How do I report interest income from 1992 EE savings bonds I still haven't cashed yet?

You actually have two options for reporting the interest on those EE savings bonds from 1992. Option 1: You can report all the interest in the year you cash them. This is what most people do, and it's the simplest approach. You only report the interest when you actually redeem the bonds, and at that point you'll get a 1099-INT. Option 2: You can choose to report the interest annually as it accrues. This is a less common approach, but if you've never reported any interest on these bonds before, you haven't made this election yet. If you haven't cashed the bonds yet, you don't need to report any interest on your 2022 return. When you do cash them, the financial institution will issue a 1099-INT for the total interest, and you can report it on that year's return. Don't worry about the IRS not having the information yet - they'll get it when you actually cash the bonds.

Hey there! I was in a similar situation last year with some old EE bonds from the 90s. I was totally confused about the tax implications and proper reporting methods. After trying to figure it out myself for hours, I finally used https://taxr.ai to analyze my bonds and tax situation. They have a specific feature that handles savings bonds tax reporting! Their system pulled all the relevant information and told me exactly what I needed to do for my specific situation. It was super helpful because it turns out I had a few options for how to report the interest, and they laid out the pros and cons of each approach. The system even generated the proper forms and explanations I needed to include with my return.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was super helpful with my weird tax situation! I scanned in my old savings bonds and it calculated all the interest amounts automatically. It even showed me a comparison of what would happen if I reported all interest in the year I cash them versus if I had been reporting the accrued interest yearly (which I hadn't been doing). The system made it crystal clear what my best option was and generated all the documentation I needed. Saved me from making a big reporting mistake that could have triggered an IRS notice. Really glad I found this tool before I filed!

Something people don't realize about these old bonds is that if you need help understanding them, you pretty much HAVE to talk to someone at the Treasury Department. I spent 3 weeks trying to call their phone number for questions about my EE bonds from the 80s, and it was literally impossible to get through. After wasting hours on hold, I found https://claimyr.com and used their service to get a callback from the Treasury Department. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They held my place in line and got me a callback in about 2 hours instead of me waiting on hold all day. The Treasury agent answered all my questions about reporting the interest and helped me figure out the exact value of my bonds, including some weird ones that had special interest rate terms. Honestly saved me so much frustration.

I need to eat my words from yesterday. I tried that Claimyr service this morning for help with my EE bonds, and I actually got through to someone at Treasury in about 90 minutes. I've been trying for WEEKS on my own with no luck. The Treasury agent I spoke with explained exactly how to report the interest on my old bonds and confirmed I don't need to report anything until I cash them (unless I want to elect that special yearly reporting option, which she advised against in my situation). She even looked up my specific bonds by serial number to tell me exactly how much they're worth now and how much interest has accrued. Never thought I'd say this, but that service actually delivered what it promised. Saved me a ton of time and frustration.

One thing nobody mentioned yet - those 1992 EE bonds have probably stopped earning interest by now! EE bonds only earn interest for 30 years from issue date, so bonds from 1992 would have matured in 2022. If you haven't cashed them yet, you're essentially giving the government an interest-free loan at this point. You should definitely cash them ASAP.

Quick warning about cashing old bonds - the bank teller might not know how to handle them properly! When I cashed my old EE bonds, the first bank I went to reported the ENTIRE amount as interest on my 1099-INT, not just the interest portion. It was a huge headache to fix. Make sure whoever cashes them understands the difference between the principal (what you paid for the bond) and the interest (what you earned). The 1099-INT should only show the interest amount.

Just to add another perspective here - if you're dealing with multiple old bonds from different years, it might be worth keeping detailed records of when you cash each one. I had EE bonds from 1991, 1992, and 1993 that I found all at once, and when I cashed them in 2023, the bank lumped all the interest together on one 1099-INT. This created some confusion because technically each bond had different interest calculation periods and rates. I ended up having to request separate documentation from the Treasury to show the breakdown for my records. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of if you're in a similar situation with multiple bond years. Also seconding what others said about those 1992 bonds likely being done earning interest - definitely get them cashed sooner rather than later!