Identification

• Paper Series EE savings bonds are issued with face amounts of $50 to $10,000. The initial cost of a paper bond is one-half the face amount. For example, a $100 bond will cost $50. Electronic savings bonds can be purchased in any amount from $25 to $5,000. The initial face amount equals the purchase amount. Savings bonds are guaranteed to at least double by the 20-year anniversary of the bond. This means that paper savings bonds will reach the face amount value no later than 20 years after they are issued.
  
  

Time Frame

• Savings bonds continue to accrue interest until 30 years after a bond is purchased. Savings bonds cannot be cashed in until at least one year after purchase. Bonds that are redeemed within the first five years after purchase will be charged an interest penalty equal to three months' interest. After the five-year anniversary, savings bonds can be redeemed for the full, accumulated value. Bonds that are not redeemed by 30 years after the purchase date will stop earning additional interest.
  
  

Interest Accrual -- Current Bonds

• Savings bonds issued after April 2005 earn a fixed rate of interest until a bond is redeemed. The rate will not change for these bonds, but the interest will compound. Interest is credited to a bond every month and is compounded semi-annually. The compounding means that every six months, the interest calculation will be based on the current, higher value of the bond, resulting in higher interest accrual amounts for the next six months.
  
  

Interest Accrual -- Bonds Issued Before 1995

• Bonds issued before May 1995 have a guaranteed minimum interest rate and were eligible for a market-based rate once they were five years old. As of October 2010, the market-based rates would be lower than the guaranteed rates, so these bonds would be earning the guaranteed minimum. The guaranteed rate ranges from 4 to 7.5 percent, based on the issue date of a particular bond. Interest is credited to these bonds every six months.
  
  

Interest Accrual -- Bonds Issued 1995 until 2005

• Bonds that were purchased from May 1995 until April 1997 earn interest that is calculated at 85 percent of the five-year Treasury note rate for the six-month period. These bonds accrue interest every six months. Bonds issued from May 1997 until April 2005 earn interest at 90 percent of the five-year Treasury note rate, calculated in May and November each year. The bonds purchased in this time period have the earned interest added to the value every month.
  
  

Resources

• The TreasuryDirect website provides an online bond value calculator, a downloadable value calculator, and charts that show the values and rates for all savings bond issues. These resources can determine the current redemption value of any savings bond.