vs Last Week
−0.05 pts
Drifting lower with Fed cuts.
3-Month Treasury Bill Rate
U.S. Daily · Cash-Yield Benchmark
4.18%
-0.02 pts vs. yesterday
Past 12 monthsRange 4.15 – 5.30
vs Last Year-1.05
5-Yr Avg2.65%
Fed Funds4.33%
3-month T-bill yields are down 105 bps from a year ago. Locking in 4.18% for 13 weeks now beats waiting if you expect HYSA rates to keep drifting lower — and gains state tax exemption as a bonus.
Historical trend
Daily auction yield.
Source: FRED · DGS3MO
The long view: since 1981
From 15% peak to zero — and back.
Peak 15.49% · Aug 1981Trough 0.03% · Dec 2008Today 4.18%
How today stacks up
vs Last Year
−1.05 pts
From 5.23%. Earnings on cash down ~$105/yr per $10K.
5-Yr Avg
2.65%
Today 153 bps above the 5-yr mean.
vs Fed Funds
−0.15 pts
Trading slightly below — markets pricing further cuts.
Use this yield
Tools for parking cash optimally.
About the 3-Month Treasury Bill Rate
The 3-month Treasury Bill ("T-bill") is the shortest-dated U.S. government debt — auctioned weekly, mature in 13 weeks, and considered the safest cash equivalent on Earth. The yield is the most direct reflection of where the Fed funds rate is today, typically running within 0.10–0.30% of fed funds. It's the rate every money market fund, HYSA, and short CD ultimately competes with.
Why the 3-month matters
Cash-management decisions hinge on this rate. When the 3-month yields 4.18% (today), you can lock in that yield risk-free for 13 weeks via TreasuryDirect.gov or buy a T-bill ETF (like BIL). Money market funds yield slightly less (after their 0.20–0.40% expense ratio). HYSAs yield about the same to slightly less. CDs require lockup but may offer a small premium. The 3-month T-bill is the benchmark for "what cash earns."
Reading this chart
The post-2008 era of near-zero yields was historically anomalous. From 2009 to 2021, 3-month T-bills typically yielded 0–0.10%. The 2022–23 hike cycle pushed them to 5.40% peak. The current 4.18% reflects the Fed's gradual easing. The all-time high was 15.49% in August 1981 during the Volcker era.
Related trackers
Other live numbers that move with — or against — this one.
Frequently asked
What this number means, and what it doesn't.
TreasuryDirect.gov is the cleanest way — auctions are weekly, $100 minimum, no fees. Alternatively, brokerages let you buy at auction or on the secondary market. The BIL ETF holds a basket of short T-bills if you prefer ETF simplicity (0.14% expense ratio).
T-bills compete with money market funds. They're sold at auction where investors bid the price up or down — yields equilibrate to fed funds plus a tiny term premium (typically 5–25 bps) for the short lockup vs. truly overnight cash.
Federal tax: yes (ordinary income). State and local tax: exempt — one of T-bills' best features for high-tax-state residents. A 4.18% T-bill is equivalent to a ~4.55% HYSA for a Californian in the 9.3% bracket on a tax-adjusted basis.
Three reasons: (1) state tax exemption matters for high earners in tax-heavy states; (2) you want true zero credit risk (FDIC limit is $250K; T-bills have no limit); (3) you want to lock in a known yield for 3 months even if HYSA rates drop. Otherwise, HYSA convenience usually wins.
Methodology
Source
Pulled from FRED · DGS3MO and cached on the EvvyTools server.
Update schedule
Refreshed automatically by our cron whenever the upstream source publishes a new value. Historical values are not revised after publication.
How we compute
Display value is the raw published number, unrounded. Comparison stats use the closest available reference date. We never edit the underlying data.