The I Bond Thread

[bookman51]

Bookman, if you were trying to purchase a gift, it won't show up where the rest of YOUR bonds are. Have you tried looking in the Gift Box and see if your missing $10,000 is there?

Yes, I looked there and no bonds. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Finance Dave]

Yes, I looked there and no bonds. Thanks for the suggestion.

Do you know any deaf people? If so, have them call the TDD line for the deaf if you can find one…probably not a long wait there.

 

[cyber888]

On May 20, 2022, I attempted to purchase via TreasuryDirect a gift for my wife a Series I bond for delivery in early January 2023. I did it incorrectly and I got an e-mail on May 23, 2022 stating "Your purchase exceeds the annual savings bond purchase. . . . You should receive your refund approxiately 8 to 10 weeks from the date of purchase." Today is October 19, 2022, and I have not received the refund. Treasury does not respond to e-mails. I have written them with no response. I have contacted one of my U.S. Senators who then had an aide contact Treasury, and he just got a form response. I have tried calling but the wait time is over two hours. This morning I tried calling at 8 a.m. Washington, D. C. time (7 a.m. my time) and again told the wait time would be over two hours. The phone message tells me a total of 13 weeks processing time. That amount of time has long since passed. It took Treasury just a few hours to remove $10,000 from my bank account. Now 5 months later it has not been returned. Any suggestions as to what I can do next?

What was the incorrect part?

 

[aboatguy]

I understand buying up to a 10k gift bond a few months early in order to lock in the "current high" interest rate. What I do not understand on why people would buy 50 or 60K worth of give I bonds. I bonds usually do not out perform other investments and if you bought 60K for a spouse you are locked into keeping that money in the bonds for years are potentially low rates. The 10K per year limit per recipient with 60K in the gift at least 5 years for the last 10K to even leave the gift box)

Am I wrong, what am I not seeing?

 

[misanman]

DW just bought $5K of iBonds as a "gift" for me - Thank You!

 

[Finance Dave]

I understand buying up to a 10k gift bond a few months early in order to lock in the "current high" interest rate. What I do not understand on why people would buy 50 or 60K worth of give I bonds. I bonds usually do not out perform other investments and if you bought 60K for a spouse you are locked into keeping that money in the bonds for years are potentially low rates. The 10K per year limit per recipient with 60K in the gift at least 5 years for the last 10K to even leave the gift box)

Am I wrong, what am I not seeing?

you don’t have to keep them for years….only 1 year. You only pay a “most recent” 3 month interest penalty after that…then you can reinvest if rates decrease. I bought $60k and can get rid of ALL of it within about 15 months. The clock begins when you BUY the bond, not when you deliver it. I bought $10k for myself and gifts for DW $10k each for 2023 and 2024. So I could cash in the 2023 gift in late 2023, and the 2024 gift in early 2024. Then bought $10k in DW’s name for 2022, and 2 gifts for me for 2023 and 2024…so that doubles to make up the other $30k of the $60k total.

I think the odds that rates will stay relatively high until at least early 2024 are very good.


Another reason people may buy these long into the future is an inflation hedge…yes HISTORICALLY they’ve not done well, but historically we’ve not had a lot of things….these are different times.

 

[aboatguy]

you don’t have to keep them for years….only 1 year. You only pay a “most recent” 3 month interest penalty after that…then you can reinvest if rates decrease. I bought $60k and can get rid of ALL of it within about 15 months. The clock begins when you BUY the bond, not when you deliver it. I bought $10k for myself and gifts for DW $10k each for 2023 and 2024. So I could cash in the 2023 gift in late 2023, and the 2024 gift in early 2024. Then bought $10k in DW’s name for 2022, and 2 gifts for me for 2023 and 2024…so that doubles to make up the other $30k of the $60k total.

I think the odds that rates will stay relatively high until at least early 2024 are very good.


Another reason people may buy these long into the future is an inflation hedge…yes HISTORICALLY they’ve not done well, but historically we’ve not had a lot of things….these are different times.

Yes, if you are using 2 people only 2-3 years of gift limit . I have read about folks gifting 50-60K each which would require years at the current annual limit.

 

[Sunset]

I understand buying up to a 10k gift bond a few months early in order to lock in the "current high" interest rate. What I do not understand on why people would buy 50 or 60K worth of give I bonds. I bonds usually do not out perform other investments and if you bought 60K for a spouse you are locked into keeping that money in the bonds for years are potentially low rates. The 10K per year limit per recipient with 60K in the gift at least 5 years for the last 10K to even leave the gift box)

Am I wrong, what am I not seeing?

For us the $60K gifts are spread over 2 people, so 2023,2024,2025 , about 2.5 years in total. The avg ~8% for the first year is a giant kicker, remaining rates can be lower and still be fine.

