Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 8815 is the Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989. You use it to figure how much of the interest on bonds you cashed may be left out of income when you paid qualified higher education expenses. The form stops the exclusion at the income limits printed on line 9, and the result on line 14 goes to Schedule B (Form 1040), line 3.
What Form 8815 is for
The form states its purpose in its General Instructions: “If you cashed series EE or I U.S. savings bonds in 2025 that were issued after 1989, you may be able to exclude from your income part or all of the interest on those bonds.” It then says what the form does: “Use this form to figure the amount of any interest you may exclude.”
The form is attached to the main return. The header reads “Attach to Form 1040 or 1040-SR.” Nothing on the form tells you to file it by itself, so it travels with the individual return.
Who can take the exclusion
The instructions set four conditions: “You can take the exclusion if all four of the following apply.” They are “You cashed qualified U.S. savings bonds in 2025 that were issued after 1989.”, “You paid qualified higher education expenses in 2025 for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents.”, “Your filing status is any status except married filing separately.”, and an income test on modified adjusted gross income.
The income test is stated with its figures: “Your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $114,500 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or $179,250 if married filing jointly.”
The bonds also have to be in the right name and bought at the right age. “To qualify for the exclusion, the bonds must be series EE or I U.S. savings bonds issued after 1989 in your name, or, if you are married, they may be issued in your name and your spouse” The form adds an age condition for the owner: “Also, you must have been age 24 or older before the bonds were issued.” It also closes a gap for children: “A bond bought by a parent and issued in the name of his or her child under age 24 does not qualify for the exclusion by the parent or child.”
The lines, in order
Lines 1 to 8 work out how much of the bond interest is tied to the education spending. Lines 9 to 14 apply the income limit and give the excludable amount. The table follows the printed lines.
| Line | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Line 1 | “Name of person (you, your spouse, or your dependent) who” |
| Line 2 | “Enter the total qualified higher education expenses you paid in 2025 for the person(s) listed in column” |
| Line 3 | “Enter the total of any nontaxable educational benefits (such as nontaxable scholarship or fellowship” |
| Line 4 | “Subtract line 3 from line 2. If zero or less, stop. You cannot take the exclusion” |
| Line 5 | “Enter the total proceeds (principal and interest) from all series EE and I U.S. savings bonds issued” |
| Line 6 | “Enter the interest included on line 5. See instructions” |
| Line 7 | “If line 4 is less than line 5, divide line 4 by line 5.” |
| Line 8 | “Multiply line 6 by line 7” |
| Line 9 | “Enter your modified adjusted gross income. See instructions” |
| Line 10 | “Enter $99,500 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or” |
| Line 11 | “Subtract line 10 from line 9. If zero or less, skip line 12” |
| Line 12 | “Divide line 11 by $15,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or $30,000 if” |
| Line 13 | “Multiply line 8 by line 12” |
| Line 14 | “Excludable savings bond interest. Subtract line 13 from line 8.” |
Line 4 is a gate. If the result is zero or less, the printed instruction is “If zero or less, stop. You cannot take the exclusion”. Line 14 is where the answer goes: “Enter the result here and on” “Schedule B (Form 1040), line 3”.
Qualified expenses and educational benefits
Line 2 covers what counts as spending. “Qualified higher education expenses include tuition and fees required for the enrollment or attendance of the person(s) listed on line 1, column (a)”. “They also include contributions to a Coverdell ESA or a QTP for the person(s) listed on line 1.”
Some costs are named as outside the line. Qualified expenses do not include “Room and board; or” and “Courses involving sports, games, or hobbies that are not part of a” degree or certificate granting program. “Do not include on line 2 expenses that were:” covered by nontaxable benefits paid directly to or by the school, used to figure an education credit on Form 8863, or used to figure the nontaxable part of a Coverdell ESA or QTP distribution.
Line 3 picks up benefits that already covered part of the cost. The form lists “Veterans’ educational assistance benefits.” It also lists “Payments, waivers, or reimbursements of educational expenses under” a QTP, among others. “Do not include on line 3 nontaxable educational benefits paid directly” to or by the school.
The income limits and line 9
Line 9 asks for modified adjusted gross income, and the form prints the limit right under it.
| Item | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Stop point on line 9 | “If line 9 is $114,500 or more if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or $179,250 or more if married filing jointly, stop.” |
| Line 10 starting amounts | “Enter $99,500 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or” |
| Line 12 divisors | “Divide line 11 by $15,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse; or $30,000 if” |
| Bond issue year | “issued after 1989” |
| Age condition | “you must have been age 24 or older before the bonds were issued” |
| Paper series EE worksheet step | “Multiply line 2 by 50% (0.50)” |
The instructions for line 9 begin with a set of steps. One of them is “If you received social security benefits, use Pub. 915 to figure the taxable amount of your benefits.” Another adds back certain items to AGI, such as the “Foreign earned income exclusion.” The Line 9 Worksheet is marked “keep a copy for your records”.
Records to keep and where to read more
The instructions list two kinds of proof: “Bills, receipts, canceled checks, or other documents showing you paid” qualified education costs, and “A written record of each post-1989 series EE or I bond that you” cashed. “Your record must include the serial number, issue date, face” value, and total redemption proceeds of each bond. The form names “Form 8818, Optional Form To Record Redemption of” Series EE and I bonds as one way to keep that record.
The IRS keeps the current form and its updates on the About Form 8815 page. The education credit rules that sit next to this exclusion are on the About Form 8863 page.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is Form 8815 (2025), created 12/3/25, with the instructions printed inside the same PDF. It is the revision irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you are attaching, because a later revision can change the income limits, the line layout and the worksheets.
Common mistakes
- Using the form when the filing status is married filing separately. The instructions say “Your filing status is any status except married filing separately.”
- Counting room and board as an education expense on line 2. The form excludes it: “Room and board; or”
- Reusing the same expenses for a credit. The form says “Used to figure an education credit on Form 8863;” belongs outside line 2.
- Cashing bonds bought for a child by a parent and expecting the exclusion. The form says “does not qualify for the exclusion by the parent or child.”
Related: I bond education tax exclusion, Form 1099-INT box 3, and I bond interest reporting election.
Sources
- Form 8815 (2025), Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8815.pdf
Read from the agency documents linked above on October 19, 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.