Series I savings bonds have two rates, and Treasury replaces both of them twice a year. The next replacement is November 1, which makes the last day of October the cutoff for a saver who wants the rate now on offer.
The part that matters most to long-term savers is the fixed rate, because it is the piece that never changes once a bond is bought. Bonds issued through October 31 get one fixed rate, and bonds issued from November 1 get another.
The question for anyone with spare cash is simple. Is the fixed rate available today worth locking in for as long as the bond is held, or is it worth waiting to see what Treasury sets for the next six months? Because the fixed rate cannot be changed after purchase, the answer has to come before the cutoff, not after it.
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What Treasury resets on November 1
Treasury’s I bond rates page says the agency sets the inflation rate every May 1 and November 1. The fixed rate follows the same twice-a-year calendar, and the page says Treasury announces it on those two dates.
That means both parts of the I bond’s rate change on the same day. The page lists a fixed rate of 0.90% for I bonds issued May 1, 2026 to October 31, 2026, and it lists 1.67% as the inflation rate set on May 1.
The page does not publish the November 1 numbers ahead of time, so no one can say yet whether the new fixed rate will be higher or lower than 0.90%. What it does say is that the window for the current rate closes with the October 31 issue date.
Why the fixed rate is the part that sticks
An I bond earns a composite rate built from two pieces. Treasury’s I bond page describes the fixed rate as never changing and the inflation rate as resetting every six months, so the overall rate moves with it.
The rates page adds that the fixed rate applies, for the life of the bond, to every I bond issued during that six-month window. A bond bought in October keeps 0.90% as its fixed piece. A bond bought in November keeps whatever fixed rate Treasury announces that day.
The inflation piece is different. It is reset for each bond every six months, so it does not lock anything in. Only the fixed rate is a permanent feature of the purchase, which is why the cutoff matters to people who plan to hold for years.
How long a bond keeps earning
The 30-year figure comes from the bond itself. Treasury says an I bond earns interest for 30 years unless it is cashed before then, and the rates page says interest stops when the bond reaches 30 years old.
So a bond bought by October 31 can keep its fixed rate through that entire span. The word “can” is doing real work, because the owner decides when to cash out, and the fixed rate ends with the bond either way.
There are also holding rules. Treasury’s I bond page says an I bond cannot be cashed until it has been held for 12 months. Cashing before five years costs the last three months of interest, so a bond redeemed at 18 months pays 15 months of interest.
Buying before the October 31 cutoff
Electronic I bonds are bought inside a TreasuryDirect account. Treasury says the minimum is $25, and any amount above that can be bought to the penny. Paper I bonds, bought with an IRS tax refund, come in $50, $100, $200, $500 and $1,000 denominations.
The annual purchase limits are set per Social Security number or per Employer Identification Number, and Treasury lists them on its main I bond page. Anyone planning a larger purchase should check that limit before the cutoff, since a purchase cannot be topped up after the window closes.
People without a TreasuryDirect account need time to open one. Anyone aiming for the October 31 issue date should confirm access now rather than on the last day of the month.
Treasury’s rate table is the place to watch on November 1. The I bond interest rates page shows the fixed and inflation rates for each six-month window, so a saver can compare the new fixed rate to 0.90% and decide whether the old one was worth locking in.
Which fixed rate will a saver lock in before Treasury resets on November 1?
A saver who waits past the October 31 cutoff gets whatever fixed rate Treasury sets on November 1, and that rate then stays with the bond. Cash sitting in a near-zero account earns nothing in the meantime, and I bonds are only one of several safe places to park it.
Make Your Savings Pay You is a guide to insured high-yield savings, CDs, Treasury bills and I bonds. It promises I bonds whose rate adjusts with inflation every six months and Treasury bills from $100, free of state and local income tax, plus a ladder so money comes due on a schedule that can be copied.
Compare I bonds, T-bills and insured savings in one safe-savings guide →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
