Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: TreasuryDirect has not announced the I bond rate for May 2027, and it has not yet made the November 2026 announcement that comes first. It announces a new fixed rate and inflation rate every May 1 and November 1, so the May 1, 2027 announcement is the second one from today. As of October 16, 2026 the rate is 4.26% combined, including a fixed rate of 0.90%, for I bonds issued May 1, 2026 to October 31, 2026. This page prints no May 2027 figure and no estimate.
Two announcements stand between today and May 2027
| Item | Status as of October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Next announcement | November 1, 2026 (not yet made) |
| The announcement this page is about | May 1, 2027 (not yet made) |
| Rate in force today | 4.26% combined, fixed 0.90%, inflation 1.67% (bonds issued May 1, 2026 to October 31, 2026) |
| Rate announced November 1, 2025 | 4.03% combined, fixed 0.90%, inflation 1.56% |
TreasuryDirect shows “For I bonds issued May 1, 2026 to October 31, 2026.” It says “This includes a fixed rate of 0.90%”. The page that lists every announcement and its fixed-rate history is I bond rates.
When the May 2027 rate arrives
TreasuryDirect says “We announce the fixed rate every May 1 and November 1.” It adds “That fixed rate then applies, for the life of the bond, to all I bonds that we issue during the next 6 months.” A May 1 announcement therefore governs bonds issued from May 2027 on. The inflation part is also set on those two dates: “We base the inflation rate on changes in the non-seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U)”. The combined rate “changes every 6 months. It can go up or down.” Until the announcement the May figure is unknown, so this page prints none.
How the May combined rate will be built
TreasuryDirect gives the formula as “Composite rate formula: [Fixed rate + (2 x semiannual inflation rate) + (fixed rate x semiannual inflation rate)]”. Its own worked example uses the current rate, “0.0426”, which is 4.26%. The regulation, 31 CFR 359.14, writes the same calculation as “Composite rate = {(Fixed rate ÷ 2) + Semiannual inflation rate + [Semiannual inflation rate × (Fixed rate ÷ 2)]} × 2.” The two inputs for May are the new fixed rate and the new semiannual inflation rate, both announced May 1; neither is known today.
The May announcements since 2019
Each May 1 announcement from 2019 to 2026. The combined rate is recomputed from the fixed and inflation rates with the formula above and equals the figure in TreasuryDirect’s earnings chart for every row.
| Announced | Fixed rate | Semiannual inflation rate | Combined rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | 0.90% | 1.67% | 4.26% |
| May 1, 2025 | 1.10% | 1.43% | 3.98% |
| May 1, 2024 | 1.30% | 1.48% | 4.28% |
| May 1, 2023 | 0.90% | 1.69% | 4.30% |
| May 1, 2022 | 0.00% | 4.81% | 9.62% |
| May 1, 2021 | 0.00% | 1.77% | 3.54% |
| May 1, 2020 | 0.00% | 0.53% | 1.06% |
| May 1, 2019 | 0.50% | 0.70% | 1.90% |
The rows show how far a May announcement has moved from one year to the next. They are a record, not a forecast of 2027.
Which bonds the May 1 announcement touches
A bond keeps the fixed rate it was issued with. The inflation part is reset on a schedule that follows each bond’s own issue month. TreasuryDirect says “the date when the rate changes for your bond is every 6 months from the issue date of your bond”. Its table:
| If we issued your bond in | Your interest rate changes every |
|---|---|
| January | July 1 and January 1 |
| February | August 1 and February 1 |
| March | September 1 and March 1 |
| April | October 1 and April 1 |
| May | November 1 and May 1 |
| June | December 1 and June 1 |
| July | January 1 and July 1 |
| August | February 1 and August 1 |
| September | March 1 and September 1 |
| October | April 1 and October 1 |
| November | May 1 and November 1 |
| December | June 1 and December 1 |
By that table, bonds issued in May or November are the ones whose next rate applies from the May 1 and November 1 dates. Bonds issued in other months move to their next six-month rate on their own dates; the fixed-rate announcement is the one that applies to bonds issued from May 1, 2027 on.
Common mistakes
- Treating the 4.26% as the May 2027 rate. It applies to bonds issued through October 31, 2026, and a November 1 announcement sits between it and May.
- Assuming a new rate applies to your bond on the announcement date. It applies from your own issue-month schedule.
- Confusing the fixed rate, which stays for life, with the combined rate, which resets every six months.
- Counting on a particular May rate before TreasuryDirect posts it.
Related: I bond rates and fixed-rate history, the November 2026 I bond rate, when to cash out an I bond, and I bond purchase limits and gifting.
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Answer againSources
- TreasuryDirect, I bonds interest rates: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/i-bonds/i-bonds-interest-rates/
- TreasuryDirect, Series I savings bond earnings rates chart: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/files/savings-bonds/i-bond-rate-chart.pdf
- 31 CFR Part 359, Series I savings bonds (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-359
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 16, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.