Exchange savings bonds to defer taxes

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You can put off paying taxes on U.S. savings bonds that have matured by exchanging them rather than cashing them in.

Accrued interest on Series E or EE bonds will be taxed when they are cashed in. If instead of cashing them in, you trade them for Series HH bonds, that interest on the Series E or EE bonds won't be taxed until the HH bonds mature.

Series E and EE bonds are bought at a discount and accrue interest until they mature, when they are worth their face value. Series HH bonds are issued at face value and pay interest twice a year.

Be aware that some old savings bonds no longer earn interest.

Series	Issued	Interest for
E	May 1941 - Nov 1965	40 years
E	Dec 1965 & after	30 years
EE	Jan 1980 & after	30 years

Check your savings bond portfolio. A Series E bond bought in December 1975 stopped earning interest in December 2005 (although a bond bought in November 1985 will continue accruing interest until November 2015). Likewise, a bond purchased before 1956 has reached the end of its interest-bearing life.