I bond rates: the rate for new bonds and the one your bond earns
I bonds bought from May 1 to October 31, 2026 earn 4.26 %: a fixed rate of 0.90 % plus inflation of 1.67 % for six months. A bond you already own earns its own fixed rate plus the same inflation part.
Rate your bond earns
3.34 %
Series I bond issued March 2022, rate in October 2026.
| Fixed rate (for the life of the bond) | 0.00 % |
| Inflation rate, semiannual | 1.67 % |
| Period | Sep 2026 to Feb 2027 |
| Rate changes next | March 2027 |
| Period from | Annual rate |
|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 3.34 % |
| Mar 2026 | 3.12 % |
| Sep 2025 | 2.86 % |
| Mar 2025 | 1.90 % |
| Sep 2024 | 2.96 % |
| Mar 2024 | 3.94 % |
| Sep 2023 | 3.38 % |
| Mar 2023 | 6.48 % |
| Sep 2022 | 9.62 % |
| Mar 2022 | 7.12 % |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · rates read on treasurydirect.gov and fiscaldata.treasury.gov · not personal financial advice
The composite rate of an I bond has two parts. The fixed rate is set on the day you buy and never changes for 30 years; for bonds issued from May through October 2026 it is 0.90 %. The inflation rate is reset every May 1 and November 1 from the consumer price index (CPI-U); the one announced in May 2026 is 1.67 % for six months. The Treasury combines them as fixed + 2 × inflation + fixed × inflation, rounded to 0.01 %, which gives 4.26 % for new bonds, after 4.03 % for bonds bought from November 2025 to April 2026. Your own bond moves to a new inflation rate on its six-month anniversaries, not on May 1. A bond from March 2022, with a fixed rate of 0.00 %, earns 3.34 % in October 2026; one from November 2023, fixed at 1.30 %, earns 4.66 %. The next announcement is on November 1, 2026; its inflation part, already fixed by the CPI, is 2.04 %.
The last six announcements, side by side
Each row below is a six-month window. A bond bought inside the window gets its fixed rate for life and the composite rate in the last column for its first six months. After that it keeps the fixed rate and takes the inflation rate of the following announcements. The Treasury publishes the same figures in its rate history workbook (TreasuryDirect); we read it when the site is built.
| Bought in | Fixed rate | Inflation, 6 months | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 to October 2026 | 0.90 % | 1.67 % | 4.26 % |
| November 2025 to April 2026 | 0.90 % | 1.56 % | 4.03 % |
| May 2025 to October 2025 | 1.10 % | 1.43 % | 3.98 % |
| November 2024 to April 2025 | 1.20 % | 0.95 % | 3.11 % |
| May 2024 to October 2024 | 1.30 % | 1.48 % | 4.28 % |
| November 2023 to April 2024 | 1.30 % | 1.97 % | 5.27 % |
| May 2023 to October 2023 | 0.90 % | 1.69 % | 4.30 % |
| November 2022 to April 2023 | 0.40 % | 3.24 % | 6.89 % |
| May 2022 to October 2022 | 0.00 % | 4.81 % | 9.62 % |
| November 2021 to April 2022 | 0.00 % | 3.56 % | 7.12 % |
| May 2021 to October 2021 | 0.00 % | 1.77 % | 3.54 % |
| November 2020 to April 2021 | 0.00 % | 0.84 % | 1.68 % |
The highest composite rate ever paid on new I bonds was 9.62 %, for bonds bought from May 2022 to October 2022. Articles from 2022 and 2024 still rank for this question with those old figures; the rate in force is the one in the first row.
How the Treasury computes the composite rate
The formula is in 31 CFR 359, the regulation that governs Series I (eCFR). The semiannual inflation rate is the change in the CPI-U, all items, not seasonally adjusted, between September and March (for the May announcement) or between March and September (for November). The CPI-U of March 2026 was 330.213; six months earlier it was 324.8. The change is 1.67 %.
The composite then adds the fixed rate, doubles the inflation part to make it annual and adds a small cross term: 0.90 % + 2 × 1.67 % + 0.90 % × 1.67 % = 4.26 % after rounding. The cross term is tiny when both parts are small, but it is the reason a computed rate sometimes differs by 0.01 % from a quick mental sum.
Rate of an I bond in any month
Rate your bond earns
3.34 %
| Fixed rate (for the life of the bond) | 0.00 % |
| Inflation rate, semiannual | 1.67 % |
| Period | Sep 2026 to Feb 2027 |
| Rate changes next | March 2027 |
Your bond's rate, month by month
Interest is added on the first day of each month, and the rate changes only every six months from the issue month. A bond bought in January 2022 had its periods start in January and July; it took the November 2025 inflation rate in January 2026 and the May 2026 one in July 2026. That is why two people holding I bonds can see different rates on the same day even with the same fixed rate. The calculator above lists every period of your bond so far, so you can see what it earned in each half-year and what it earns now.
For values in dollars rather than rates, the savings bond value table and the home page calculator apply these rates to the Treasury's valuation rules, with the three-month penalty for bonds under five years old.
The fixed rate decides the long run
Over 30 years the inflation part only keeps pace with prices; the fixed rate is the return above inflation. Bonds bought from September 1998 to October 2001 carry fixed rates of 3 % or more, and they earn more than any new bond today as long as they are under 30 years old. Bonds bought from May 2020 to October 2022 have a fixed rate of zero: they track inflation and nothing more. The full history of fixed rates shows which window your bond belongs to, and the cash or keep calculator compares the penalty with what a new bond would pay.
Buying in October or in November
The issue month of a savings bond is the month the Treasury receives your payment, and interest counts from the first day of that month. A bond bought on October 30 is dated October 1: it keeps the fixed rate of the May to October window for 30 years and earns the current composite until April 1, then the inflation part announced in November. A bond bought on November 2 gets the new fixed rate and the new inflation part at once. When the inflation part is already known, as it is a few weeks before each announcement, the choice comes down to whether you expect the new fixed rate to be higher or lower than 0.90 %.
November 1, 2026
The inflation part of the next rate is already set by arithmetic. The CPI-U of September 2026, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is 336.94; against 330.213 in March, that is 2.04 % for six months. Only the fixed rate for new bonds is unknown until the announcement. The next rate page shows what each fixed rate would give and when your own bond moves to the new inflation part.