Fixed Rate Component
1.30%
Locked in for 30 years if bought now. Highest since 2007.
I Bond Composite Rate
May 2026 – October 2026 Period
3.11
%
Unchanged
vs. last period (3.11%)
Past 12 months
3.11 – 5.27
Fixed Rate1.30%
Inflation Rate1.79%
2022 Peak9.62%
The May 2026 reset held the composite rate at 3.11%. The 1.30% fixed rate — locked in for the bond's 30-year life — is one of the highest fixed rates the Treasury has offered since 2007.
Historical trend
Bi-annual composite rate (May 1 / November 1).
Source: TreasuryDirect
The long view: since 1998
Every six-month I Bond rate since the program launched.
Peak 9.62% · May 2022
Trough 0.00% · May 2015
Today 3.11%
How today stacks up
vs Year Ago
−1.17 pts
Down from 4.28% — driven by lower CPI.
vs HYSA Today
−1.19 pts
HYSA at 4.30% is higher, but lacks tax advantages and 30-yr fixed rate.
All-Time High
9.62%
May 2022 — peak inflation. Today is 3.1× lower.
Use this rate
Tools for inflation-protected saving.
About the I Bond Composite Rate
U.S. Series I Savings Bonds ("I Bonds") are inflation-protected federal bonds sold directly to retail investors by the Treasury. The Treasury announces a new composite rate twice a year — May 1 and November 1 — that applies to new purchases for the next six months. The composite rate has two parts: a fixed rate (currently 1.30%) that stays with your bond for its 30-year life, and a variable inflation rate (currently 1.79%) that resets every six months based on CPI changes.
The May 2022 I Bond moment
I Bonds went from obscure to viral when the May 2022 reset announced a 9.62% composite rate — the highest in the bond's 24-year history — as the 2022 inflation surge fed through the formula. Demand was overwhelming: TreasuryDirect.gov crashed for days, and Americans purchased over $40 billion worth before the rate reset. Today's rate of 3.11% is far below that peak but still competitive with money-market alternatives, with two structural advantages: federal tax deferral and state tax exemption.
Reading this chart and the rules
The composite rate above is for I Bonds purchased between May 2026 and October 2026. Older bonds keep their original fixed rate but get the new inflation rate too — so an I Bond bought in October 2022 (fixed rate 0.4%) currently earns 0.4% + 1.79% = 2.19%. Critical rules: $10,000 annual purchase limit per person (plus $5K via federal tax refund), must hold 1 year minimum, lose 3 months of interest if redeemed before year 5, and the bond stops earning after 30 years. The next rate reset is November 1, 2026.
Related trackers
Other live numbers that move with — or against — this one.
Frequently asked
What this number means, and what it doesn't.
Only at TreasuryDirect.gov. There is no other legitimate source — no broker, no app, no third party. You set up an account with your SSN, link a bank, and buy. The limit is $10,000 per person per calendar year (so a married couple can buy $20K). An additional $5K can be purchased with your federal tax refund.
Composite = fixed_rate + 2 × inflation_rate + (fixed_rate × inflation_rate). Today\'s 1.30% + 1.79% gives a composite of 3.11%. The fixed rate is set at issue and never changes for your specific bond. The inflation rate resets every 6 months based on CPI.
Three real ones: (1) you must hold for 12 months minimum — completely illiquid in that window; (2) redeeming before year 5 forfeits the most recent 3 months of interest; (3) the $10K annual limit per person caps how much you can deploy. For larger amounts, TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) offer similar inflation protection without limits.
Each fits a different need. I Bonds beat HYSA on tax treatment and inflation hedge; HYSA beats I Bonds on liquidity (1-year lockup vs daily). TIPS beat I Bonds on size (no annual cap) but require a brokerage account and are more complex. For most retail investors with $10K+ in cash, the answer is "all three, in proportion to your goals."
November 1, 2026. The Treasury usually announces the new rate in late October. If you buy before October 31, you lock in the current 3.11% for six months. If you wait until November, you get whatever the new rate is — which could be higher or lower depending on the inflation print.
Methodology
Source
Pulled from TreasuryDirect 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.