How do I sell my Treasury bills after maturity? (2024)

How do I sell my Treasury bills after maturity?

To sell a bill you hold in TreasuryDirect

Upon maturity of the T-bills, when will I receive the principal amount? On maturity, the principal amount will be credited to your respective account by the end of the day, typically after 6pm. For cash applications: The principal amount will be credited to your designated Direct Crediting Service bank account.

Reinvest or Redeem Treasury Bills

If you hold a bill in TreasuryDirect, when the bill matures, you can reinvest it or redeem it.

You can sell a T-Bill before its maturity date without penalty, although you will be charged a commission. (With CDs, you pay a sizeable penalty for early withdrawals.)

Treasury securities are considered a safe and secure investment option because the full faith and credit of the U.S. government guarantees that interest and principal payments will be paid on time. Also, most Treasury securities are liquid, which means they can easily be sold for cash.

The only interest payment to you occurs when your bill matures. At that time, you are paid the par amount (also called face value) of the bill.

You can cash paper bonds at a bank or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's TreasuryDirect website. Not all banks offer the service, and many only provide it if you are an account holder, according to a NerdWallet analysis of the 20 largest U.S. banks.

When the bill matures, you are paid its face value. You can hold a bill until it matures or sell it before it matures.

You can hold Treasury bills until they mature or sell them before they mature. To sell a bill you hold in TreasuryDirect or Legacy TreasuryDirect, first transfer the bill to a bank, broker, or dealer, then ask the bank, broker, or dealer to sell the bill for you.

Interest income from Treasury securities is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local taxes. Income from Treasury bills is paid at maturity and, thus, tax-reportable in the year in which it is received.

What is the disadvantage of US Treasury bills?

T-bills pay a fixed rate of interest, which can provide a stable income. However, if interest rates rise, existing T-bills fall out of favor since their return is less than the market. T-bills have interest rate risk, which means there is a risk that existing bondholders might lose out on higher rates in the future.

T-Bill Tax Considerations

The interest income that you may receive from investing in a treasury bill is exempt from any state or local income taxes, regardless of the state where you file your taxes. However, you will need to report interest income from these investments on your federal tax return.

Key Takeaways

Interest from Treasury bills (T-bills) is subject to federal income taxes but not state or local taxes. The interest income received in a year is recorded on Form 1099-INT. Investors can opt to have up to 50% of their Treasury bills' interest earnings automatically withheld.

When you buy T-bills through your bank, it may charge you additional fees and expenses such as sales commissions or transaction charges. These extra costs can add up over time and eat into your returns on your investment.

If you want to sell T-bills before maturity, you must hold the asset in TreasuryDirect for at least 45 days before transferring it to your brokerage account.

Investors can choose to hold Treasury notes until maturity or sell them early in the secondary market. There's no minimum holding term.

While interest rates and inflation can affect Treasury bill rates, they're generally considered a lower-risk (but lower-reward) investment than other debt securities. Treasury bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. If held to maturity, T-bills are considered virtually risk-free.

Most stocks and bonds settle within two business days after the transaction date. This two-day window is called the T+2. Government bills, bonds, and options settle the next business day.

Constant maturity is an adjustment for equivalent maturity, used by the Federal Reserve Board to compute an index based on the average yield of various Treasury securities maturing at different periods.

Banks and credit unions can redeem savings bonds over the counter.

How long does it take to get money from TreasuryDirect?

You just bought a security from the U.S. Treasury. Securities are generally issued to your account within two business days of the purchase date for savings bonds or within one week of the auction date for Bills, Notes, Bonds, FRNs, and TIPS.

When a Treasury bond matures – meaning it has reached its maturity date and expires – the investor is paid out the full face value of the bond. So if the bondholder holds a Treasury bond worth $10,000, he or she will receive the $10,000 principal back, as well as earning interest on the investment.

You cannot sell a Treasury marketable security directly from your TreasuryDirect account. To sell a Treasury marketable security that is in your TreasuryDirect account, you must transfer the security to a broker/dealer account. The broker/dealer can sell the security for you.

3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.26%, compared to 5.26% the previous market day and 5.00% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 4.19%. The 3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is the yield received for investing in a government issued treasury security that has a maturity of 3 months.

2 When the market consensus is that a rate increase is right around the corner, it's time to go to market. Unless you are set on holding your bonds until maturity despite the upcoming availability of more lucrative options, a looming interest rate hike should be a clear sell signal.