Updated October 2, 2026. Quick answer: FS Form 1522 is how you ask Treasury to pay out paper savings bonds, and you mail it in with the bonds. The decision comes first: Series E and the other old series have stopped earning interest, so cashing them costs nothing in lost growth, while an EE or I bond is still earning for 30 years from its issue date and loses the last 3 months of interest if cashed before 5 years. Above $1,000 in redemption value the signature must be certified.
Cash it or hold it: does the bond still earn interest?
The first question is not how to fill in the form. It is whether the bond is still growing. Treasury lists the series that are finished: “If you have a savings bond from any of the following series, it no longer earns interest: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, and all Savings Notes.” The ones still earning need the issue date: “The only savings bonds that still earn interest are I bonds and some EE and HH bonds. For those, you must look at the issue date. EE and I bonds earn interest for 30 years from the issue date. HH bonds earn interest for 20 years from the issue date.” Treasury’s own HH bond page is more current: “All HH bonds reached final maturity and stopped earning interest in August 2024.” So today the bonds still earning are I bonds and EE bonds less than 30 years old.
| Bond | Still earning interest? | What it means for the decision |
|---|---|---|
| A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K and all Savings Notes | No | Their interest-earning life is over; waiting adds nothing to the value |
| EE and I bonds | Yes, for 30 years from the issue date | Cashing before 5 years costs the last 3 months of interest |
| HH bonds | No. Every HH bond reached final maturity in August 2024 | Its interest-earning life is over; waiting adds nothing to the value |
For an EE or I bond that is still earning, holding has a price and so does cashing. Treasury says “You can get your cash for an EE or I savings bond any time after you have owned it for 1 year.” “However, the longer you hold the bond, the more it earns for you (for up to 30 years for an EE or I bond).” “Also, if you cash in the bond in less than 5 years, you lose the last 3 months of interest.” So a bond that is 4 years old gives up the final quarter of its interest if you cash it now, and loses nothing extra once it passes 5 years.
The rates on Treasury’s current-rate pages are for newly issued bonds, not necessarily yours. The EE page warns that “For older EE bonds, rules concerning interest may have varied.” and the I bond page says “The interest rate on a Series I savings bond changes every 6 months, based on inflation. The rate can go up. The rate can go down.” For a paper bond the value comes from Treasury’s Savings Bond Calculator, not from the face amount. The I bond rate history is on the I bond rates page and the month-by-month timing is on the I bond cash-out timing page.
Newer EE bonds carry one more reason to wait. Treasury says “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.” How that adjustment works is on the EE doubling guarantee page.
Three questions settle most cases. Has the bond stopped earning? If it has, cash it. Is it under 5 years old? If so, the 3 months of lost interest is the cost of cashing now. Do you need the money, or is the cash going to a better use than the bond’s own rate? Treasury says “You get the interest all at once.” So the decision also moves the year the interest is taxed.
Where to cash a paper bond
Treasury gives two routes for an adult’s bonds in the United States. At a bank where you have an account, you ask whether they will cash them, how much at one time, and what ID they want. From Treasury, you use the form this page covers. “With us: We have no limit on the value or number of savings bonds you can cash at one time as long as the bonds meet the requirements for cashing.” Banks vary: “Banks vary in how much they will cash at one time” or whether they cash savings bonds at all. One rule applies either way: “You cannot cash part of a paper savings bond. A paper savings bond must be cashed for its entire value.”
The form itself says what it is for: “Use this form to request payment of United States Savings Bonds, Savings Notes, Retirement Plan Bonds, and Individual Retirement Bonds.” The edition read for this page is marked “FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026)”, the one Treasury serves today.
Filling it in, part by part
The form has three numbered items and a certification. The right-hand column below is condensed from the form’s own instructions.
| Part of the form | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Description of bonds | The names shown on the bonds, then the issue date and serial number of each bond | FS Form 3500 can list more bonds than the form has room for |
| 2. Direct deposit | The payee’s Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number, the name on the account, the account number and type, the bank’s name, routing number and phone number | The payment is made by direct deposit, so the account details must be legible and exact |
| 3. Signature | Sign in ink, print your name, and give your address and daytime phone number (email if you have one) | A name changed by marriage or another legal step must show both names |
| Certification | At $1,000 or less in current redemption value, a copy of a current ID. Above $1,000, sign in front of a notary or certifying officer | The certifier affixes the seal or stamp and completes the certification block |
Two instructions the form stresses. The tax number must be provided: “The payee’s Taxpayer Identification Number must be provided.” And the bank details must be exact: “Please verify account information for accuracy and legibility to avoid a delay in deposit.”
Getting the signature certified
Below the threshold you do not need a certifier. “If the current redemption value of your bonds totals $1,000 or less, your signature need not be certified.” Above it, the rule is firm: “If the current redemption value of your bonds totals more than $1,000, each person whose signature is required must appear before and establish identification to the satisfaction of a notary or authorized certifying officer.” “Authorized certifying officers are available at financial institutions, including credit unions, in the United States.” The distinction between certifying a signature and a Medallion guarantee is covered on the signature certification page.
The form tells you where to send it: “Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150” with the bonds. The toll-free number printed on the form is 844-284-2676. Documents you send are not returned: “Legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned.”
The tax side of cashing
The interest is taxed federally and not by states: “The interest that your savings bonds earn is subject to federal income tax, but not state or local income tax”. The timing is your choice: “You can put off (defer) reporting the interest until you file a federal income tax return for the year in which you actually get the interest, or report the interest each year even though you don’t actually get the interest then” “Most people put off reporting the interest until they actually get it.”
For a paper bond Treasury cashes, the tax form follows: “If we cash your paper savings bond, we mail you the 1099-INT the following January.” Where it lands on the return is explained on the 1099-INT box 3 page, the yearly-versus-deferred choice on the I bond reporting election page, and the education exclusion on the savings bond education exclusion page.
When this is the wrong form or the wrong page
Electronic bonds are not cashed with this form. Treasury says “Go to your TreasuryDirect account.” then ManageDirect, then redeem securities. If the bond belongs to someone who has died, see the inherited savings bonds page. Trusts, living estates, a young child’s bond and bonds outside the United States have their own Treasury pages, and a bond bought from a third party cannot be cashed: “Do not buy savings bonds from someone else or in an online auction site. You cannot cash them.”
Common mistakes
- Cashing an EE or I bond a month before its fifth anniversary without knowing the last 3 months of interest are forfeited under 5 years.
- Waiting on an old Series E or other finished-series bond as if it were still growing. The series listed above have stopped earning.
- Mailing the form without the paper bonds, or leaving the certification off a request above $1,000.
- Expecting to cash part of a paper bond. It is paid for its entire value or not at all.
- Using Form 1522 for an electronic bond in a TreasuryDirect account.
Related: when to cash an I bond, the EE doubling guarantee, inherited savings bonds, and 1099-INT box 3.
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Answer againSources
- TreasuryDirect, HH bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/hh-bonds/
- FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026), Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav1522.pdf
- TreasuryDirect, Cashing EE or I savings bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/cashing-a-bond/
- TreasuryDirect, Cashing old bonds from other series: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/cashing-a-bond/old-bonds-from-other-series/
- TreasuryDirect, Tax information for EE and I bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/tax-information-ee-i-bonds/
- TreasuryDirect, EE bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/ee-bonds/
- TreasuryDirect, I bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/i-bonds/
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 2, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.