So, you want to know the value of your savings bonds? Well, you’re in luck. Even ten years ago this would require a trip to the local bank or performing the calculations yourself with a calculator. Now, with the widespread availability of the internet, find the value of savings bonds take a few pieces of information and one click. There are many savings bonds calculators available. The best one is located at the U.S. Treasury’s website.
U.S. Treasury
Located at the U.S. Treasury’s website, (link below) the savings bond calculator is the easiest and best calculator for public use. On the savings bond page are instructions to using the calculator. At the bottom of the page is a button that instructs the user to click to start the calculator. This button links to the calculator. The calculator requires five pieces of information: the series of bonds, the denomination, the bond serial number, the issue date, and the date the person wants to calculate the value at. After all these fields are filled in, the user hits calculate and finds out the value of their bonds.
Bond Inventory
The best feature the Treasury’s calculator offers is the ability to keep an inventory of the bonds entered into the calculator. Each time a bond is entered into the calculator the computer temporarily saves it.
This allows the user to see the different values of each bond and keep track of their nest egg. The calculator even allows the user to save the inventory to their browser, which allows the calculator to update the value every time he or she visits. The list of bonds is saved by clicking on view, print, and save list, in that order, in the browser. Next, click file, then Save As, and name the inventory. As long as the list is saved as an HTML only document, the file will be saved to the browser and able to be accessed every time the calculator is used.
Tax Help
The other main feature the calculator offers is the ability to help calculate how many taxes will be owed at the end of the year. This is done by taking all of the bonds whose interest will be reported at the end of the year and setting the value date to the December of that year. The calculator states the interest each bond as accrued that calendar year. Then, all you have to do is multiply that number by the capital gains tax to get the amount of taxes for that year. Of course, it is best to check with an accountant to find out the exact amount of taxes to pay.
Help
Although I have tried to summarize the main points of the savings bond calculator, more questions can be answered by going directly to the Treasury site. They have a help index that lists all the keys to using the calculator, including all the key definitions and where to type each piece of information. The website for the calculator and the help index is: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/tools/tools_savingsbondcalc.htm.
This website will be all you need to get the most out of your U.S. Savings Bonds.