EE bond interest rates for bonds issued from May 1995 through April 1997
EE bonds earn interest until the first of these events: You cash in the bond or the bond reaches 30 years old.
May 1995 - April 1997 EE bonds earn a variable rate of interest
EE bonds that we issued from May 1995 through April 1997 earn a variable rate of interest. That means the interest rate for your bond can change every 6 months.
We announce a new interest rate every May 1 and November 1.
Current Interest Rate
Current interest rate for EE bonds with issue dates from May 1995 through April 1997
That rate applies to the next 6-month period of your bond. Your 6-month periods may start at different times for different bonds. It depends on the issue date of the bond.
For example: You have an EE bond with an issue date of October 1, 1996. Your 6-month rate periods start in October and in April. The rate we announce on May 1 will start for your bond on the following October 1. The rate we announce on November 1 will start for your bond on the following April 1.
For an historical record of interest rates for these bonds, see the tables on What have interest rates been? at the bottom of this page.
The interest gets added to the bond's value
EE bonds that we issued from May 1995 through April 1997 have been earning interest from the first day of the month you bought them.
Twice a year, we add all the interest the bond earned in the previous 6 months to the main (principal) value of the bond.
That gives the bond a new value (old value + interest earned).
Over the next 6 months, we apply the new interest rate to that entire new value.
This is called semiannual compounding. With it, your money grows not just from the interest percentage but from the fact that the interest is calculated on a growing balance.
Take care which month you cash the bond
Although your EE bonds with issue dates from May 1995 through April 1997 earn interest every month, we only add that interest to the bond's value 2 times a year.
If you cash a bond part way through a 6-month period, you don't get the interest the bond has been earning in that period. You get the value of the bond as of the last time interest was added.
Therefore, you may want to cash the bond soon after we add the interest from the previous 6 months.
Which months those are depends on when you bought the bond. To know which 2 months in every year are when interest is added to the value of your bond, see When does my bond change rates? further down this page.
Here's how we set the interest rate for these EE bonds
For EE Bonds that we issued from May 1995 through April 1997, we determine the interest rate every May 1 and November 1 by looking at U.S. Treasury security yields for the previous 6 months.
The rate we now apply to these EE Bonds (the "long-term" rate) is 85% of the 6-month average of 5-year U.S. Treasury security yields.
EE bonds that we issued between May 1995 and April 1997, had an "original maturity date" when they were 17 years old. At that time, we met our guarantee that the bond would be worth at least double what you paid for it.
For example, if you paid $50 for a $100 EE bond in April 1997, it was 17 years old in April 2014. At that time, if the bond was not yet worth $100 (because of the interest earned and the semiannual compounding), we added money to it so it was worth $100. And then, the next interest payment was based on that new value.
When does my bond change rates?
| If we issued your bond in | Your interest rate changes |
|---|---|
| January | January 1 and July 1 |
| February | February 1 and August 1 |
| March | March 1 and September 1 |
| April | April 1 and October 1 |
| May | May 1 and November 1 |
| June | June 1 and December 1 |
| July | July 1 and January 1 |
| August | August 1 and February 1 |
| September | September 1 and March 1 |
| October | October 1 and April 1 |
| November | November 1 and May 1 |
| December | December 1 and June 1 |
What have interest rates been for EE bonds we issued from May 1995 through April 1997?
| Date we set the rate for these EE bonds (for dates since November 2001) | Interest rate for the 6-month rate periods starting on or after that date |
|---|---|
| November 1, 2024 | 3.41% |
| May 1, 2024 | 3.60% |
| November 1, 2023 | 3.58% |
| May 1, 2023 | 3.22% |
| November 1, 2022 | 2.82% |
| May 1, 2022 | 1.51% |
| November 1, 2021 | 0.73% |
| May 1, 2021 | 0.49% |
| November 1, 2020 | 0.26% |
| May 1, 2020 | 1.02% |
| November 1, 2019 | 1.48% |
| May 1, 2019 | 2.18% |
| November 1, 2018 | 2.41% |
| May 1, 2018 | 2.06% |
| November 1, 2017 | 1.56% |
| May 1, 2017 | 1.59% |
| November 1, 2016 | 1.01% |
| May 1, 2016 | 1.24% |
| November 1, 2015 | 1.31% |
| May 1, 2015 | 1.27% |
| November 1, 2014 | 1.41% |
| May 1, 2014 | 1.34% |
| November 1, 2013 | 1.12% |
| May 1, 2013 | 0.65% |
| November 1, 2012 | 0.59% |
| May 1, 2012 | 0.76% |
| November 1, 2011 | 1.12% |
| May 1, 2011 | 1.67% |
| November 1, 2010 | 1.42% |
| May 1, 2010 | 2.04% |
| November 1, 2009 | 2.06% |
| May 1, 2009 | 1.55% |
| November 1, 2008 | 2.65% |
| May 1, 2008 | 2.58% |
| November 1, 2007 | 3.88% |
| May 1, 2007 | 3.92% |
| November 1, 2006 | 4.15% |
| May 1, 2006 | 3.88% |
| November 1, 2005 | 3.41% |
| May 1, 2005 | 3.23% |
| November 1, 2004 | 3.07% |
| May 1, 2004 | 2.68% |
| November 1, 2003 | 2.47% |
| May 1, 2003 | 2.51% |
| November 1, 2002 | 3.07% |
| May 1, 2002 | 3.74% |
| November 1, 2001 | 3.84% |
For the first 5 years of their life, EE bonds that we issued from May 1995 through April 1997, earned a "short-term" variable interest rate. After 5 years, they earned a "long-term" variable interest rate.
By November 2001, all these bonds were earning the long-term rate. That's why the table above (from November 2001 to today) shows only one rate.
The table below shows both short-term and long-term rates for dates when your bond may have been earning either the short-term or the long-term rate, depending on how old it was.
| Date we set the rate for these EE bonds (for dates from 1995 to May 2001) | "Short-term" interest rate for the 6-month rate periods starting on or after that date – applied for the first 5 years of the bond's life | "Long-term" interest rates for the 6-month rate periods starting on or after that date – applied starting in the bond's 6th year. |
|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2001 | 3.77% | 4.25% |
| November 1, 2000 | 5.36% | 5.23% |
| May 1, 2000 | 5.15% | 5.41% |
| November 1, 1999 | 4.35% | Not applicable (N/A) |
| May 1, 1999 | 3.91% | N/A |
| November 1, 1998 | 4.01% | N/A |
| May 1, 1998 | 4.47% | N/A |
| November 1, 1997 | 4.53% | N/A |
| May 1, 1997 | 4.63% | N/A |
| November 1, 1996 | 4.56% | N/A |
| May 1, 1996 | 4.36% | N/A |
| November 1, 1995 | 4.75% | N/A |
| May 1, 1995 | 5.25% | N/A |
(From May 1994 through November 1999, all EE bonds were less than 5 years old and so none were earning the long-term rate.)