How to Use a Savings Bond Calculator

Savings bonds are sold at a discount, and the face amount on the bond denotes what it will eventually be worth. Many savings bond owners want an easy way to calculate and keep track of their bond’s earned interest. The U.S. Treasury Department has a free online calculator designed to compute savings bond interest and an inventory program that lets bond owners create an online inventory of their savings bonds.

Go to theTreasuryDirect website and navigate to the TreasuryDirect Calculator page. Once there, click on the "Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond"(s) link. This takes you to the "Calculate the Value of Your Paper Savings Bond(s)" calculator.

Click on the "Value as of" box and enter the date you want the interest calculated through. Enter the month and date. For example, you can enter November 2012 as 11/2012. Click on the "Series" box to bring up "EE Bonds, I Bonds, E Bonds and Savings Notes" selections. Choose the bond series you want calculate the interest for and click on it.

Move to the "Denomination" box and click on the drop-down menu. Select the denomination amount that is printed on the bond’s face. Information for the next box, "Bond Serial Number," is optional. You don’t have to fill in the information for the calculator to work. Enter the issue date printed on the face of the bond in the "Issue Date" box. Enter the month and date.

Click on the "Calculate" button to get the bond redemption amount for the date you entered in the "Value as of" box. The "Calculator Results for Redemption Date" will show the bond’s purchase price as "Total Price;" the bond’s Total Value based on the date you entered; the Total Interest earned; and the YTD (Year-to-Date) Interest earned.

Click on the blue "Calculate Another Bond" link to find the value of the next bond. The calculator will keep a running total of your bonds as you enter each one.