Interest earned on all U.S. Treasury securities, including Treasury bills (T-Bills), is exempt from taxation at the state and local level but is fully taxable at the federal level. At the end of each tax year or early in the next (by Jan. 31), owners of Treasury bills should receive a Form 1099-INT from the Dept. of the Treasury. This form details how much interest was earned on government securities for the year—information that is also filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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.
If you live in a state with high local taxes, T-bills might be more advantageous than other short-term fixed instruments, like CDs.
Understanding Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
But first, a quick recap of the asset. Treasury bills are short-term debt obligations that are fully backed by the faith and credit of the U.S. government. They are sold in denominations of $100 up to $5 million. T-bill maturity durations are all less than one calendar year. Common maturity durations are one month, three months (13 weeks), or six months (26 weeks).
Like all Treasury securities, T-bills are considered to be risk-free assets. The likelihood of the U.S. government defaulting on debt obligations is incredibly low, given its ability to tax and print money and, of course, the general strength and reputation of the U.S.
It was this reputation for safety that, during the 2007-2008 financial crisis, caused investors to flock to Treasury securities as losses in stocks and other assets in their portfolios mounted. Those who had already invested heavily in Treasury securities prior to the crisis did successfully safeguard their capital.
Tax Rate of Treasury Bills
The interest earned by a T-bill is taxable as investment income in the year the bill matures. It must be reported on your federal tax return, Form 1040, and is taxed at the investor's marginal tax rate.
Even if you don't receive a Form 1099-INT for some reason, you are responsible for reporting the interest income generated by your T-bills and paying taxes on that amount.
If you buy a T-bill at a discounted price and then sell it at a premium price, that profit might also be taxable as a capital gain.
The federal tax burden can be eased through automatic tax withholding. Investors who own Treasury bills can opt to have up to 50% of their interest earnings automatically withheld; the exact percentage can be specified through any retail securities site. The Treasury automatically transfers the withholdings to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and reports the amount that is withheld on the 1099-INT form.
Tax Advantages of T-Bills
Although T-bills don't pay the highest interest rate (the tradeoff for being so low-risk), their exemption from state and local taxes can give them an advantage over other short-term, fixed-income assets, such as certificates of deposit (CDs)—especially for investors living in high-income-tax states, such as California, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon. CDs are fully taxable.
To compare the interest rate from a CD with the rate from a Treasury bill and see which works out better tax-wise, you have to calculate the after-tax yields for both investments.
As an example, say that you are a single taxpayer in New York with an income of $100,000 per year, and the one-year Treasury bill you are looking at yields 0.07% (as it is as of April 21, 2021). The federal tax rate for your income level is 24%, and the state income tax rate is 6.33%.
After federal taxes, your net earnings from the Treasury bill will be only 0.053%, or 0.07% x (100% - 24%). But the tax rate on the CD is higher since it also includes state taxes.
You would only keep 69.67% of the yields after taxes (100% - 24% - 6.33%). Divide 0.00053, the after-tax yield of the Treasury bill, by 0.7003 to get 0.00076, the equivalent yield for a certificate of deposit. A CD must therefore yield more than 0.076% to be a better deal than the Treasury at your income level.
Correction—June 9, 2022: An earlier version of this article incorrectly calculated the equivalent yields between Treasuries and CDs.
A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a short-term U.S. government debt obligation backed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Terms range from four to 52 weeks. T-bills are issued at a discount from the par value, also known as the face value.
) 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.
The interest income that you may receive from investing in a treasury bill is exempt from any state or local income taxes, regardless of the state where you file your taxes. However, you will need to report interest income from these investments on your federal tax return.
Report interest each year and pay taxes on it annually.
Defer reporting interest until you redeem the bonds or give up ownership of the bond and it's reissued or the bond is no longer earning interest because it's matured.
How Are Zero-Coupon Treasuries Taxed? Zero-coupon Treasuries are taxed as if you were receiving annual interest income, even though you won't receive any income until the bond matures.
If you buy a bond when it is issued and hold it until maturity, you generally won't have a capital gain or loss. However, if you sell the bond before its maturity date for more than you paid for it, you'll typically have a capital gain. If you sell it for less than you paid for it, you'll usually have a capital loss.
If you're saving for a goal less than a year away: If you're saving money for a goal with a short-time horizon, T-bills can make more sense than CDs. They provide a higher APY than savings accounts, and they're more liquid than CDs.
To calculate the price, take 180 days and multiply by 1.5 to get 270. Then, divide by 360 to get 0.75, and subtract 100 minus 0.75. The answer is 99.25. Because you're buying a $1,000 Treasury bill instead of one for $100, multiply 99.25 by 10 to get the final price of $992.50.
Zero-coupon bonds are more volatile than coupon bonds, so speculators can use them to profit more from anticipated short-term price movements. All other things being equal, the price of a zero-coupon bond will increase more than the price of a regular coupon bond when interest rates fall.
What Type of Interest Payments Are Earned on a Treasury Bill? The only interest paid will be when the bill matures. At that time, you are given the full face value. T-bills are zero-coupon bonds usually sold at a discount, and the difference between the purchase price and the par amount is your accrued interest.
Bills can be scheduled for reinvestment for up to two years; other eligible Treasury marketable securities can be scheduled to reinvest one time. When your bill matures, the proceeds will be reinvested or used to purchase the next available security of the same type and term as the original purchase.
Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. After federal taxes, your net earnings from the Treasury bill will be only 3.876%, or 5.10% x 76%. But the tax rate on the CD is higher since it also includes state taxes. You would only keep 66.1% of the yields after taxes (100% - 24% - 9.9%).
Like other investments, the tax owed on bonds and bond funds can be deferred by holding them in a tax-advantaged retirement account, such as a 401(k) or IRA. With that strategy, you won't owe any tax until you withdraw money at retirement, at which point you'll owe ordinary income tax on any distribution.
3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.23%, compared to 5.24% the previous market day and 5.24% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 4.19%.
So far in FY 2024, individual income taxes have accounted for 52% of total revenue while Social Security and Medicare taxes made up another 34%. Government revenue also comes from payments to federal agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior. Have you visited a national park recently?
If investing in a tax-sheltered account, like an individual retirement account (IRA) or a 401(k), the tax benefits that Treasuries provide disappear, because earnings in these types of accounts are not subject to income taxes.
Municipal bonds are generally free of federal tax because the interest from bonds issued by a state, municipality, or other local entity is exempt from federal taxation. As an added benefit, most states will allow a state tax exemption if the owner of the bond resides in the state of issue.
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