Savings Bonds After Death: Who Can Cash Them?
The names on a U.S. savings bond determine who can claim it after a death. Learn which paperwork applies and how to handle the tax on interest.
If you're named on a paper savings bond as the surviving co-owner or beneficiary, the bond passes directly to you. If nobody named on it is alive, it belongs to the estate of the person who died last. The estate is the money and property that person left behind.
You may find the bonds while sorting through a relative's papers. Before taking them to a bank, check the names on each one. Having the paper in your possession doesn't give you the right to cash it.
If the bonds are in TreasuryDirect
Contact TreasuryDirect about the owner's death. Treasury will put a hold on the account and tell you what documents it needs. Follow those instructions for electronic bonds; the forms below cover paper bonds.
If your name is on a paper bond
As the surviving co-owner or named beneficiary, you can claim the bond without going through the deceased owner's estate. For a Series EE or I bond still earning interest, you can keep it, cash it, or ask Treasury to reissue it in your name alone.
Reissuing a bond means changing its ownership record. Treasury reissues EE and I bonds electronically, so you'll need your own TreasuryDirect account for that option.
To cash paper EE or I bonds, call your bank before visiting. Ask whether it cashes savings bonds, what documents it requires, and whether it has a payment limit. If the bank can't help, Treasury accepts claims by mail.
Check the series printed on each bond. Older series have different rules. Banks cannot cash HH bonds; those must go to Treasury.
When the estate must claim the bonds
If no named co-owner or beneficiary survives, the paperwork depends on how the estate is being settled. A court-appointed representative is someone the court has authorized to handle the estate, such as an executor.
The table shows which Treasury instructions to follow. Each form lists the supporting documents you need.
| Estate status | Treasury route for paper bonds |
|---|---|
| A court-appointed representative is still handling the estate | For payment to the estate by mail, use FS Form 1522 with proof of appointment and death records. To transfer bonds to heirs, review FS Form 1455 and the forms each heir must submit. |
| The court-appointed representative has finished and been discharged | Review FS Form 5394. Include the final account, distribution order, or similar court records. |
| The estate used a state small-estate procedure | Review FS Form 5394 with the documents from that procedure. Treasury's examples include a small estate affidavit and Texas muniment of title. |
| No court administration or state small-estate procedure has happened or is planned | Review FS Form 5336. Both the estate and the person submitting it must meet the eligibility rules below. |
Who can use Form 5336?
Treasury calls this a non-administered estate. It means the estate has not used, and will not use, formal court administration or a special state small-estate procedure.
As of September 2026, this route also requires the estate's savings bonds and other Treasury securities to total $100,000 or less in redemption value at death. Redemption value is what they were worth to cash in at that time. This is a federal Treasury limit, separate from any state small-estate limit.
The person handling the claim is the voluntary representative. They must be at least 18, legally competent, and eligible under the family priority order in Part B of FS Form 5336. For example, a competent surviving spouse takes priority over an adult child.
The representative acts for everyone entitled to a share. Treasury requires all of the estate's bonds and other securities to be included in one transaction. Relatives should not submit separate claims for their shares.
Putting the paperwork together
For a paper-bond claim by mail:
1. List each bond's series, issue date, serial number, and registered names. Make copies before mailing the originals.
2. Gather the death certificates and estate documents required by the Treasury instructions for your situation. Check whether copies must be certified or show a court seal.
3. Fill out the forms. If a signature needs certification, wait to sign until you're with an official the form accepts.
4. Copy the completed packet and mail it to the address in the current instructions. Leave the bonds unsigned when Treasury requires it.
What if you can't find the bonds?
Treasury uses FS Form 1048 for lost, stolen, or destroyed savings bonds. Gather any surviving records of the names, issue dates, and serial numbers. The form also asks what happened to the bonds and why you're entitled to claim them.
If no legal representative has been appointed for a deceased owner, the form directs you to contact the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for instructions.
Older guides may point you to Treasury Hunt. That search tool closed on September 30, 2025. Treasury now directs people with missing bonds to its claim forms.
The interest may still be taxable
Inheriting an EE or I bond doesn't erase federal income tax on interest that hasn't been reported. Before filing the owner's final return, give the tax preparer the bond list, prior returns, and any Form 1099-INT.
If the owner bought the bonds entirely with their own money and postponed reporting interest, the person filing the final return has a choice. IRS Publication 550 allows them to include the interest earned before death on that return. If they do, the recipient reports only interest earned after death.
If the final return leaves that interest out, the recipient generally reports it along with later interest, except for any amount the estate reports.
Ask the preparer to record how much interest has already been reported. A Form 1099-INT can include that interest again, even though it shouldn't be taxed twice. Keep the explanation with the bond records so whoever receives the money has it.
Review note
Published September 8, 2026. Last reviewed September 8, 2026 against the official sources listed below. Legacywyse Journal articles provide general estate, probate, and personal finance information, not legal or tax advice.