How do I sell my Treasury bills before maturity?
You can hold Treasury bills until they mature or sell them before they mature. To sell a bill you hold in
You can sell a T-Bill before its maturity date without penalty, although you will be charged a commission. (With CDs, you pay a sizeable penalty for early withdrawals.)
Treasury securities are considered a safe and secure investment option because the full faith and credit of the U.S. government guarantees that interest and principal payments will be paid on time. Also, most Treasury securities are liquid, which means they can easily be sold for cash.
Redeeming from TreasuryDirect
If you have not told us to reinvest the money from a matured security, we pay you the value of the security automatically on the day the security matures. You don't have to do anything. We deposit the money in your Certificate of Indebtedness (C of I) or your designated bank account.
TreasuryDirect customers:
Our call center hours are Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm ET. You may reach us at 844-284-2676.
You can hold Treasury bills until they mature or sell them before they mature. To sell a bill you hold in TreasuryDirect or Legacy TreasuryDirect, first transfer the bill to a bank, broker, or dealer, then ask the bank, broker, or dealer to sell the bill for you.
A Treasury investor could still lose money if they had to sell a Treasury prior to maturity, but the Treasury market is a much more liquid market than the CD market and therefore much easier to sell if needed.
When you buy T-bills through your bank, it may charge you additional fees and expenses such as sales commissions or transaction charges. These extra costs can add up over time and eat into your returns on your investment.
The biggest downside of investing in T-bills is that you're going to get a lower rate of return compared to other investments, such as certificates of deposit, money market funds, corporate bonds or stocks. If you're looking to make some serious gains in your portfolio, T-bills aren't going to cut it.
You can hold a Treasury marketable security until it matures or sell it before it matures. To sell a Treasury marketable security, you must work through a bank, broker, or dealer.
How long do T bills take to settle?
Most stocks and bonds settle within two business days after the transaction date. This two-day window is called the T+2. Government bills, bonds, and options settle the next business day.
Log into your primary TreasuryDirect® account. Click the ManageDirect tab at the top of the page. Under the heading Manage My Securities, click "Transfer securities". On the Transfer page, choose the button beside the security type you want to transfer and click "Submit".
You just bought a security from the U.S. Treasury. Securities are generally issued to your account within two business days of the purchase date for savings bonds or within one week of the auction date for Bills, Notes, Bonds, FRNs, and TIPS.
How do I cash my electronic bonds? Go to your TreasuryDirect account. Go to ManageDirect. Use the link for cashing securities.
TreasuryViewer is a mobile app to buy and view your Treasury securities on Treasury Direct.
TreasuryDirect.gov is the one and only place to electronically buy and redeem U.S. Savings Bonds. We also offer electronic sales and auctions of other U.S.-backed investments to the general public, financial professionals, and state and local governments.
You can wait to redeem your T-bond until it matures or sell it in the secondary market. However, you must first wait at least 45 days. 4 After that, you're unlikely to get the face value if you sell it before maturity, so you could see a loss between what you paid initially and what you get selling it.
If you want to sell your bond before it matures, you may have to pay a commission for the transaction or your broker may take a "markdown." A markdown is an amount—usually a percentage—by which your broker reduces the sales price to cover the cost of the transaction and make a profit on it.
However, investors who sell their bonds prior to maturity will only receive the interest due on the bond until the date of the sale. They will lose all rights to the interest that would have accrued between the date of the sale and the bond's maturity date.
Liquidity: CDs are not liquid accounts; the money is locked until the CD's maturity date, or you'll have to pay hefty penalties. T-bills provide more liquidity; they can be sold if you need cash fast.
Is it possible to lose money on Treasury bills?
There is virtually zero risk that you will lose principal by investing in T-bonds. There is a risk that you could have earned better money elsewhere.
To redeem your bill in TreasuryDirect you don't need to take action. If you do not provide instructions to deposit the security's principal into your C of I, we deposit the principal into your designated bank account. The deposit is made on the day your security matures.
3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.26%, compared to 5.26% the previous market day and 5.00% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 4.19%. The 3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is the yield received for investing in a government issued treasury security that has a maturity of 3 months.
Bills are sold at a discount. The discount rate is determined at auction. Bills pay interest only at maturity. The interest is equal to the face value minus the purchase price.
Key Takeaways
Interest from Treasury bills (T-bills) is subject to federal income taxes but not state or local taxes. The interest income received in a year is recorded on Form 1099-INT. Investors can opt to have up to 50% of their Treasury bills' interest earnings automatically withheld.
