rate (fixed and inflation) remains in effect for a total of six months, and then changes to a combination of that I Bond's fixed rate plus the most recently announced inflation adjustment for the next six months. That cycle continues for the life of an I Bond:

* The most recent inflation adjustment is added to the bond's fixed rate on these dates.

An example of the composite rate calculation using I bonds issued May 2009 - Oct. 2009:


 * Given a Fixed rate = 0.10% and a Semiannual inflation rate = -2.78%


 * Composite rate = [Fixed rate + (2 x Semiannual inflation rate) + (Fixed rate x Semiannual inflation rate)]
 * Composite rate = [0.0010 + (2 x -0.0278) + (0.0010 x -0.0278)]
 * Composite rate = [0.0010 + -0.0556 + -0.0000278]
 * Composite rate = [-0.0546278]
 * Composite rate = -0.0546
 * Composite rate = -5.46%
 * Composite rate = 0.00% (Composite rates are never less than zero)

Current interest rates and I Bond value
To find out the current interest rate of I Bonds and the worth of your bonds, the following resources of TreasuryDirect may be used:
 * I Savings Bonds Rates and Terms
 * Savings Bond Calculator
 * Savings Bond Wizard

Purchase
Both paper and electronic versions of I Bonds are available. Each version is limited to $5,000 per person per year. (Investors can also purchase an additional $5,000 in paper bonds for their trust.) I Bonds are sold at face value; for example, you would pay $100 for a $100 I Bond. I Bonds are not marketable securities, meaning that, unlike other bonds and stocks, you cannot trade I Bonds in the secondary market.
 * Electronic I Bonds - You can buy electronic I Bonds at Treasury Direct. Purchases may be made in amounts of $25 or more, to the penny.
 * Paper I Bonds - You can buy paper I Bonds at any bank that's an agent for the Federal Reserve (most are). You can also mail your completed I Bond purchase paperwork and payment directly to the Federal Reserve Bank. Paper I Bonds may be purchased in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, and $5,000. Bonds may be replaced if they are lost, stolen, mutilated, or never received.

Redemption
I Bonds cannot be redeemed during the first year, and if you redeem them within the first five years after purchase, you lose the most recent three months' interest. When you redeem your I Bonds, you can never get back less than you invested, even if there was a long period of negative inflation (deflation).

Tax-deferred growth
Interest from I Bonds accumulates tax-deferred for up to 30 years. (I Bonds do not distribute interest like CDs and other bonds do.) After 30 years, the I Bonds no longer earn any additional interest. When I Bonds are redeemed, the interest is taxable income for federal income tax purposes, but is free from state and local taxation. However, if the proceeds of the I Bond redemption are used for qualifying educational expenses, the interest is also tax-free at the federal level (see below).

Tax-free growth for Qualified Education Expenses
If I Bonds are redeemed for qualifying education expenses, the interest is completely tax free, provided certain conditions are met. According to Publication 970 (2007), Tax Benefits for Education, the tax-free redemption requires the following conditions to be met:


 * You pay qualified educational expenses for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your return.
 * Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $82,100 for single taxpayers ($130,650 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)). The amount of your interest exclusion is gradually reduced (phased out) if your modified adjusted gross income is between $67,100 and $82,100 (between $100,650 and $130,650 if your filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)). You cannot exclude any of the interest if your modified adjusted gross income is equal to or more than the upper limit.The phaseout, if any, is figured for you when you fill out Form 8815. The MAGI numbers are adjusted annually.
 * Your filing status is not married filing separately.
 * The owner of the Savings Bonds must be at least 24 years old before the bond's issue date. (The issue date is printed on the front of the Savings Bond.)
 * The full proceeds of the savings bond redemption (both interest and principal) must be used for qualifying educational expenses.

Note that redeeming I Bonds to contribute to a 529 plan or a Coverdell education savings account is also considered a qualified educational expense. To take advantage of this, file IRS Form 8815 to claim an exclusion for the interest after rolling the proceeds of these US Savings Bonds into a section 529 college savings plan or Coverdell Education Savings account. Write "529 College Savings Plan" or "Coverdell Education Savings Account" in the answer to 1(b), where it asks for the name of the educational institution. See Publication 970 (2007), Tax Benefits for Education for more details.

Role in a portfolio

 * If your tax-advantaged accounts are filled up with bond funds, you can "extend" your tax-advantaged accounts by purchasing I Bonds in your taxable account. This process is somewhat similar, but not identical, to placing Treasury Inflation Protected Securities in Non-deductible Traditional IRA.  Buying I Bonds in your taxable account is particularly useful if your tax bracket is too low to justify owning tax-exempt bonds in your taxable account.
 * If you are desperately looking for tax-advantaged space to hold tax-inefficient assets like REITs, you can free up some of your tax-advantaged space by purchasing I Bonds in your taxable account and then exchanging a part of the bond allocation in your tax-advantaged account to a REIT fund.
 * If you have a tax-free growth account like a Roth IRA, but no tax-deferred account like a Traditional IRA, you may want to place stocks in the Roth IRA while buying I Bonds in your taxable account to make the maximum use of the tax-free growth in the Roth IRA.
 * I-bonds older than 1 year can serve as an emergency fund if you can absorb the 3-month interest penalty; otherwise I-bonds at least 5 years old serve as an emergency fund just fine. The yield can at times be higher than money market funds or bank savings accounts.

Redemption while in a high tax bracket
I Bonds redeemed when the investor is in a high tax bracket may provide little or no positive after-tax, after-inflation return, especially if they are held for shorter periods of time. For this reason, if you expect to be in a high tax bracket when you redeem your I Bonds, they may not be a suitable investment for you. Specifically, if you are in your 20s, in 30 years you may well be in your peak earning years, which means you would probably be in a high tax bracket when the bonds mature.

To illustrate the point, here is the after-tax, after-inflation value of $1 invested I bonds compounded for 30 years with 3% inflation and 1% fixed rate and then redeemed in the 35% federal income tax bracket:

(1+(1.04015^30-1)*(1-0.35)) / (1.03^30) = $1.0165153416

This is equivalent to a real after-tax return of 0.05%/year.

Tips for buying I Bonds
Since I Bonds earn the full month's interest if you own them on the last day of that month, it is generally a good idea to buy I Bonds at the end of a month after also earning interest on that same money in a bank account during most of that same month. Conversely, you would want to redeem your I Bonds at the beginning of any month, since holding them until later in the month will not earn any additional interest, unless you own them on the last day of the month.

Links

 * Treasury Direct - I Savings Bonds In Depth
 * Treasury Direct: Learn More About Entity Accounts
 * Savings Bond Advisor