Treasury Department Sets Online Savings Bond Annual Purchase Limit at $10,000 per Series

FOR RELEASE AT 10:00 AM

January 4, 2012

The annual purchase limit for online United States Savings Bonds is $10,000 per series, effective January 4, 2012, the Department of the Treasury announced today. The new limit applies to Series EE and Series I savings bonds purchased through TreasuryDirect at www.treasurydirect.gov. Under the new rules, an individual can buy a maximum of $10,000 worth of electronic savings bonds of each series in a single calendar year, or a total of $20,000.

Since 2008, investors could buy a maximum of $5,000 in each series and in each form (paper or electronic). So a single owner could buy $20,000 in one year. As of January 1, 2012, paper bonds are no longer being sold through financial institutions. With today's announcement, the total amount an individual can purchase in online savings bonds in one calendar year is $20,000. An investor still can purchase up to $5,000 annually in Series I paper savings bonds using his/her tax refund and IRS Form 8888.

Savings bond purchases have been subject to an annual limit since Series E Bonds were first issued in 1941. Over the years, limits have been adjusted by the Treasury Department several times and have ranged from a low of $3,750 for Series E bonds from 1941 through 1947 to the $30,000 limit for both Series EE and Series I bonds from 2003 through 2007.

For more information about savings bonds, visit www.treasurydirect.gov.