How to Cash in a Savings Bond

Cashing in a savings bond is as easy as cashing a personal check. Here's how to do it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Savings bond certificate
• Financial institution
• Identification

1. Call a bank, savings and loan institution or credit union to see if they cash savings bonds.
2. Give the financial institution your bond information and allow them to compute the bond's value.
3. Take a form of identification to the financial institution. The ID needs to match the name on the bond.
4. Sign the back of the bond.
5. Allow the institution to verify that it is your signature on the bond.
6. Receive your savings bond payment.

Tips & Warnings

• You must have possession of the bond for at least one year before you may cash it. For example, if you purchased a savings bond in October 2007, it may not be redeemed until October 2008.
• Cash in the savings bond if it has reached maturity. There is no value in holding onto it longer.
• As of September 2004, one can't exchange Series EE/E bonds for savings HH/H bonds.
• There will be a penalty if you cash in the savings bond prior to its fifth year anniversary.
• When the bond reaches maturity, it stops earning interest.
• You must pay tax on the interest earned by the savings bond.