The other factor is , this is a small hedge for inflation, should it go up to 18% inflation which is always possible, these will be great. If inflation goes down to 3% in 2 years, all other interest rates will go down, so they will still pay an ok rate until cashed.

 

[yooper66]

Do all I-Bonds purchased prior to the current 9.6% interest period earn the 9.6%?

 

[coveredbridge]

Do all I-Bonds purchased prior to the current 9.6% interest period earn the 9.6%?

For six months they do. Rate is going down to about 6.5% beginning November 1

 

[cyber888]

If you are adding more gifts, do you have to re-do and fill up the Beneficiary form again in order to check "This is a gift". I did a gift for 2023 and now I want to add something for 2024. If I reuse the old Registration name, it does not show the 'gift option'

 

[jollystomper]

Yes, if you are using 2 people only 2-3 years of gift limit . I have read about folks gifting 50-60K each which would require years at the current annual limit.

It just depends on how far out people want to go. I am comfortable with gifting for 2023 and 2024. The one year minimum period for the 2023 gift deliveries will be April 2023, and the one year minimum period for the 2024 gift deliveries will be a year from now. I plan to wait until April 2023 to see what the next rate is before deciding to go out to 2025.

 

[jollystomper]

If you are adding more gifts, do you have to re-do and fill up the Beneficiary form again in order to check "This is a gift". I did a gift for 2023 and now I want to add something for 2024. If I reuse the old Registration name, it does not show the 'gift option'

It will not show the gift option until the screen after you select it. On the screen where you execute the purchase, the summary of what you are purchasing should include the phrase "this is a gift".

 

[Sunset]

If you are adding more gifts, do you have to re-do and fill up the Beneficiary form again in order to check "This is a gift". I did a gift for 2023 and now I want to add something for 2024. If I reuse the old Registration name, it does not show the 'gift option'

If you add a registration name, with beneficiary then you can reuse it (select from the dropdown box of registrants).

 

[Sunset]

Do all I-Bonds purchased prior to the current 9.6% interest period earn the 9.6%?

Yes, I-bonds change the rate every 6 months, so they all get the 9.6% rate plus their own fixed rate.
I bought some I-bonds when the inflation rate was 7.21%, those earn the 7.21% for 6 months, then they earn 9.6% for 6 months, then earn ? for the next 6 months.... etc etc...
My I-bonds fixed rate is 0%, the rate most folks mention is the 2nd rate applied which is the inflation rate.

From Treasury site: "Series I savings bonds protect you from inflation. With an I bond, you earn both a fixed rate of interest and a rate that changes with inflation. Twice a year, we set the inflation rate for the next 6 months."

 

[cyber888]

It will not show the gift option until the screen after you select it. On the screen where you execute the purchase, the summary of what you are purchasing should include the phrase "this is a gift".

The next page actually tells me that I may be using my yearly limit and it will take 12 weeks to refund it, and then it is asking if I will proceed or not .. that's scary. If I click YES, it may not lead me to the that page where I can choose it as a gift.

 

[cyber888]

When I'm gifting my wife today, after entering the $10,000 amount and choosing my bank source, and the "one time" purchase, it is not taking me to the page where I can "edit" and finalize the transaction. Instead it is taking me to this (see below), and I'm afraid to click YES.

===================

IMPORTANT - As stated in the Code of Federal Regulations:

The principal amount of book-entry savings bonds that you may acquire in any calendar year is limited to $10,000 for Series EE savings bonds and $10,000 for Series I savings bonds. Any purchase in excess of $10,000 is in violation of the regulation and will be refunded.

The excess bond(s) will be removed from your TreasuryDirect account and refund will be made to the bank account of record. Continued violation of federal regulations may cause your TreasuryDirect account to be closed/suspended.

Helpful tips:

The limit is applied per social security number (SSN) of the first-named registrant or employer identification number (EIN) of an entity.
You may purchase additional Series I bonds in TreasuryDirect using your IRS tax refund, in accordance with IRS guidelines, up to $5,000 or your refund amount, whichever is smaller.
If this purchase will cause you to exceed the $10,000 annual limitation, a refund of the full purchase amount will be made to the bank account where the purchase originated.

NOTE: It may take up to 12 weeks to receive your refund.

Do you want to proceed?

 

[daver]

The page that then warns about the $10k limit fails to mention gifts which could scare people away. I just clicked through it and was fine.

Be sure the registrant that you are using is a gift registrant, i.e. you checked the "this is a gift" checkbox when you created the registrant.

 

[Sunset]

When I'm gifting my wife today, after entering the $10,000 amount and choosing my bank source, and the "one time" purchase, it is not taking me to the page where I can "edit" and finalize the transaction. Instead it is taking me to this (see below), and I'm afraid to click YES.

