EE bond doubling: the 20-year step and the date of your bond
An EE bond issued since June 2003 is worth at least twice its price on its 20th anniversary, and when the rate falls short the Treasury pays the difference in one step that month.
Your EE bond is worth at least twice its price on
June 1, 2026
20 years after issue. It is then worth $10,408.00 for $5,000.00 paid.
| Price paid | $5,000.00 |
| Value at original maturity | $10,408.00 |
| Rate that doubling equals | 3.53 % |
| Interest stops | June 2036 |
EE bonds issued since May 2005 earn a fixed rate; the Treasury tops the value up to twice the price at 20 years if the rate has not done it.
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · rates read on treasurydirect.gov and fiscaldata.treasury.gov · not personal financial advice
For EE bonds issued since June 2003, the Treasury makes the value at least twice the purchase price on the first day of the month 20 years after issue, adding whatever the interest has not covered. Doubling in 20 years equals an annual yield of 3.53 %, or a stated rate of 3.50 % with the semiannual compounding the Treasury uses. New EE bonds bought from May 2026 to October 2026 earn a fixed 2.40 %, so a $1,000 bond of May 2026 would be worth $1,609.60 one month before its anniversary and $2,000.00 on May 1, 2046: a single step of $390.40. Cashed a month early, it would have returned only 2.42 % a year. A bond bought in June 2006 at 3.70 % doubled by its own rate and reached $2,081.60. After the anniversary the bond keeps earning until year 30. Paper EE bonds of May 1995 to May 2003 had the older version of the rule: face value, twice the price, at 17 years.
The rule in one sentence, and the rate it equals
An EE bond issued in June 2003 or later is worth at least twice what you paid for it on its 20th anniversary, and if the interest has not taken it there, the Treasury adds the difference that month (TreasuryDirect). Twice the money in 20 years is the same as 3.53 % a year compounded annually. Savings bonds compound every six months, so the stated rate that doubles in 20 years is slightly lower, 3.50 %. A fixed rate at or above that line doubles a bond by itself; anything below it relies on the step.
The current fixed rate for new EE bonds, 2.40 % for bonds issued from May 2026 to October 2026, is below it. The last window whose rate cleared the line on its own was the one that began in November 2006. For bonds bought since then, the step carries part of the return, and for the low-rate windows nearly all of it, paid in a single month two decades after purchase.
Your doubling date
The date is the first day of the issue month, 20 years later. A bond issued in June 2006 doubled on June 1, 2026; one issued in May 2026 doubles on May 1, 2046. The day of purchase within the month does not matter, because every savings bond is dated to the first of the month the Treasury receives the payment. Interest is added on the first of each month, so the bond shows its doubled value from that morning. For an electronic bond the doubling applies to the exact price paid, to the cent; for a paper bond it means reaching the face value printed on it, since the bond cost half of that.
Doubling date of an EE bond
Your EE bond is worth at least twice its price on
November 1, 2032
| Price paid | $2,500.00 |
| Value at original maturity | $5,000.00 |
| Value in Oct 2026 | $2,556.00 |
| Rate that doubling equals | 3.53 % |
A bond cashed before the date gets only its own interest. With the current 2.40 % rate, a $1,000 bond cashed one month before its anniversary would return $1,609.60, an annual yield of 2.42 %, against 3.53 % for the owner who waits one more month. No other date in the life of an EE bond is worth as much.
The step by purchase window
The table follows a $1,000 electronic bond bought in each May window since 2005 to its 20th anniversary. The step is the difference between the value the month before and the value on the date. When the rate is high enough, the step is just one month of ordinary interest; when it is low, the Treasury adds a large share of the price at once.
| Bought in | Fixed rate | Month before 20 years | At 20 years | Step | How it doubles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2005 | 3.50 % | $1,994.40 | $2,000.00 | $5.60 | by its rate |
| May 2006 | 3.70 % | $2,075.20 | $2,081.60 | $6.40 | by its rate |
| May 2007 | 3.40 % | $1,956.00 | $2,000.00 | $44.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2008 | 1.40 % | $1,320.00 | $2,000.00 | $680.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2009 | 0.70 % | $1,152.00 | $2,000.00 | $848.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2010 | 1.40 % | $1,320.00 | $2,000.00 | $680.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2011 | 1.10 % | $1,241.60 | $2,000.00 | $758.40 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2012 | 0.60 % | $1,128.00 | $2,000.00 | $872.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2013 | 0.20 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2014 | 0.50 % | $1,096.00 | $2,000.00 | $904.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2015 | 0.30 % | $1,064.00 | $2,000.00 | $936.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2016 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2017 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2018 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2019 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2020 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2021 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2022 | 0.10 % | $1,032.00 | $2,000.00 | $968.00 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2023 | 2.50 % | $1,640.80 | $2,000.00 | $359.20 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2024 | 2.70 % | $1,707.20 | $2,000.00 | $292.80 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2025 | 2.70 % | $1,707.20 | $2,000.00 | $292.80 | Treasury adds the rest |
| May 2026 | 2.40 % | $1,609.60 | $2,000.00 | $390.40 | Treasury adds the rest |
The June 2006 bond of the calculator above is in the self-doubling group: at 3.70 % it passed twice its price on its own and was worth $2,081.60 on its anniversary, slightly more than double. Bonds bought from November 2011 to October 2022 sit at the other end, with rates under 1 %. Their value barely moves for two decades, and nearly all of their interest is the Treasury's step, up to $968.00 on a $1,000 bond in the table.
After the 20th anniversary
The bond does not stop at 20 years. It keeps earning, now on the doubled value, until 30 years after issue, when interest ends and an electronic bond is paid out automatically. TreasuryDirect states that new EE bonds earn their fixed rate for the first 20 years and that it may change the rate or the method after that. The calculator here keeps the issue rate for years 21 to 30; on that basis, the $1,000 bond of May 2026 would reach $2,538.40 at final maturity. If the Treasury announces a different rate for that stretch, the later values change and the doubled amount does not.
Value of an EE bond in a later year
What your bond is worth
$20,000.00
| Price paid | $10,000.00 |
| Interest earned | $10,000.00 |
| Rate in this period | 0.10 % |
| Penalty | none after 5 years |
The older rule: face value at 17 years
EE bonds issued from May 1995 through May 2003 work differently. Their target is face value, which for a paper bond is twice the price, at 17 years (TreasuryDirect, TreasuryDirect). That equals an annual yield of 4.16 %. A $100 paper bond of May 2002 was worth $73.40 one month before its 17th anniversary and $100.00 on it. These bonds have all passed that point; they earn a variable rate until year 30.
The doubling makes the EE bond a long-hold product: little growth for years, then one large jump. EE bonds today sets out the purchase rules, I bonds against EE bonds compares the two over 20 years, and savings bond taxes covers the year the step is reported.