Savings Bonds as Gifts
Did you know U.S. Savings Bonds can be used as a gift for any occasion -- birthdays, weddings, graduations, births, or special holidays? And now, there are two types of savings bonds you can give - electronic (paperless) or paper savings bonds (through your IRS tax refund).
To give an electronic savings bond, you must have already opened a TreasuryDirect account, in our web-based system that allows you to buy and hold Treasury securities online.
As a TreasuryDirect account holder, you can use the "Gift Box" functionality to purchase a gift bond. The "Gift Box" allows a customer to buy savings bonds for someone else and keep the bonds in their own account until they're ready to give them to the recipient. To purchase an electronic savings bond as a gift, the account holder needs to know the recipient's full name and Social Security Number and/or taxpayer ID number. The gift bond is placed in the "Gift Box" until the account holder obtains the TreasuryDirect account number of the recipient and is ready to deliver the bond to the recipient's account.
When you buy savings bonds as gifts, you must hold them in your TreasuryDirect account for at least five business days before you can deliver them to the gift recipient. The five-day hold protects Treasury against loss by ensuring the ACH debit has been successfully completed before the funds can be moved.
The gift recipient will receive an e-mail announcing the delivery of the bond. Anyone 18 years of age or older can be a TreasuryDirect account holder.
See our tip sheet on how to buy gift savings bonds in TreasuryDirect.
If you're buying a paper savings bond as a gift, you need to use your IRS tax refund - see our FAQ on this feature. If you don't know the Social Security Number (SSN) of the person you're buying the bond for, simply use your number. Even though your SSN will appear on the bond, you'll incur no tax liability, and it won't count towards your annual purchase limit. With respect to paper savings bonds, SSNs are used for tracking purposes only, such as in cases where the savings bond is lost, stolen, or destroyed. When the recipient cashes the bond, they'll supply their SSN for tax purposes.
For paper savings bonds gifts, you'll need to plan ahead. Allow three weeks for your gift bond to be delivered to you, and you'll have it in time to give to the person. You can download and print a gift certificate from our site. The person you're buying for actually will remember you twice -- once when they get the certificate and later when they receive the actual bond!
Whichever type of savings bond that you decide to give - electronic or paper - U.S. Savings Bonds make a great gift!