....

It's been so long and they have changed their site, so I don't know.
But I do know, the first time I bought a bond or did other financial transactions I do a small token amount.
If you don't have some spare $10K sitting around to try again, while waiting for TreasuryDirect to refund because of a mistake. Do a small test of $100.
There is no limit to the number of gifts a person can buy another person, so if the $100 goes through fine, then you can do a $9,900 gift , and some year give both in 1 year to make the $10K limit (original purchase amt of gifts).

 

[cyber888]

The page that then warns about the $10k limit fails to mention gifts which could scare people away. I just clicked through it and was fine.

Be sure the registrant that you are using is a gift registrant, i.e. you checked the "this is a gift" checkbox when you created the registrant.

Ok so you can still "edit" the amount after you click thru that warning page, before everything if finalized ?

 

[bobbyr]

We overpaid for 2021 taxes back in April and our cpa filled out and included the form for iBond (8888?) - I have yet to receive anything in the mail, and not sure how this works. Is there a paper iBond to be sent to me?

I did see this on the 8888 pdf:
If you have determined that the IRS
processed your refund and placed the
order for your bonds, you can contact the
Treasury Retail Securities site at
844-284-2676 to ask about the status of
your bonds.

So I'll calll this number, just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this...

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Looks like I will have another 5K for T-Bills

So, finally did my income taxes a week before the extension was due. I had a refund over 5K, so I decided to put 5K of it towards an extra I-bond purchase.

I was wondering when the tax return would be processed and if I could get in under the wire to capture the 9+% rate (for 6 months). I also had a bit of the refund applied to next years taxes (I sold a lot of stock early in the year and have capital gains), and a small (hundred $ or so) to be deposited at my credit union. I did that (deposit to credit union) so that I would know when the IRS processed the return.

Well, puzzle me this morning when I see a $5000+ deposit in my checking account from the IRS. Hmm. I get on the IRS site and the return transcript shows the form 8888 setup (5K to I-bond), but the "account transcript" showing the 5k+ refund to my credit union. Above it, it shows two code 917's with $0 amounts....dated in November, 2022. So, I guess they will (eventually) be sending me some sort of correspondence. I checked, and no notices are on my account to review.

Sigh. I could call them but honestly it isn't worth the hassle of waiting and having to call in multiple times (when the # tells me there are too many calls waiting) just to find out that for whatever reason the 5K paper I-bond won't be happening.

 

[jollystomper]

The next page actually tells me that I may be using my yearly limit and it will take 12 weeks to refund it, and then it is asking if I will proceed or not .. that's scary. If I click YES, it may not lead me to the that page where I can choose it as a gift.

Yeah, I forgot about that page. I tend to just quickly skim those "Danger Will Robinson!" type screens as there is usually another screen after for review and confirm. If you click past that one, you get a page to review the purchase details, where it should say "this is a gift", before completing the purchase.

 

[bobbyr]

So, finally did my income taxes a week before the extension was due. I had a refund over 5K, so I decided to put 5K of it towards an extra I-bond purchase.

I was wondering when the tax return would be processed and if I could get in under the wire to capture the 9+% rate (for 6 months). I also had a bit of the refund applied to next years taxes (I sold a lot of stock early in the year and have capital gains), and a small (hundred $ or so) to be deposited at my credit union. I did that (deposit to credit union) so that I would know when the IRS processed the return.

Well, puzzle me this morning when I see a $5000+ deposit in my checking account from the IRS. Hmm. I get on the IRS site and the return transcript shows the form 8888 setup (5K to I-bond), but the "account transcript" showing the 5k+ refund to my credit union. Above it, it shows two code 917's with $0 amounts....dated in November, 2022. So, I guess they will (eventually) be sending me some sort of correspondence. I checked, and no notices are on my account to review.

Sigh. I could call them but honestly it isn't worth the hassle of waiting and having to call in multiple times (when the # tells me there are too many calls waiting) just to find out that for whatever reason the 5K paper I-bond won't be happening.

I found nothing in my bank records from April.

I called the 844 number and it said 2 hour wait time...ugh

 

[cyber888]

Yeah, I forgot about that page. I tend to just quickly skim those "Danger Will Robinson!" type screens as there is usually another screen after for review and confirm. If you click past that one, you get a page to review the purchase details, where it should say "this is a gift", before completing the purchase.

Thanks! I went ahead and purchased $10k gift for wife and $10K gift from her to me, which we can deliver on 2024. We already bought for 2022, 2023, and now 2024.

Oct. 22 - Jan. 2024 (minus the 3 months) will still average around 8% (9.62% + 6.48%)