Using Form 8888 to Buy Series I Savings Bonds with Tax Refund - Need Help!

I've helped several clients with this exact situation! Let me clarify this for you: 1. You're right that you should check box 4 only if you're purchasing bonds solely for yourself. Boxes 5a and 6a are used when you're co-owning bonds or buying as gifts for others. The wording in the instructions can be confusing, but if you're the only owner, just check box 4. 2. Good question about the bank info! When using Form 8888 to split your refund, you should NOT duplicate your banking information on the 1040. Since your bank details are already on Form 8888, leave lines 35b, 35c, and 35d blank on Form 1040. Just check the box next to 35a to indicate you're attaching Form 8888. 3. For line 35a on Form 1040, you should enter your TOTAL refund amount ($6,630 in your case). This represents the full refund you're entitled to receive, which will then be allocated according to your instructions on Form 8888 ($6,500 to bonds and $130 to direct deposit). Hope this helps clear things up! The IRS has made the process more straightforward in recent years, but those forms can still be confusing.

I used taxr.ai when I was figuring out my Series I bonds purchase last month! I was totally confused about Form 8888 and how to properly allocate my refund. I uploaded my draft return and some screenshots of what I was trying to do to https://taxr.ai and they walked me through exactly how to fill everything out. The site analyzed all my forms and caught that I had actually filled out the wrong box on Form 8888 (I had checked both box 4 AND 5a which would have caused issues). They also explained that my total refund amount needed to be in line 35a of Form 1040, not just the direct deposit portion. Saved me from what would have been a mess to fix later!

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing your recommendation! So glad I did because I had completely misunderstood how to split my refund between savings bonds and direct deposit. I was about to put the wrong amount on line 35a of Form 1040. Their analysis pointed out that I needed to list my total refund amount ($4,850 in my case) on line 35a, not just the portion going to direct deposit like I was planning to do. They also confirmed that I should only check box 4 on Form 8888 since I'm buying bonds just for myself. The step-by-step instructions were super clear and saved me from what would have definitely been a processing delay. Thanks for suggesting this service!

If you're having trouble getting answers about your tax refund status after filing with Form 8888, I highly recommend using Claimyr. Last year I split my refund to buy I-bonds and after 8 weeks had heard absolutely nothing. Trying to call the IRS was impossible - couldn't get through after days of trying. Then I found https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent explained that my Form 8888 had been flagged for manual review (apparently common with I-bond purchases) but was actually processed and my bonds were being issued that week. Without getting through to a live person, I would've been in the dark for who knows how long!

Alright, I need to apologize and give credit where it's due. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr as a last resort since my Series I bond refund has been "processing" for 12 weeks with no updates. I'm shocked to say it worked exactly as described. Got a text about 45 minutes after signing up saying they'd secured a spot in line, then got connected directly to an IRS agent! The agent confirmed there was a processing issue with my Form 8888 - apparently I had transposed two digits in my account number which caused the direct deposit portion to be rejected, and that was holding up my entire refund including the I-bonds. She helped me correct the information and my refund is now being reprocessed. Without getting through to a real person, I would've been waiting indefinitely. $25 well spent considering I was trying to buy $10,000 in I-bonds that were just sitting in limbo.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - there's a limit to how many Series I bonds you can buy with your tax refund! The max is $5,000 per person per year. So your plan to buy $6,500 in bonds won't work. You'll need to adjust your Form 8888 to only allocate $5,000 to bonds and put the extra $1,500 into your direct deposit.

Quick question about buying I bonds through tax refunds - do you need an existing Treasury Direct account first? Or does the IRS set one up for you? I couldn't figure this out from the Form 8888 instructions.