Serial Number On A Bond

Note: The Calculator is for paper bonds only. To learn the value of your electronic savings bonds, log in to your TreasuryDirect account.

The United States Treasury Department used to sell savings bonds in the form of paper certificates. Each bond was identified by a unique serial number. Starting in January, 2012, the Treasury Department stopped selling paper bonds. Today’s electronic bonds sold online through Treasury Direct don’t. Therefore, the bonds do not need to be reissued to correct the number, she said. But you can correct the number by writing a letter to the Treasury Retail Securities Services with the incorrect number, correct number, serial number of the bond, issue date, denomination and the name of the owner and beneficiary, she said. Jan 11, 2021 When you're ready to calculate the value of your savings bond, there's some information you'll need to know, including your bond's: Type. Once you have this information, you can use a savings bond calculator to find out how much your bond is worth right now.

To find what your paper bond is worth today:

Serial numbers have been replaced by Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures numbers, the same type of individual identifiers that are used for stocks. CUSIP numbers identify the. The serial number on a bond is a means of protecting the investor’s interest in the value of the asset. The history of savings bonds The Savings Bonds Program started in 1935 during the Roosevelt administration. A bond that cost investors $18.75 had a face value of $25, according to Zacks.

Click the 'Get Started' Link on the Savings Bond Calculator home page.
Once open, choose the series and denomination of your paper bond from the series and denomination drop down boxes.
Enter the issue date that is printed on the paper bond. Note: Enter two-digit months (e.g. 01, 12) and four-digit years (e.g. 1985 or 2001). If you're not sure where to find the issue date or serial number of your paper bond, see our bond diagram.
Click the 'Calculate' button.

To build an inventory of paper bonds:

Repeat the above process for each of your paper bonds.
The Calculator will add each new paper bond to the top of your inventory listing.

To find the value of paper bonds in past or future months:

If you'd like to see what your paper bonds were worth in the past or will be worth in the near future:

Change the 'Value as of' date at the top of the Calculator to the desired date.
Click 'Update'.
Your inventory will update to show the values of your paper bonds as of the date you enter.
The Calculator can show you what your paper bonds were worth from January 1996 through the current rate period.

Not sure what data the Calculator is giving you?

If you have questions about any of the fields that are displayed, here are short descriptions of the fields displayed by the Calculator.

Bond Serial Number–The serial number can be found in the lower right corner of your paper savings bond. This information is not required, but is important for record-keeping purposes if your paper bonds are ever lost or destroyed.
‘Value as of’ Date–When you first open the Savings Bond Calculator, it shows what your paper bonds are worth today. If you want to see what they're worth in other months, you can change the 'Value as of' date. The Calculator can show what your paper bonds are worth in any month from January 1996 through the current rate period.
Series–The series can be found in the upper right corner of your paper savings bond. This Calculator provides values for paper savings bonds of these series: EE, I, E.
Denomination–The face value as shown in the upper left corner of your paper bond.
Issue Date–The date your paper bond was issued. It’s the month and year printed on the right side of your paper bond, below the series.
# Bonds–The number of paper bonds you’ve entered into this inventory.
Total Price–The total money you paid to buy the paper bonds in this inventory.
Total Interest–The combined amount of payable interest accumulated by the paper bonds listed in this inventory through the date listed in the ‘Value as of’ box.
Total Value–The combined cash value of the paper bonds listed in this inventory as of the date in the ‘Value as of’ box. This is what you’d receive if you cashed all of these paper bonds in that month.
YTD Interest– Year-to-Date interest. The total amount of interest accumulated by the paper bonds in this inventory from January of the year listed in the ‘Value as of’ box through the date given.
Issue Price–The money you paid to buy each paper bond in this inventory.
Interest–The amount of interest each paper bond has accumulated from its Issue Date through the ‘Value as of’ date.
Note: If a bond was issued May 1997 or later and it’s cashed before it’s five years old, it’s subject to a three-month interest penalty. The interest shown here incorporates this penalty.
Value–What each paper bond is worth as of the date given in the ‘Value as of’ field.
Interest Rate–The interest rate each bond is earning in the date listed in the ‘Value as of’ field. We use this rate to calculate the interest that accumulates on the Next Accrual Date.
Next Accrual–The first date after the date specified in the ‘Value as of’ box that each bond increases in value.
Final Maturity–The date each bond stops earning interest.
N/A–A bond’s current interest rate is not available. This means that
a) The bond has stopped earning interest;
or
b) We won’t know the rate the bond earns during the ‘Value as of’ date until the next rate period when new interest rates are announced;
or
c) The rate the bond earns can’t be retrieved from the database.
Note–Here are brief descriptions about special bond designations.
- NI. Not Issued–You changed the ‘ Value as of ’ date to a date before the paper bond was issued.
- NE. Not Eligible for Payment–Bonds with this designation can't be cashed until they are at least 12 months old.
- P5–Bonds issued May 1997 or later that are less than five years old include a three-month interest penalty.
- MA. Matured–This paper bond is matured and not earning interest. (used with 'Value as of' dates for September 2004 and after).

Want to save your inventory?

Note: The Calculator won't save your inventory of paper bonds if you're using either of these browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge.

You can save your inventory so you can update your paper bond values quickly and easily. All you need to do is use your browser's built-in saving function. Click the 'Save' button in the results area and then when the list appears, click 'File' and 'Save As' and name your inventory. Make sure that you save your file as an 'HTML Only' file and click 'Save.' If you'd like more detail, check out our Instructions for Saving Your Inventory Page.

Having problems loading your saved inventory file?

If you saved your inventory on the main Calculator screen and then attempt to reopen the file, you will get a page that has words on the left-hand side of the screen and you won’t immediately see your data.

Scroll down the page until you see an area that says “Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s).” In that area there’s an Update button. See the image below:

Click on the Update button and your inventory will be restored in the Savings Bond Calculator.

How do you find a serial number on a bond

Be sure to click on the “How to Save Your Inventory” button before you resave your file to get complete instructions.

Do you report savings bond interest to the IRS every year as it accrues?

Serial Number On Prize Bonds

If you report interest annually, check out the Calculator's YTD Interest feature. It reports the amount of interest your paper bonds have accrued from the start of a year through the date you enter in the 'Value as of' section. Here's how you can use this feature to calculate the amount of interest your paper bonds accrued in one calendar year:

List the paper bonds you want to report annually.
Enter December of the tax year in the 'Value as of' box. For example, if you want to find the interest your paper bonds accrued in 1999, enter '12/1999' in the 'Value as of' box.
Find the value in the 'YTD Interest' box. That's the amount of interest your paper bonds accrued that year.

What Does Serial Bond Mean?

In other words, a serial bond matures in steps where a portion of the principle is payable at specific dates during the bond’s life. This is unlike a traditional bond that matures at one date with the complete principle payment coming due at the end of its bond term.

Example

Take a $50,000 five-year serial bond for example. This bond has a life of five years and could mature in five equal payments. This means that in addition to interest, the bond issuer would have to make a $10,000 principle payment each year until the full bond is paid off.

In contrast, a traditional five-year bond would pay interest for five years without making a single principle payment. Then at the end of the term, the bond issuer would have to repay the entire principle in one payment.

Investors often prefer serial bonds because they are guaranteed to get their investment back sooner. In this case, the bondholders would get a fifth of their investment back each year in addition to the interest.

If investors are unsure about the company and want to decrease their risk, they can also require that the issuer set up a sinking fund before the bonds are issued. This requires the bond issuer to set aside assets as a type of collateral for the bond payments.

Where Is The Serial Number On A Bond

Serial bonds are reported on the balance sheet of the bond issuer as a long-term liability. Conversely, the bondholder reports these investments on its balance sheet as a current or non-current receivable in the asset section.

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